Consider Adhesives

[Gutsy Girl]

This week, I was thinking about adhesives. I know...I think of the oddest things! But I was thinking about adhesives as they relate to gluten content and Celiac Disease. I have a hunch that we don't often realize how gluten can permeate so many different products we use, though my guess is that those who have DH might be more aware than me (since I don't get DH).

Maybe those with DH have already thought through all of this? But this was, for me, a light bulb moment.

Consider the following products:

* Envelope adhesives (Don't Lick Them - use a sponge!! Better yet, buy the ones with the strip that you tear off to expose adhesive and minimize contact with your body...then wash your hands after).

* Stamps that have adhesive on the back...wash your hands again (or at least after you've sealed the envelope and stamped it and put it in the mailbox).

* Stickers of any kind, including those on products you buy, price tags, food items.

* Sticky notes (different brands will have different adhesive formulas)

* Glue

* Food packaging - especially if you live in a mixed gluten and gluten-free diet household! Its possible that meats in those vacuum sealed zip bags could have gluten in the adhesive. I'm especially careful to wash my hands after touching those vacuum sealed bags that are "resealable".

* Ladies, consider adhesives on your feminine products!! Wow...that could be a real bummer.

Anyways, those are just some thoughts bumping around in my brain this week.

Cheers!

[ravenwoodglass]

This week, I was thinking about adhesives. I know...I think of the oddest things! But I was thinking about adhesives as they relate to gluten content and Celiac Disease. I have a hunch that we don't often realize how gluten can permeate so many different products we use, though my guess is that those who have DH might be more aware than me (since I don't get DH).

Maybe those with DH have already thought through all of this? But this was, for me, a light bulb moment.

Consider the following products:

* Envelope adhesives (Don't Lick Them - use a sponge!! Better yet, buy the ones with the strip that you tear off to expose adhesive and minimize contact with your body...then wash your hands after).

* Stamps that have adhesive on the back...wash your hands again (or at least after you've sealed the envelope and stamped it and put it in the mailbox).

* Stickers of any kind, including those on products you buy, price tags, food items.

* Sticky notes (different brands will have different adhesive formulas)

* Glue

* Food packaging - especially if you live in a mixed gluten and gluten-free diet household! Its possible that meats in those vacuum sealed zip bags could have gluten in the adhesive. I'm especially careful to wash my hands after touching those vacuum sealed bags that are "resealable".

* Ladies, consider adhesives on your feminine products!! Wow...that could be a real bummer.

Anyways, those are just some thoughts bumping around in my brain this week.

Cheers!

I have DH and found out the hard way about pads and panty liners. Yes that is a big ouch and not a nice area for a DH outbreak. I know it sounds silly but I used to sandwich them between two pairs of panties but now use ones that can be washed and have no adhesive.

I also have issues with some bandaids. I use the Top Care fabric ones with no issues. The ones that oddly enough cause me the most problems are the ones for sensitive skin.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I have DH and found out the hard way about pads and panty liners. Yes that is a big ouch and not a nice area for a DH outbreak. I know it sounds silly but I used to sandwich them between two pairs of panties but now use ones that can be washed and have no adhesive.

I also have issues with some bandaids. I use the Top Care fabric ones with no issues. The ones that oddly enough cause me the most problems are the ones for sensitive skin.

Oh My Goodness! Thank you for mentioning this! I have had problems with bandaids for the last few years. I'm at the point where I don't use them--I usually can stop a cut from bleeding with a gauze held on it for a while. I've tried Band-aid brand, Curad and Nexcare and they all gave me a terrible rash. The area where the bandaide was stuck on my skin would be worse than the cut or scrape I put the band-aid on. I had given up, but I will look for the Top Care fabric ones ones for next time I have a cut that is really bad and not healing.

Just out of curiosity does anyone know if that liquid skin stuff is safe? I used that for a while, but when I was really sick I started to eliminate as many "chemicals" as possible from my life (Being glutened felt like I was being poisoned at times). Now I wonder if the liquid bandage stuff glutened me worse than the food.

[kwylee]

So sorry, very new to being gluten and casein sensitive and all the "lingo". What is meant by DH?

