Hi. My wife was diagnosed about 6 years ago. We live in Argentina and we lived 1 year in the USA in the middle. She was totally asymptomatic, and was tested b

Hi. My wife was diagnosed about 6 years ago. We live in Argentina and we lived 1 year in the USA in the middle. She was totally asymptomatic, and was tested because she has hypothyroidism and it seems it's pretty common that both conditions come together. So, the doc ordered the tests: first a blood analysis that came positive, then an endoscopy to confirm. From what I've heard here, for every diagnosed person, there's about 8 people who have not been diagnosed. But at least here, health professionals are getting aware and more people is getting properly diagnosed nowadays. Luckily for us, Argentina is a very celiac friendly country. A few years ago (coincidentally, about the time my wife was diagnosed), a law was passed that demands all products to inform if they contain gluten or not, and there's A LOT of gluten free products available everywhere that are identified by a standardized logo. In Buenos Aires, there's a lot of restaurants selling exclusively gluten free food, and for the rest, almost everyone has gluten free options. Many of those, even design a separate space in their kitchens and utensils for gluten free food, to ensure there won't be cross-contamination. I believe this was achieved thanks to the free courses and consultancy given by 2 NGOs founded by celiac people. As for the difficulty to educate other people about this, I believe it happens mostly with older people, as it was not a commonly diagnosed disease not long ago, so... sometimes they might at first look with suspicion or disbelief, but then after explaining them exactly what's about.. they understand, but need to be reminded anyways. So, if it's family, it's better for the first months/years to take your own food when visiting them, or helping them to cook, as it's a perfect opportunity to teach them. One of my best friend's daughter was diagnosed when she was a 18 months old baby (she felt badly, was having trouble gaining weight, etc). She is now 4 years old, and super healthy after following a gluten free diet since then. You'd think it would be hard for her... but it's incredible when other kids offer her something, she immediately looks the package for the logo, if she does not see it, she politely rejects it (or if unpackaged, she simply asks if it's gluten free), as she knows it would harm her otherwise... Her kindergarten teachers are aware and pay attention other kids won't contaminate her food, so all has been OK so far. In our home, we usually have for dinner the same food, but for some stuff like pasta or pizza, I usually cook my food separated from hers, as I prefer the "regular" wheat pasta. She does not have trouble with it. So, in those specific cases it's a little more work when cleaning the pans, but that's not much of a problem. I hope this was helpful!