[Tallforagirl]

AliB, on Dec 26 2008, 05:31 PM, said:

Not all are, but some are so sensitive to gluten and other antagonists that they will react very easily and very rapidly to the merest contamination.

Here's my theory, and this is my personal opinion only, not from any official source, but what I think is that some celiacs on top of the celiac disease have an actual gluten/wheat allergy. This means that they react in an allergic manner to gluten, as well as getting the immune response.

Most of us celiacs aren't that sensitive, and would be unlikely to ingest enough gluten through shampoo, lotion, the dog etc, especially as it's not possible to absorb it through the skin.

Those who are sensitive enough know it by their reaction, the rest of us are lucky enough not to have to stress out about it, and just need to take common-sense CC precautions with food.

[ravenwoodglass]

Tallforagirl, on Jan 8 2009, 04:34 PM, said:

Here's my theory, and this is my personal opinion only, not from any official source, but what I think is that some celiacs on top of the celiac disease have an actual gluten/wheat allergy. This means that they react in an allergic manner to gluten, as well as getting the immune response.

Most of us celiacs aren't that sensitive, and would be unlikely to ingest enough gluten through shampoo, lotion, the dog etc, especially as it's not possible to absorb it through the skin.

Those who are sensitive enough know it by their reaction, the rest of us are lucky enough not to have to stress out about it, and just need to take common-sense CC precautions with food.

Or rather than it being an allegic reaction some of us may have a more pronounced autoimmune reaction than others. Once someone starts having severe autoimmune issues it only takes an extremely small amount to set the antibodies cascading throughout the system again.

[rinne]

lbd, on Dec 21 2008, 04:07 PM, said:

For me, it's not a matter of ingesting the lotion, shampoo, etc. My skin, especially my scalp, really reacts to the gluten in products. For years, I knew that certain shampoos gave me the itchies, but never knew why. When I eliminated shampoos and other products that contained wheat protein (which are in a lot of them), I had no more problems. Dairy in shampoos also causes a reaction for me. I was very surprised when I spotted wheat protein in Biolage, Jason's shampoo, and some of the Alba products. You really have to read the labels well since some products in a line don't have any added, while others do. I use Alba shampoo and conditioner, but another of their conditioners has gluten. A lot of people recommend Burt's Bees, but some of their products, including at least one type of shampoo, have gluten in them.

lbd

Ditto for me. I develop a rash if I use any product with gluten in it.

[Tallforagirl]

ravenwoodglass, on Jan 8 2009, 04:57 PM, said:

Or rather than it being an allegic reaction some of us may have a more pronounced autoimmune reaction than others. Once someone starts having severe autoimmune issues it only takes an extremely small amount to set the antibodies cascading throughout the system again.

I would say that it's not a case of having a more or less severe AI reaction, I think it's differences in how your body's nervous system reacts to the AI process being initiated.

I'm personally of the view (based on the advice of a specialist celiac dietician) that the severity of your symptoms is not related to the level of gut damage and that being highly sensitive does not mean you have a more severe form of celiac disease. For all of us it only takes a very small amount of gluten to set off the auto-immune response.

When diagnosed I had pronounced villi destruction, and my Ttg IGA level was over 200 (normal being less than 20), so my level of autoimmune response was very severe. However, I had very few symptoms to speak of, so I am a case in point that symptoms are not indicative of level of disease severity in celiac disease.

In terms of what you need to worry about to avoid getting sick, there are basic precautions that every celiac needs to take to avoid getting sick (gut damage) in the long term such as using a seperate toaster, thoroughly cleaning any glutened cooking utensils etc.

If you're very symptomatic then there's additional precautions that you need to take to avoid getting sick in the short term (like using gluten-free toiletries in case you ingest them). I do not think that a highly symptomatic response means that on the inside your villi are being shredded to ribbons, it just means that your body's nervous system is highly reactive (like in a severe allergic response).

If you're not a very sensitive celiac in terms of overt symptoms, personally, I think you put yourself to unnecessary stress by worrying beyond the basic precautions (which, let's face it, are enough of a PITA all by themselves).

[digmom1014]

"Another thought is after switching to gluten free mascara,my eyes stopped itching and were no longer red. You just never know."


Okay, give it up on the brand of gluten-free mascara you use. I never thought that was the reason my eyes were red!!

I definately have a Gluten allergy and can't use products with gluten on my skin. I never had DH but, when I stopped using gluten shampoo, my scalp magically stopped itching!

I wonder if there is a corralation between having a negative blood test and being allergic to gluten vs. being celiac?

Any thoughts....

[Worriedtodeath]

If I remember right (the label wears off and I can't read the name ) it is ZUZU

http://www.cosmetics...an-mascara.html

expensive UGH Long lasting Good Sometimes clumpy but I can fix that . Wears well and stays on my eyelashes and not my face. Now get it at the local Earth Fare store.

[Tallforagirl]

This adds weight to my theory that some have wheat/gluten allergy alongside celiac disease: http://www.mayoclini...disease/AN01623