Diagnosing celiac disease can be hard because some of its signs are akin to those of other diseases. This disease can be confounded with chronic fatigue syndrome, intestinal infection, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, iron deficiency anemia provoked by menstrual blood loss and irritable bowel syndrome. Because of this, celiac disease has long been misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed.  As medical practitioners become more aware of the many different signs of the disease and dependable blood analysis become more available, diagnosis rates are advancing.

The primary method to diagnose celiac disease is generally a set of blood tests to access levels of some autoantibodies.  Other than antibodies, which fight against foreign particles in the body, autoantibodies assault the body´s own tissues. Unluckily, however, if the standards are not accessed, it is not secure to end that the patient doesn´t have celiac disease.

Dermatitis herpetoformis is generally found in patients with celiac disease.  This generally happen on the buttock, knees and elbows. Most patients with dermatitis herpetoformis have no digestive signs of this disease. Skin biopsy and blood tests are carried out to identify DH. This can be reduced with antibiotics such as dapsone.

The next procedure, if the analysis or signs of illness recommend celiac disease, is a small intestine biopsy during an endoscopy. Small intestine biopsies are generally carried out to confirm diagnose of celiac disease, even when the blood analysis are positive.  

Generally, the lining of the small bowel is wrapped with hair like overlies termed villi, in patients with immature celiac disease, the inflammation that advances in reaction to gluten causes the villi to flatten and shrink. This result can be found when tissue samples taken from the small bowel intestine by biopsy are analyzed using a microscope. While the patient is asleep, the medical practitioner passes a straight, narrow tube known as endoscope through the patients mouth and then to stomach, then to the small bowel. The physician can then send instruments through this device to take off samples of tissues and also to take images. Later, a specialist will research the samples of tissue to verify for the standard symptoms of flattening and shrinkage of the villi.  Testing for the presence of autoantibodies is also known as screening. This disease is also considered as hereditary disease. Gluten free diet is the last test that confirms the diagnosis of celiac disease. For most patients, continuing the diet will stop signs, prevent further damage and heal existing intestinal damage.  The small bowel generally heals in there to six months in children but may take many years in grown-ups.