Allergic To Wheat Vs. Celiac

[azmom3]

You'd think I'd know this by now, but is it possible to have celiac disease and not be allergic to wheat? I understand celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, not an allergy and I realize you can be allergic to wheat and not have celiacs, but I'm curious if all celiacs are also allergic to wheat if tested by SPT or RAST or if their chances of being allergic are the same as everyone elses. I know they can't eat it regardless, but was wondering. Two of my kids have tested positive for wheat and also have elevated IgG, but the other numbers are normal. We will be going the biopsy route, but the waiting is killing me and I'm trying to think of every possible scenario here.

[chrissy]

yes!!----you can have celiac disease and not be allergic to wheat. one of my girls has had food allergy testing done and she is not allergic to wheat. (or barley, or rye)

[AndreaB]

I'm not IgE allergic to wheat but I am IgG delayed allergic.

[jerseyangel]

Most definately--I am Celiac, but tested negative to wheat via skin prick allergy testing.

[azmom3]

I'm not IgE allergic to wheat but I am IgG delayed allergic.

How did you find out you're IgG delayed allergic? And what exactly does that mean? That you react a couple days later instead of within hours? We had SPT and RAST for our older son and both came back positive but on the lower side. Our daughter just had RAST and was class 3 to wheat. Thanks for your help!

[Carriefaith]

I have celiac disease and I've also tested positive for wheat allergy.

[CMCM]

Remember that celiac disease is NOT an allergy. And certainly one could have both....i.e. celiac disease or gluten sensitivity in which the body mounts an autoimmune defense against the poison of the gluten in the digestive system, versus the allergy in which histamines are produced in reaction to the wheat. You can have one with or without the other. I don't appear to have wheat allergy at all.

[Helena]

Just to confirm--an allergy and celiac are two different things. According to my understanding, a celiac produces antibodies which attack the *body* (although I'm not sure what the antigliadins do). . . someone with an IgE-mediated allergy produces wheat-protein-specific IgE (and I am not certain, but I think that there are other proteins in wheat besides gluten that people who are allergic may react to) which may cause the body to release a host of inflammatory chemicals to try to destroy the protein.

Someone who is celiac but who does not have a wheat allergy will test negative on a skin prick test and will have a negative RAST test (although false positives are possible).

I have a mild wheat allergy *and* celiac disease---I guess the allergy was a blessing in disguise because I stopped eating wheat several years before I was tested for celiac. (My then allergist was at first very doubtful that I'd have a positive test seeing as I had been eating wheat all my life. But the SPT was positive. Then he ordered a RAST---that was positive too.)

some people with a severe wheat allergy react to rye, barley, oats too because they are all cross contaminated with wheat.