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Inhaling Gluten?

Coolclimates

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Coolclimates Collaborator
Coolclimates
Posted

Does anyone know if you can get gluten contamination through wheat being accidentally sniffed into your lungs? For instance, if you are in a kitchen that has flour and a few particles get sniffed up (as in pollen)? I know this is a weird question, but should you wear a paper mask when you have to be in the vicinity of gluten?

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kenlove Rising Star
kenlove
Posted

I;ve been extremely ill from flour in the air -- so much so that I cant go into many restaurants where they make bread or pizza dough.

I teach at our culinary school a few times a month and have to be scheduled at least 3 days after a bread class. We are all different so there is no telling what would happen to you but I hope you dont have to find out For me breathing flour in the air is much worse than accident ingestion.

good luck

Does anyone know if you can get gluten contamination through wheat being accidentally sniffed into your lungs? For instance, if you are in a kitchen that has flour and a few particles get sniffed up (as in pollen)? I know this is a weird question, but should you wear a paper mask when you have to be in the vicinity of gluten?

T.H. Community Regular
T.H.
Posted

OH yeah, that'll do it to you.

If it's inhaled, that means it's hit your throat, so there is going to be some of the gluten that makes it down to your stomach, almost without fail. I am very sensitive, and if I don't wear a paper mask near gluten (and a few other foods I'm sensitive to), then I bite the dust.

Does anyone know if you can get gluten contamination through wheat being accidentally sniffed into your lungs? For instance, if you are in a kitchen that has flour and a few particles get sniffed up (as in pollen)? I know this is a weird question, but should you wear a paper mask when you have to be in the vicinity of gluten?

rdunbar Explorer
rdunbar
Posted

I was working as a caterer up until this last december, and when I was near someone slicing bread for a big party the reaction would hit me like a frieght train, my nosr would start running in what seemed like only seconds, I would lose my balance to the point where I could barely even function, have a feeling like someone placed a vice on my head and was tightening it, and then have to make many trips to the bathroom. Also got into a venomous mood and sometimes lashed out at co workers.

I wised up and realized I was commiting suicide by doing that job and quit.

I'm sure I was getting CC from the gluten-free items I was eating on the job, but the reaction to breathing it in came on so suddenly I have zero doubts that these reactions were directly connected to doing so.

My local health food store has a pizza oven in the back, and they bake some other items so i try to do my shopping in the morning before they get going with thye baking. It's cool how many things you can do to tighten up your gluten free lifestyle. I try to view it as a game instead of a huge inconvienience, otherwise I would get so pissed off.

  • 3 months later...
Coolclimates Collaborator
Coolclimates
Posted
  • Author

so in other words, it would not be a good idea to work at a bakery unless the whole facility is gluten free? Or could I wear a filter mask? I know that's a weird thing to ask, but I'm a very good baker and i'm losing my other job and need some additional work and they are needing more bakers right now in my town. I suppose even if I wore a filter mask, the flour could still enter my airways and make me feel lousy. I'm thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to do these jobs (or any in food service that are not in gluten-free facilities).

K8ling Enthusiast
K8ling
Posted

I was working as a caterer up until this last december, and when I was near someone slicing bread for a big party the reaction would hit me like a frieght train, my nosr would start running in what seemed like only seconds, I would lose my balance to the point where I could barely even function, have a feeling like someone placed a vice on my head and was tightening it, and then have to make many trips to the bathroom. Also got into a venomous mood and sometimes lashed out at co workers.

I wised up and realized I was commiting suicide by doing that job and quit.

I'm sure I was getting CC from the gluten-free items I was eating on the job, but the reaction to breathing it in came on so suddenly I have zero doubts that these reactions were directly connected to doing so.

My local health food store has a pizza oven in the back, and they bake some other items so i try to do my shopping in the morning before they get going with thye baking. It's cool how many things you can do to tighten up your gluten free lifestyle. I try to view it as a game instead of a huge inconvienience, otherwise I would get so pissed off.

I love that philosophy! I think I am going to make it a game too :)

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

I love that philosophy! I think I am going to make it a game too :)

I play Iron Chef when I cook and shop. Today's challenge: the secret ingredient is to remove gluten. :)

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

so in other words, it would not be a good idea to work at a bakery unless the whole facility is gluten free? Or could I wear a filter mask? I know that's a weird thing to ask, but I'm a very good baker and i'm losing my other job and need some additional work and they are needing more bakers right now in my town. I suppose even if I wore a filter mask, the flour could still enter my airways and make me feel lousy. I'm thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to do these jobs (or any in food service that are not in gluten-free facilities).

No it would not be a good idea to work in a bakery. Even with a mask flour is going to get onto your clothes, hair etc. Unless you have very good OSHA approved mask, and those are very uncomfortable, you are still going to have particles that sneak around it. I know times are hard right now but I would look for a different position. Another option if you are a really good baker might be to look into starting a small gluten-free bakery. There are a lot of regs you have to follow to do it out of your home but at times a restaurant that doesn't bake it's own baked goods will allow someone to 'rent' out the kitchen when they are closed. That might be something to consider.

nora-n Rookie
nora-n
Posted

Here in europe they oficially say celiacs cannot work in a bakery with gluten.

I used to bake once a week or so at home, and I had to give it up (baking for other family members who tolerate gluten) as I get DH from inhaling, even when being very very careful with the flour.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

Does anyone know if you can get gluten contamination through wheat being accidentally sniffed into your lungs? For instance, if you are in a kitchen that has flour and a few particles get sniffed up (as in pollen)? I know this is a weird question, but should you wear a paper mask when you have to be in the vicinity of gluten?

You won't have a reaction if it hits your lungs but if it gets into your lungs, it's getting into your stomach so you will have a reaction. Anything like flour or anything that mists is insidious and you cannot inhale them without your stomach being involved. I know people who worked as bakers and had to leave their jobs because their antibody levels never went down. You could handle wheat bread safely if you wear gloves or wash your hands after but inhaling flour dust is a whole other ballgame.

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

I'm afraid your baking career is over unless you can find a job in a gluten-free bakery. There's just no way to avoid contamination.

richard

Coolclimates Collaborator
Coolclimates
Posted
  • Author

thanks for all your candid replies. My town is not big enough to support a gluten free bakery (plus there is already a group of them who sell their stuff at the farmer's market). But I am hoping to move to a larger city where there might be more options. I do the occasional catering (which usually involves baking with wheat flour) but like I said, it's very irregularly. My parents' house is where I do any glutenous baking (I won't allow it in my apartment). My dad does eat lots of bread and possibly the crumbs or the equipment that it's cut on could be giving me problems?

Like I said, I have no noticible symptoms is I'm glutened. I've never had any of the stomach problems, except for acid reflux. The main thing that is a problem for me (right now, anyway) is fatigue and just not sleeping well.

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      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
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      Contact them.
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