Could I be getting glutened??!

[ElianaY]

Hello all, my husband works at a pizzeria and of course makes the pizza's which means he comes in contact with flour all day long. Could it be possible that any flour landing on his clothes and then coming home could pose a threat of contamination? Obviously if he puts clothes in with dirty laundry all those items are coming in contact but could I possibly breath in any remaining flour or something to that effect? Am I crazy?

[Ennis-TX]

Second hand contact inhaled flour from laundry....umm bit out there but not impossible. I have gotten glutend from walking through a bakery area at a store. If your husbands clothes are like caked in flour with dust flying up when you move then yes I can see this. Thing is flour can stay airborne in a bakery for hours, you inhale it and it gets stick in the mucus in your nose and throat then you swallow and BOOM glutened by trace amounts. If you want to be extra careful try using a dust mask and gloves and do his laundry separate or take to the cleaners. Have you had your numbers checked? If it is as you suspect and your husbands job is exposing you constantly you would see raised antibodies in your blood so a follow up blood panel would still show a high antibody count despite the gluten free diet. 
I actually got a urban pollution mask called tecnomask that I use sometime when heading out.....not just for the crazy random flour but for other allergens and dust issues that makes it easier.

[ElianaY]

Oddly enough my numbers came back within range but a recent endoscopy is showing I have vilious atrophy at a marsh 3a score!!! Crazy right?? Ive now gone as far as separating my pots, pans, sponge and all cook wear. Ive separated my food and have my own side of the kitchen. I should have done this from the beginning (palm to forhead) but now Im just super paranoid about everything and am driving my self insane! This evening my mother in law was making a cheese sauce and used flour as a thickener now I am wondering if any of that got airborne and could affect me. My stomach just hurts all the time and I cant quite pinpoint it. I even went as far as checking toothpaste lotions and beauty products, just ready to feel better soon!

[cyclinglady]

Oddly for me, my endoscopy this month revealed healed villi, but my antibodies (DGP IgA) were still elevated.  So, testing for antibodies after diagnosis is not perfect, but it is the less invasive tool in the toolbox right now.  But, the DGP IgA is the only test I have tested positive on.  Has the entire panel been run or just the TTG?  

I would ban flour in my house for sure (wait, it is banned).  We are actually gluten free now that there are two gluten free eaters in the house, but you can make a shared household work.  Get your MIL to use Gluten Free flour or cornstarch (a Southern Favorite) to thicken gravy.  

I would treat your hubby as a hazmat situation (I actually did this when he recently came out from crawling under the house).  Strip immediately, shower and I wash his work clothes separate from our regular clothes.  In my case, I am worried about ground-in dirt, old animal droppings and mold spores.  Yuck!  

On cookie day, I stay out of the kitchen during the holidays and hang with the guys at my SIL’s house.  I bake gluten-free cookies ahead of time and share.  Do I feel guilty?  Heck, no.  A lot of flour can settle and spread around a kitchen.  

So, keep researching on keeping your kitchen safe for you  and consider your own gluten-free diet.  The Fasano gluten-free diet to help jump start your healing at least until you feel better.  Then add gluten-free processed foods back in slowly.  

[ElianaY]

Thank you!!! Will definitely be looking into that ?

[Ennis-TX]

7 hours ago, ElianaY said:

Oddly enough my numbers came back within range but a recent endoscopy is showing I have vilious atrophy at a marsh 3a score!!! Crazy right?? Ive now gone as far as separating my pots, pans, sponge and all cook wear. Ive separated my food and have my own side of the kitchen. I should have done this from the beginning (palm to forhead) but now Im just super paranoid about everything and am driving my self insane! This evening my mother in law was making a cheese sauce and used flour as a thickener now I am wondering if any of that got airborne and could affect me. My stomach just hurts all the time and I cant quite pinpoint it. I even went as far as checking toothpaste lotions and beauty products, just ready to feel better soon!

Consider a full on gluten free house....no wonder your getting sick. I could not live in a gluten house, even on a gluten-free diet I kept getting glutened by others and had to move out. Stuff got everywhere, and I would CC my own stuff from the oddest things, like gluten residue on handles, crumbs falling in drawers, that dang couch corner they would spill gluten milk/cereal on and wipe their hands on.....yeah the house was a nightmare for me. Gluten can also be in condiment jars where someone used a spoon/knife to spread on a gluten toast then back in thee jar, butter containers, scratched pots/pans/baking dishes. stiring utensils, toasters etc....if in a shared house you need your own dedicated cookware, gluten needs to be treated like a bio hazard and handled like so. Freezer Paper makes great safe prep area/eating surface and can be tossed after for easy clean up, food service vinyl gloves are a lifesaver, and I found cooking stuff with nordic ware microwave cookware like steamers omelettes makers saved me having to get new appliances and pans for awhile. BTW there is gluten free everything now days...there is no excuse other then the price too not change the house over it is yourr health, I have a comprehensive list of gluten-free alternatives you can view. We do suggest whole foods only diet to boost healing and avoiding processed foods for awhile, new crockpot with liners and doing soup,dishes in it in large batches gluten-free is a great start.
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/91878-newbie-info-101/
https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/120402-gluten-free-food-alternative-list-2018-q1/