Gluten In The Air

[crittermom]

Hi All,

Would living in a town where there is a large scale factory be a problem? For instance, would gluten go in the air and make Katharine sick?

[crittermom]

Hi All,

Would living in a town where there is a large scale factory be a problem? For instance, would gluten go in the air and make Katharine sick?

An update... I spoke with the EQA which is the Michigan branch of the EPA. They have told me that through unannounced inspections, the factory exceeds EPA standards of .1 lb of particulate per 1000 lbs of exhausted air. That is just particulate which could be flour but may be other things. They use a recirculated system that pumps the air and particulates from the factory into a baghouse. In this facility all particulates picked up in the air in the factory are bagged and shipped out. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Kibbie]

I know there are some people that can get sick when walking into a bakery with flour in the air but I have never heard of anyone getting sick from just being outside (when it comes to gluten anyhow).

Now there may be other things in the air from a factory that might make her sick, chemical cleaning products...smoke... typical pollution stuff but not glutened.

[April in KC]

Hi - I will pass along my own experience with inhaled gluten. When I was first diagnosed and I was still very sick (presumably my antibodies were still very high) - just walking through the bread or flour aisle at the grocery store could send me on a desperate search to find the store's bathroom. It happened several times on different trips, so I know it was not a coincidence. We're talking urgency - sorry if TMI. Now, a year+ later, I no longer have that type of reaction to simply smelling bread - I actually enjoy the aromas of an Italian restaurant, etc.. So maybe when your antibodies are very high, you are sensitive enough to react, but when they calm down after going gluten-free, you can handle this type of exposure.

Things that go in the nose can make their way into the GI tract - so maybe it's just a matter of sensitivity. But my guess is inhaled particles in a person who is otherwise gluten free would probably not bother them much. Just a guess.

Not sure if that helps. If it hadn't happened to me personally I would find it rather implausible.

April

[Mom23boys]

I cannot speak specifically to gluten but...My husband cannot tolerate the artificial vanillin in many products. He works down wind of a General Mills plant. Most of the time he has no problems but there was one day when the air filtration system at his company went down. All the employees were enjoying the fresh baked smell of their chocolate cereal. After a couple hours of this he was having his vanillin reaction and had to come home.

Driving by doesn't seem to give the reaction. Limited outside exposure doesn't give the reaction. Extended exposure will give him a reaction.

I would think long term exposure to anyones sensitivities would create extra baggage for ones body to handle.