Nonfood Items...why Worry?

[carecare]

My dh recently has started a gluten free diet and is feeling great. I have printed off lists of allowable foods and see there are things such as detergent, makeup, deoderant, shampoos that are gluten free. I told my dh he should avoid these as well and he looked at me like I had a third eye..LOL. He said how can gluten put onto my skin effect my intestines? So...could someone please tell me the answer to this..LOL. He gave me this scientific answer to how it couldn't effect him...how it's what the wheat/grains are digested into that is what your body is reacting to...or soemthing like that...So you don't digest lotion or shampoos. How would gluten in non food items effect a gluten sensitive individual.

thanks

[Sweetfudge]

i'm not really too aware of the non-food items in my house, but i guess the concern would be 1) a possible DH problem, and 2) the possibility of inhaling something like detergent, or using a lotion on your hands and then preparing food. but i'm sure someone else will probably be able to clear this up better

[cruelshoes]

What gets on your hands or in the air can get into your mouth. The problem would not be absorbing gluten through your skin. It has to get into the digestive tract to harm you.

Have you ever touched your eye or face after putting on makeup (Not that DH wears makeup, but stick with me here )? Or have you ever put on some hand lotion? Then fast forward to lunch time (maybe you forget to wash hands) and you touch your sandwich? The gluten in topical products could certainly end up in your gut that way. Not a skin reaction, but a reaction to a topical product all the same.

You do have to watch your health and beauty products. I had to give up the moisturizer I like because it had oat protein in it. I have also heard of people reacting to toothpaste and hair products.

[pugluver31902]

My doctor told me that my skin is my largest organ. The gluten may not make it into my gut, but it will definitly seep into my bloodstream. Personally, I feel that since gluten is poison to me, I would rather not smear it on my skin, the same way I would not smear something harmeful like bleach or lysol all over my skin.

[loco-ladi]

I like the hand lotion analogy best.... but lets explain it like he can understand it......

your wife puts hand lotion on to make her hands soft and supple just like you enjoy, you hold your wifes hand it gets onto yours... you reach for a gluten-free tortilla chip and dunk it into the salsa while watching the big game and its now in your tummy.... and yes it would be your wifes fault.

[Guest j_mommy]

To me this subject is strictly personal choice. I don't have DH so maybe I'm not affected by it. I check my toothpaste and lipstick/chapstick and that's it. I use wheat containing shampoo, not sure about Laundry and lotions...haven't checked. My blood work was back to normal at my 6 month check.

If the person has DH I would be careful with topicals.

Each person is affected differently.

[hathor]

Your hands go into your mouth frequently, or touch things that go into your mouth. How often does one run and wash their hands after touching their hair, for instance?

I suppose different products bear a different potential for glutening. I stupidly continued with some hair gel, NOT washed off, that contains wheat protein. Once I realized this, I was very aware of how many times I touched my hair and my mouth. We talk about how gluten is hard to scrub off of cutting boards, colanders, scratched nonstick cookware, and the like. How hard is it to scrub off of all the little crevices around one's fingernails? The gel was meant to act like a glue, after all.

I felt better after I found a different product.

I don't think, if a substance is like poison to you, you should smear yourself with it, particularly not when there are alternatives. Why take the chance?