Coeliac UK has launched the UK’s first online assessment to help the half a million people in the UK thought to be living with undiagnosed coeliac disease.

The assessment tool is part of a two year campaign highlighting the most common symptoms of coeliac disease and prompts people with these symptoms to ask themselves: ‘Is it coeliac disease?’ A website at www.isitcoeliacdisease.org.uk hosts the assessment and provides information about the disease.

Coeliac disease occurs when the body’s immune system damages the lining of the small bowel after gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, is eaten. There is no cure and no medication: the only treatment is a gluten-free diet for life. Gluten free foods are likely to be sold at your local pharmacy – otherwise check the packaging carefully.

Key symptoms include: frequent bouts of diarrhoea, stomach pain and cramping, regular mouth ulcers, fatigue, lots of gas, nausea and vomiting, and unexplained anaemia. One in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, with the prevalence rising to one in ten for close family members.