Dermatitis Herpetiformis due to wheat straw?

[Steve Breland]

I have had Celiac with dermatitis herpetiformis for over 25 years but recently I have been working in a garden and had a bad dermatitis herpetiformis flare up on my arm. The only thing I can think of was that I was spreading wheat straw after hoeing the weeds in between the rows. I immediately noticed a burning on the skin of my right arm that was very irritating. I thought something had bitten me at first. Later that night and the following days it got worse with the dermatitis herpetiformis bumps forming. I believe that some of the wheat straw scratched my skin and caused my skin reaction. Is this possible, as I’ve never had a dermatitis herpetiformis reaction other than if I had eaten something with gluten in it? 

[Scott Adams]

In general wheat straw is considered to be gluten-free, as the protein is only found in the seed/grain part of the plant. The growing popularity of using wheat straws as actual drinking straws made me write to a company that made them to see if they are gluten-free, and below is their reply:

Quote

The only product that contains wheat is our range of Wheat Straws, and they are gluten free. They are made with the stem of the wheat, which naturally does not contain gluten.

Thanks for your interest in our compostable products,

Team Greenlid
Autom River Inc.
A: 180 John St, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1X5
www.mygreenlid.com

However, this study shows that there may be a risk:

 

[Sandy Barrett]

Hi Steve I can confirm that you don’t need to eat gluten to get a bad reaction.About two years ago I got a pair of young Polecats.I purchased a bale of barley straw to cover the floor of,their very large ,cage.As they are born semi wild they require a lot of handling when young.I spent many hours sitting on the floor of their cage playing with them.During that period I suffered the worst breakout of the rash I’d ever experienced and it lasted for a few weeks.It took a fellow celiac friend to suggest the fact that I was breathing in the barley dust was causing my flare up.I eventually agreed with his opinion as I changed their bedding to wood chips and my breakout eventually went away……..Cheers Sandy

[trents]

So, Steve, Sandy is suggesting that the wheat straw coming in contact with your skin that is the cause of your dermatitis herpetiformis outbreak but inhalation of any gluten residue contained in the straw. Even though the straw, itself, does not contain gluten, it is probably cross contaminated with a certain amount of the grain heads.