Is Asthma Celiac Related?

[Aleshia]

hi, my son has been coughing for a few months now off and on but it seems to be getting more frequent. I went to the dr. on jan. 12 and she asked if asthma runs in the family, I told her it does in my husband's family. anyway I took him in because of an ear ache today and the dr. looked in his ears and said they aren't infected that it is just the pressure and listened to his breathing again. she said she thinks it is asthma and put him on steroids to repair his lungs etc and gave us a script for an inhaler. I had seen something about asthma and celiac disease in the past but not sure what it was... is it a symptom or side effect? or just something related because of the allergy side of things?

[purple]

I want to see what others say about this. My MIL (70ish) has always had asthma and she bakes almost everyday. She has never been tested and my 2 dd's are both allergic to wheat. I am not allergic but my dh has allergies (dh not tested for wheat allergy/celiac).

[nasalady]

hi, my son has been coughing for a few months now off and on but it seems to be getting more frequent. I went to the dr. on jan. 12 and she asked if asthma runs in the family, I told her it does in my husband's family. anyway I took him in because of an ear ache today and the dr. looked in his ears and said they aren't infected that it is just the pressure and listened to his breathing again. she said she thinks it is asthma and put him on steroids to repair his lungs etc and gave us a script for an inhaler. I had seen something about asthma and celiac disease in the past but not sure what it was... is it a symptom or side effect? or just something related because of the allergy side of things?

Hi Aleshia,

The connection between celiac disease and asthma is thought to be the same as that between celiac disease and any other autoimmune disease. Celiac disease is probably the reason why I have SIX autoimmune diseases....including asthma!

The latest theories on the origins of autoimmune diseases in people who are genetically susceptible involve the cytokine zonulin which is over-produced by those with celiac disease. Zonulin makes the intestinal walls more permeable....in other words, zonulin opens up the intestinal wall and causes your gut to leak. This allows stuff from your intestine to get into your bloodstream where it doesn't belong. Stuff meaning viruses, bacteria, odd foreign proteins like gluten perhaps? Once in your bloodstream, these things trigger a reaction (or over-reaction) of the immune system. In some cases, the immune system goes haywire and starts to attack the organs and tissues of its own body.

This is a theory which is currently being studied by Drs. Feldman and Fasano; here is a link to a recent news article about Dr. Fasano:

Open Original Shared Link

and another link to the abstract of an article by Fasano:

Open Original Shared Link

So the bottom line is that people with any autoimmune disease should probably be tested to see if they have celiac disease, too.

I hope this helps!

JoAnn

[sugarsue]

I love a presentation I saw by Dr. Wangen who is from Seattle and wrote a book called Healthier Without Wheat or something like that. He lists Asthma as a sign/symptom of celiac/gluten intolerance. My boyfriend says he's allergic to wheat but still eats wheat. He has Asthma and it gets worse when he drinks certain types of beer but it does not always bother him when he eats bread, etc. I think he should cut out gluten and see if it makes his asthma better but he's not interested in trying at this point.

[sandejosgirl]

My two oldest kiddos have asthma and gluten-sensativity/celiacs. We are hoping there symptoms will respond better to treatment now that we are fully gluten-free. Allergist before just had us cut wheat/rye from our diet but now we are having to increase our inhaled steroids.

Another note, my husb. is also just getting diagnosis with celiacs (we aren't finished getting tested yet, but 3+ b.m. a day, come on!) and thinks he has had it since childhood (colic, fussy, skinny). He can't remember a time in his life without diarrhea. He also has had asthma since childhood and was hospitalized for an attack in childhood.

These are anecdotal, so not scientific examples, but since research backs us up!

Stephanie