20 Ways To Raise Celiac Disease Awareness

Raising awareness for celiac disease is MUST.  Not just during May, BUT any time an opportunity comes our way.

Since starting this journey almost 10 years ago, I can honestly say that more people know about celiac disease. BUT, then I'll turn around and mention "celiac disease" to someone and they will look at me confused, like, "What is that?"

So needless to say, we still have a ways to go.

The more people that we can educate about celiac disease and gluten-free living, the better off the future will be for our children. We gotta think POSITIVE, right? RIGHT!

Here are a few ideas that you could do this month and throughout the year.

20 WAYS TO EDUCATE OTHERS ABOUT CELIAC DISEASE

1 - When ordering food at a restaurant, ask for the manager or tell the server that you have celiac disease. Don't just say, "without the bun" or "I have a wheat allergy"....educate these folks even if they just say, "uh-huh".
You also know enough about gluten-free living, that you could create a little note card with how to handle your gluten-free meal: WHAT TO AVOID (for example: DO NOT share same deep fryer as GLUTEN foods, wash kitchen utensils, check ingredients for "WHEAT", etc.

2 - To help better serve those with celiac disease while at school, college and/or camps, this website and material is AWESOME. Check out NFCA's GREAT Gluten-Free Kitchens training.

3 - Start or join a celiac walk in your area and raise funds for the Center for Celiac  

       Research -  MakingTracks for Celiacs

4 - Pass out green apples to teachers with a note about celiac disease. 

5 -   Make awareness bracelets and give them to your friends and family.

6 - Or RAP it, "Let's talk about celiac baby, let's talk about gluten and me, let's talk about all the good things and the bad things that may be...let's talk about celiac, let's talk about celiac..." (Salt-n-Pepa)

 7 - Get a blood test, whether you've done it before or not - get another. Encourage family and friends to do so as well. If a family member tested NEGATIVE 5 years ago, I would encourage to test every 2-3 years whether there are visible symptoms are not. My husband tested negative when Jack was was diagnosed in 2009.  Then after moving to TN and taking on a very, very stressful job, his immunity changed. He tested positive for celiac disease. It's crazy how it all came about - I share my husband's story here.

8 - Car Ribbons/Magnets - these days you can have your own made! Just google "create your own car magnets" or "celiac ribbon car magnets".

9 -  Are you concerned about another child, but don't know how to tell his or her mother? Pass along this link - it warns of "Red Flags"- some pediatricians may overlook certain celiac symptoms. 

10 - Make up ANOTHER song, "I just called to say get tested...I just called, to say how much I carrreeeeeeee, I doooo." (Stevie Wonder)

11 - Visit University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center  http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/

12 - Share celiac disease information with a stranger - "Hi, I don't know you, but here's some info. about Celiac Disease."

13 - REPEAT #1 

14 - Read/Share some of my Sweet Faces of Celiac Disease stories. You'll be surprised by some of the symptoms this children had or DIDN'T HAVE.

15 - Check out these AWESOME Celiac Bloggers.

16 - Share this celiac disease symptoms checklist with your friends and family.

17 - Get friends and family to attend a FREE celiac disease screening.

18 - Check out NFCA's site on "Talking to You  Friends" about celiac disease.

19 - Make a donation to the Celiac Disease Foundation - make sure to check out their website as it's full of all types of great information on celiac disease and gluten-free living.

20 - Get a TATTOO! Okay, don't. But this was something I REALLY wanted to do to show my passion for raising awareness and if someone asked me about my tattoo, it's an opportunity to educate them about celiac disease.



There you go friends. 20 Celiac Awareness ideas. 

For more information on Celiac Disease, check out these following links here on Raising Jack with Celiac: 

Symptoms
Celiac Testing
Genetic Testing

Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month

Celiac Disease is JUST ONE of the (close to) 100 autoimmune diseases out there - here are just a few others:

Addison’s Disease, Amyloidosis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Autoimmune Hepatitis, Behcet’s Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Endometriosis, Fibromyalgia, Graves Disease, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Interstitial Cystitis, Juvenile Diabetes, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Scleroderma, Sjogren’s Syndrome , Ulcerative Colitis, Vasculitis and so on...

Unfortunately, autoimmune diseases like COMPANY. It's not uncommon to have MORE THAN ONE autoimmune disease.

And, when it comes to celiac disease, I want to share this from Celiac Disease Foundation: 

(Note: When I started this journey with Jack, 12 years ago, the number was 1 in 133 people worldwide)

It is estimated to affect  ** 1 in 100 people worldwide. ** 

Two and one-half million Americans are undiagnosed and are at risk for long-term health complications."

2.5 MILLION Americans are walking around with UNDIAGNOSED celiac disease.

PLEASE SHARE! 

Let's spread the word on autoimmune diseases.

For more information on getting tested for celiac disease, please visit: Symptoms and Testing