Questions about cross contamination

[Steve P]

Hi everyone, new to the forum 

so I have questions, I do not have a gluten intolerance but my girlfriend does. We have been living together for 6 years at this point and still get into fights over cross contamination 

she states she does not have celiacs, but a allergen to a protine found in gluten, (won’t go to the dr, get actually tested to id exact causes)and that ingestion can cause her throat to swell closed. skin contact has no reaction, 100% sure of that after  6 years she has never had a reaction to skin contact, even when I know I just had a sammich/cookies/beer. She sticks to a non gluten diet and treats it seriously and I do as well 

My issue is this, while caution and precautions need to be taken and implemented there is such a thing as over the top

gluten is not allowed in the house period 

I eat what she makes or eat offsite 

Not allowed to touch stove, refrigerator, or kitchen countertops or cabinets at all which means no cooking or food storage or even lunch box storage for me at all 

I shower and change clothes as soon as I get home 

we don’t share dishes, knives or utensils 

nothing with gluten comes through the front door 

This is daily regimen, it’s like living in a clean room. If I so much as touch my cell phone and any other surface in the kitchen we are fighting. Every thing I touch she uses paper towels to touch them after. It results in so many disagreements I’m kinda over it at this point 

how transmissible is this stuff, literally I am maintaining off site clothes and house clothes at this point. 

 

 

 

 

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, Steve P!

People with celiac disease vary tremendously with regard to how sensitive they are to small amounts of gluten exposure. Yes, some do react to transdermal exposure. Some even have reactions to the smell of freshly baked wheat bread while walking down the supermarket bread isle.

Unfortunately, testing for celiac disease is invalidated by having been on a gluten free diet before testing is done. So, even if your gluten-free wanted to get tested, she would have to undergo a "gluten challenge" of consuming significant amounts of gluten (like, the amount in 3 pieces of wheat bread daily) for at least two weeks. For many celiacs, their reactions are so intense this simply is not possible or safe.

It is impossible to know whether your gluten-free is overreacting because there are too many unknowns in this scenario. It certainly is possible that your gluten-free has become OCD about gluten and is overreacting but that may be better than being too casual such that she is sick all the time. Sounds like there is a trust issue going on here as well.

Besides celiac disease, there is also another gluten disorder known as NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) which shares many of the same symptoms as celiac disease. The difference is that NCGS does not cause celiac's autoimmune reaction that damages the lining of the small bowel. NCGS is 10x more common than celiac disease but there is no test for it. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. The antidote for both, however is the same: Lifelong diligent avoidance of gluten. 

Be aware also that kissing can cause a gluten reaction if one partner has recently consumed glutenous food.

[Scott Adams]

Welcome to the forum, and to me it sounds like she has an anaphylactic allergy to wheat, rather than celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. If her throat swells when she comes into contact with wheat, it can be very serious, and even deadly. She should have an epi-pen for this allergy in case she ever gets exposed. 

As a roommate it can obviously be difficult for you, but it does make sense for her to be this diligent about it, especially if her life is at risk.

[trents]

1 hour ago, Steve P said:

she states she does not have celiacs, but a allergen to a protine found in gluten,

Gluten itself is a protein. It is the principle protein found in wheat and is also found to a lesser degree in barley and rye.

After rereading your first post, I tend to agree with Scott Adams. Your girlfriend's reactions sound much more like anaphylaxis than either a celiac or NCGS reaction. Does she have other symptoms when eating wheat products in addition to throat/airway swelling? Any GI distress? And why is it she will not get testing done? She would not need to be consuming gluten in order to get allergy testing done. Allergy testing can be done via skin pricks with antigens or through a blood draw.

Edited December 2, 2023 by trents

[Steve P]

29 minutes ago, trents said:

Gluten itself is a protein. It is the principle protein found in wheat and is also found to a lesser degree in barley and rye.

After rereading your first post, I tend to agree with Scott Adams. Your girlfriend's reactions sound much more like anaphylaxis than either a celiac or NCGS reaction. Does she have other symptoms when eating wheat products in addition to throat/airway swelling? Any GI distress? And why is it she will not get testing done? She would not need to be consuming gluten in order to get allergy testing done. Allergy testing can be done via skin pricks with antigens or through a blood draw.

She is western medicine averse, and has a ptsd around needles that even after 6 years I still haven’t gotten to the source of yet. Even bringing  up the topic results in shut down behavior unfortunately 

I do agree it seems like more of an allergen reaction, I have never witnessed a reaction but she is ocd careful, will only eat what she cooks, in her own pans, or fully certified gluten-free products, poster child for eating a non gluten diet, it just gets more extreme year after year even though no reactions have occurred. 
 

frustrated with the whole ordeal, I can’t find much info on phones transferring gluten and literally was trying to fix a broken stove and got a 2 hour tirade for touching the knobs because I had touched my phone 

Came home to a dark house, power and water were down and was getting the propane stove online so she could cook before repairing power systems (pretty bad day to say the least) 

trying to be supportive and understanding but there is only so far I can go. 

[trents]

I'm concerned that she might need some mental health counseling. It sounds like it might be a bigger problem than a phobia of gluten.

[Steve P]

1 hour ago, trents said:

I'm concerned that she might need some mental health counseling. It sounds like it might be a bigger problem than a phobia of gluten.

So I do know she wasn’t always allergic. In her teens she got poisoned by a bad batch of barley that had a nasty bacteria  growing in it, throat swelling to ingesting glutens, and itching hives to ingesting nightshades manifested (means no peppers or potato’s either) confirmed by family 

Not sure I would call it a phobia , but the hyper risk aversion is an issue. We don’t buy meats because the prep tools can’t be verified, ungutted whole fish we can buy fresh, I hunt pigs and raise chickens and rabbits year round and shoot a  feral cow once a year. veggies we grow or buy, grow taro, cassava and breadfruit for starches, avacado tree supplements protein, can’t buy corns or rice do to the same commercial machines process wheat and barley and rye, or they are GMO, even most rice is shipped to California and reprocessed, pretty much we self pressure can and vacuum  store everything

I just can’t believe Gluten Free has to be this hard or the cross contamination risk is that high, and now my phone is somehow going to kill her with gluten cause I bought  a cheeseburger for lunch 

[knitty kitty]

Some mental health/brain health problems arise due to malabsorption of nutrients.  Deficiencies in some of the eight essential B vitamins can cause altered mental status.  

Pyridoxine B 6 and B12 deficiencies are linked to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  

Thiamine B 1 deficiency causes anxiety and panic attacks, difficulty with reasoning, altered mental states.  Niacin B 3 deficiency can cause irritability and altered mental states.

Cassava contains thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys Thiamine.  

Look into a B Complex supplement and additional Thiamine in the form of Allithiamine and Benfothiamin.

 

The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Psychiatry

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046018/

 

Thiamine Deficiency Disorders

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8451766/

Edited December 3, 2023 by knitty kitty
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[Wheatwacked]

Hi Steve,

That is not a phobia, it is self preservation.

5 hours ago, Steve P said:

bad batch of barley that had a nasty bacteria  growing in it, throat swelling to ingesting glutens, and itching hives

The simple solution is for you to break your own addiction to gluten.  Potentially in the future, if you have kids there is a high probability of them having Gluten Sensitivity.

    This book might give you insight to her attitude;