Can you test for gluten sensitivity at home?

Did you know? Around 1 in 100 people in the UK have coeliac disease (gluten sensitivity).

The NHS defines coeliac disease as “a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your gut (small intestine) so you are unable to take in nutrients.

Gluten is a complex mixture of proteins usually found in barley, wheat and rye.

Typical symptoms of coeliac disease include:

• abdominal pain
• bloating
• chronic diarrhoea
• weight loss
• wind

More severe symptoms include:

• anaemia
• extreme fatigue
• osteoporosis
• delayed growth in affected children

The variety of symptoms that are associated with coeliac disease means that diagnosis can often be hampered.

The benefit of completing a Test2Go Gluten Sensitivity Test at home is that it ensures complete confidentiality as well as giving you the incentive to take further steps in managing your personal health earlier than you might otherwise have done, and get earlier medical intervention from your doctor as well.

The Gluten Sensitivity Test is easy to use and requires only a small finger-prick blood sample to perform the test. You will receive a visual result of the test in less than 15 minutes.

Why should I test for coeliac disease (gluten sensitivity)?

Coeliac disease is a genetic inherited intestinal disorder where the inner surface of the small intestine is damaged when people eat food containing gluten. Symptoms can vary in intensity and can contribute to an overall deterioration of any individual’s wellbeing.

Who is the gluten sensitivity test for?

The gluten sensitivity test is for anyone who thinks they may be gluten intolerant or suffers from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Coeliac disease is an inherited disease so it would also be useful to test siblings (brothers and sisters), children and parents.

What does the Gluten Sensitivity Test contain?

The box with the Gluten Sensitivity Test contains:

• One test device
• One plastic pipette
• One small bottle containing 1ml of diluent
• Two sterile lancets to obtain a blood sample
• One instruction leaflet
• One alcohol pad

How do I interpret the test results?

If two coloured lines appear in the window under the marks T (Test) and C (Control) then this is a positive result.

If the result is positive then it means that there are anti-t-TG IgA type antibodies in your blood. You should contact your doctor and mention the test results so that they can decide whether you need further tests and diagnosis.

If only one coloured line appears under the mark C (Control) then this is a negative result and means that no anti-t-TG IgA type antibodies have been detected in the blood sample.

What is an invalid result?

An invalid result is recorded when there is no line under the C (Control) mark meaning the test can not be interpreted.

The most likely reasons why an invalid result may occur are:

• not enough drops of developer solution were added
• too much or too little blood was added to the test cassette

What is the accuracy of the Gluten Sensitivity Test?

Evaluation reports show an overall agreement higher than 96% (90.79% to 99.50%) with reference methods.

Although this test is reliable, all medical tests may give a small number of false-positive or false-negative results.

Order your simple home test kit from Test2Go to check whether your anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies are higher than usual.