Your Family Members Can Have Celiac Disease Without Even Knowing It
Celiac Disease is a Serious Genetic Autoimmune Disease. Your Blood Relatives Have an Increased Risk of Developing It, Too.
Celiac disease is genetic, meaning that it runs in families. If you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, your biological relatives should be tested for it as well. Beyond Celiac has resources to help you talk to your family about getting tested. The video above shows the conversation you should have with them.
Important things to note:
- People can have celiac disease without even knowing it
- Even those who don’t have symptoms could have celiac disease
- Every person is different; symptoms vary greatly from person to person. Some have no symptoms at all.
- Talking about the gluten-free diet can make your relative less likely to get tested
Talk to them. Tell them the facts. Urge them to test.
We can show you how.
Please read: A very important note on social media sharing:
It is important to note that simply sharing the Seriously, Celiac Disease video or its companion educational materials with family members instead of having a personal, one-on-one conversation can prevent relatives from being open to testing.
Please do not initiate a conversation about celiac disease testing with your relatives by simply sharing the Seriously, Celiac Disease video and discussion guides through email, social media and other online communications. The Beyond Celiac research-tested approach shows that family members want a one-on-one, in-person conversation and are not as likely to respond well to the idea of testing if a link is simply shared.
However, we do encourage you to share the video with others living with celiac disease so they too can help their family members get tested. Be sure to use the hashtag #TalkTellTest when you do!
