My little girl can’t play with friends – it’s heartbreaking but she risks hospital every time she leaves the house

A MUM has told how her little girl can’t play with her pals at their house as she risks a visit to hospital just by leaving home.

Etta Connor has a severe form of coeliac disease, after being diagnosed last year.

The six-year-old had been bloated as a baby, but it took a while to get the proper diagnosis.

She has been put on a strict gluten-free diet by doctors, to avoid her small intestine attacking itself.

Her parents, Caroline and Gary Connor, got rid of anything that would hold traces of old gluten, and scrubbed their kitchen clean after finding out.

But they run the risk of her accidentally coming into contact with something contaminated when she leaves home.

Caroline, 35, told SurreyLive: “She can’t eat in someone else’s kitchen because they will have gluten in them,” she said.

“Because of her age it would be hard to explain to a parent what she can and can’t eat, so it’s safer to do play dates here.”

It’s been hard for Etta even at school, as there might be traces of gluten around.

On a few occasions she has been rushed to A&E after being accidentally contaminated.

The family plans to raise awareness for the disease by Etta using her new bike to ride 100kms this month for Coeliac UK.

“We really want to raise awareness of this condition so more people can get a diagnosis sooner rather than later,” said dad Gary, 40.

“We also hope that Etta gains confidence, pride and acceptance of who she is, knowing that there are many who will support her along the journey.”

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune 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.

Coeliac disease can cause a range of symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloating, caused by an adverse reaction to gluten.

Eating foods that contain gluten can trigger a range of gut symptoms, such as:

• diarrhoea, which may smell particularly unpleasant
• stomach aches
• bloating and farting (flatulence)
• indigestion
• constipation

Coeliac disease can also cause more general symptoms, including:

• tiredness (fatigue) as a result of not getting enough nutrients from food (malnutrition)
• unintentional weight loss
• an itchy rash (dermatitis herpetiformis)
• problems getting pregnant (infertility)
• nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy)
• disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech (ataxia)

There’s no cure for coeliac disease, but following a gluten-free diet should help control symptoms and prevent the long-term complications of the condition.

Even if you have mild symptoms, changing your diet is still recommended.