Anaphalactyc Shock? Epi Pen?

[strawberrygm]

i am sure i spelled the title wrong.

anyway.

i thought that celiac did not cause emergent reactions.

i was recently told that people have gone into anaphalatyc shock from consuming wheat and gluten. people who are celiacs. is this true?

does my dd need to carry an epi pen?

[psawyer]

Gluten intolerance, whether celiac or other, does not trigger anaphylactic shock.

A wheat allergy, on the other hand, could. It is not a common symptom, unlike peanuts, but it can happen to some people with the allergy.

It is possible to have celiac disease and also have an allergy to wheat. But that applies to a minority of people with celiac disease. So, I can't say for sure that you don't have a risk, but it is unlikely that you need to carry an Epi-pen.

[jayhawkmom]

We carry epi pens for both my daughter and younger son. However, it's not due to Celiac at all. My daughter IS one of the minority who is Celiac AND allergic to wheat. But, the wheat allergy isn't anaphylactic. She is, however, anaphylactic to peanuts... which is why we have the pens.

psawyer is right... celiacs don't need epi pens, unless they have food allergies or insect/environmental allergies that warrant it.

[April in KC]

It's not necessary to carry an Epi unless there is an IGE type allergy to wheat or other foods. Some other people with allergies to insect stings or cold urticaria, etc., also carry them. People with IGE allergies tend to have symptoms like hives and perhaps a history of eczema or asthma.

Some Celiacs do have both conditions - Celiac and a true food allergy to wheat (like the previous poster mentioned). The good news is that there are pretty reliable tests for food allergies (more reliable than Celiac blood tests). You can always make an appt. with an pediatric allergist and ask to have your daughter tested for alllergies to wheat or other gluten grains if it would put your mind at ease. Some use skin prick testing (SPT), others use a blood test called a RAST, CAPRAST or IMMUNOCAP. Both SPT and blood tests are acceptable testing methods in children over a year old. False negatives and false positives are both possible, but usually the results are pretty reliable and correspond to symptoms.

HTH!

[strawberrygm]

thank you all so much for your help!!

i feel much better now!!