Kiss & Tell

[L.A.]

Is anyone else afraid to kiss people--like when you're leaving a party and people have been eating and drinking gluteny things all night--I find I avoid the full on contact kiss. My friend pointed this out and now I feel like the big paranoid celiac disease person. Thoughts?

[CarlaB]

I do the "just missed the lips, not quite the cheek" thing if it's with friends. My kids know to kiss me on the cheek if they've had gluten. Hubby eats gluten-free when he's around me for that reason ... he never wants to turn down a kiss!

[plantime]

I bump cheeks and make kissy sounds. My friends and family know and understand. We put more emphasis on hugs, anyway.

[happygirl]

Nope, not being paranoid.

Tell them to think of gluten like rat poison. Would they want to kiss you if you had just eaten a ton of rat poison? Would they be certain that no little bit could get on them?

[darkr]

Wow. I didnt even think of this.

I havent kissed anyone since my allergy to gluten, but wow.

Is there a way for them to wash their mouths or something?

[L.A.]

Wow. I didnt even think of this.

I havent kissed anyone since my allergy to gluten, but wow.

Is there a way for them to wash their mouths or something?

My hubby brushes his teeth and uses mouth wash after he eats anything with gluten--so we're good to go!

[CarlaB]

Is there a way for them to wash their mouths or something?

Yes, brush.

I've also read that allergens only stay in the mouth for an hour -- the saliva washes it out naturally. So, if it's been over an hour and a half (I add a safety margin), I'll kiss hubby. Generally, he just brushes his teeth when he gets home if he's eaten gluten.

[MistressIsis]

I recently visited my BF and he was drinking beer, everytime he went to kiss me, 1 of us would remember or at worst, he'd kiss me then let out oh Oh! shoot! and hand me a napkin with water. The reaction from people around us was hysterical(well to us) so he's learning but it;s hard to remember since there's usually at least 6 weeks between visits.

Although he is starting to read all labels.

It just takes some time.

[angelbender]

Sheesh.....I don't even want to THINK about dating and its ramifications. Maybe I could just place a personal ad as follows:

Aging spinster of a certain age: cute and will make you laugh alot; picky eater....won't eat out and

asks "what's in it" for every food, needs to tote along portopotty on date, reads Bible daily and has a home full of Teddy Bears, angels and books. Looking for great guy, any guy, unfraid of the above.

Okay, this is meant to be funny.....I'll keep working on it, lol

[CarlaB]

I recently visited my BF and he was drinking beer, everytime he went to kiss me, 1 of us would remember or at worst, he'd kiss me then let out oh Oh! shoot! and hand me a napkin with water.

There are good gluten-free beers our there. I hear that some restaurants and bars even carry them. Redbridge is made by Budweiser, so your favorite restaurant may be willing to carry it for you if they don't have it. That way he doesn't have to worry about the beer when he kisses you.

[Helena]

Yes, brush.

I've also read that allergens only stay in the mouth for an hour -- the saliva washes it out naturally. So, if it's been over an hour and a half (I add a safety margin), I'll kiss hubby. Generally, he just brushes his teeth when he gets home if he's eaten gluten.

A recent study shows that allergens can stay in the mouth for more than 1 hour . . .

Open Original Shared Link

They conclude: "Waiting several hours and ingesting a peanut-free meal were more effective at reducing salivary peanut protein concentration than simple, immediate interventions."

So in the case of peanuts, one's partner should wait a number of hours *AND* brush *AND* eat a peanut free meal.

Might be wise to play it safe with gluten as well. [sigh]

It is rare, but people *have* gone into anaphylactic shock on account of proteins (from foods) being passed through semen . . .wonder if gluten could get through that way? Would it matter?

While we're on the topic of body fluids and gluten, I was interested to read about the whole controversy about whether gliadins are passed through breastmilk. So now I'm wondering: what about regular milk? If there is wheat in the cow's feed, would drinking milk be harmful for celiacs? (Dairy is really important to my restricted diet so I don't know if I want to think about that one too much.)

[phakephur]

Sheesh.....I don't even want to THINK about dating and its ramifications.

angelbender,

you seem pretty new, so you might not have seen Open Original Shared Link

I've had a lot of anxiety about the dating scene, too. I just started a new relationship about 6 weeks ago and the gluten thing hasn't been much of a problem. This guy is a homebody like me so there's not a lot of pressure to go out. He doesn't cook and I do so that makes it easy. He still occasionally offers me stuff with wheat in it, but I don't feel so freakish when I refuse. I guess it just depends on the guy, because the gluten issue felt like a bone of contention in the last relationship. People always say "when you find the right person..." and I always thought that was b.s., but now it kind of seems true. Don't give up hope.

[CarlaB]

A recent study shows that allergens can stay in the mouth for more than 1 hour . . .

Open Original Shared Link

They conclude: "Waiting several hours and ingesting a peanut-free meal were more effective at reducing salivary peanut protein concentration than simple, immediate interventions."

This is also from that study

Most (87%) subjects with detectable peanut after a meal had undetectable levels by 1 hour with no interventions.

This was without even brushing. Since I don't have the risk of anaphylactic shock, that's good enough for me , and I wait a half hour extra just for good measure.

The general consensus around here is that gluten does not pass through semen.

The dairy question is a good one and I don't know the answer. I've never had a problem with dairy.

[Helena]

Thanks, Carla. I'm not as sensitive to gluten as a lot of people here . . . so I bet the 1 1/2 hour rule would work fine for me as well (I've haven't dated since before the celiac diagnosis.) But there's no way I'd kiss anyone 1 1/2 hours after eating anything I'm anaphylactic to.

Elsewhere on the board, gfp (aka Steve) indicated that cows are not fed wheat . . .not sure if they would be fed rye or barley or oats (?)