Back in January we looked at the question Does Celiac Disease Cause Canker Sores? Well, more recently, it looks like we should have instead asked the question, could my canker sores mean I have Celiac Disease? The one thing we’ve known for awhile now is that the gluten-free diet can help clear up canker sores (aka mouth ulcers), so it makes sense to think that having canker sores could in fact be a symptom of Celiac Disease.
According to a recent report on Celiac.com, it appears that there may in fact be reports which suggest canker sores can suggest Celiac Disease, and even goes as far as to say 1 in 20 people with canker sores with have NO other symptoms.
Here is a small excerpt from their post:
The research team looked at 247 people with aphthous stomatitis (canker sores), who had suffered at least three aphthous lesions in the previous year. Subjects had a median age of 33 years.
What should be take from this? I suppose if you have a friend or family member who feels pretty good but is dealing with significant canker sore problems, you should be recommending they get tested for Celiac Disease.
I have just found out that I have celiac disease. I have been having these canker sores for all my life! (matter of fact Ihave one now!!!) I tried to figure out what had been triggering them and could only come up with stress. It will be interesting to see if I dont get as many or they go away completely when I start a gluten free diet!
Welcome to the gluten-free world Amanda! I have met several support group members who had these and they did go away completely once on the diet. I hope that happens for you as well! I have a lot of posts on our sister site http://www.glutenfreequestions.com that offer guidance on getting started. Good luck!