[psawyer]

DH in this context refers to Dermatitis Herpetiformis, the skin condition associated with celiac disease.

[lynnelise]

Thanks for the band-aid tip! Band-aids break me out something terrible. You can see the outline of the band-aid for at least a week after I remove it and it itches like mad!

[rdunbar]

Thanks for starting this thread. I've been wanting to ask people what they know about the adhesive used for the labels on my oliveoil bottles, like labels on a wine bottle. I decided to be very careful when I wash off the label and adhesive because I reuse the bottles for water; I wear rubber gloves, scour the sink afterwards with comet

was just curious. I would imagine there would be gluten in the adhesive

and what about the little stickers on apples ect...? I've just been playing it safe and slicing them right off

has anyone checked into this?

[macocha]

I knew about envelopes, but didn't even think about this. My son doesn't have DH that I know of..he used to get dry skin pretty bad, but not so much anymore, but band-aids...wow - never would have thunk...lol

[Gemini]

Thanks for starting this thread. I've been wanting to ask people what they know about the adhesive used for the labels on my oliveoil bottles, like labels on a wine bottle. I decided to be very careful when I wash off the label and adhesive because I reuse the bottles for water; I wear rubber gloves, scour the sink afterwards with comet

was just curious. I would imagine there would be gluten in the adhesive

and what about the little stickers on apples ect...? I've just been playing it safe and slicing them right off

has anyone checked into this?

Adhesives 101 (updated):

Adhesives found on fruit, on envelopes and stamps are perfectly safe. This is another subject that people become confused on. It's understandable if you are newly diagnosed but an area that should be learned because it saves a lot of trouble and anxiety.

With fruit all you have to do is peel off the sticker and wash the fruit. I always wash fruit because, quite frankly, I am more skeeved about other people touching fruit and who knows where their hands have been? Gluten is the last thing I worry about with regards to that. Those stickers are perfectly safe and most of the updated information I have read on Celiac states so. It's an urban legend that just won't die.

Stamps and envelops made in the US are made using corn, not wheat, so are perfectly safe to lick also. However, as so many products are made in China these days and labeling laws do not apply to non-food products, you need to check source of origin for those. I have yet, in 5 years, to get sick from any stamp or envelop and I get sick from the tiniest amounts of gluten, so I would know. This has also been updated and in 2010 America, are deemed safe.

Plain, old soap and water do just fine for washing away anything suspicious on plates, hands, etc. You do not have to wear gloves or scour your sink afterwards, unless you have a contact allergy to wheat. Believe it or not, DH outbreaks are not caused by touching gluten....for all Celiac problems, wheat has to be ingested into the gut. The only way a person is going to break out in a rash is if they have an allergy to wheat...Celiac is an internal reaction. Both problems are common and I would suspect that anyone suffering from DH would also have other skin issues involving wheat.

I would suggest reading Dr. Peter Green's book: Celiac Disease: The Hidden Epidemic. It covers a lot of material and should be read by every Celiac out there. Try to go to a reputable source like this for information on what is safe and what is not because there is so much misinformation out there. It will save you a lot of time and worry and I have found everything in that book to be 100% true. It's not as bad as it used to be and much easier to find the correct information on what to do.

[mushroom]

I am allergic to paper tape - no idea what kind of adhesive they put on it. I once had a breast biopsy where the doc didn't suture me at all, just glued me back together with paper tape all over my breast (back before they started using surgical glue). It itched like the dickens and I eventually developed hives all over my body from that damned tape. Never let them use that again

However, I recently had a bad gash on my leg from the sharp point of a car door, sutures wouldn't hold, they were having problems with steri strips. Eventually after a very complicated taping procedure with elastotape around the wound drawing it together (which I have never had any problem with) they got the steri strips to hold and then glued them on with surgical glue. I didn't even think to wonder about what was in THAT glue, but it was fine And obviously the steri strips were fine too.

[YoloGx]

I always thinly slice off the labels on vegetables etc. and don't lick the envelopes etc. Call me chicken. However, I figure I have enough problems without having to worry about CC from the cornstarch. I doubt they get it from a "pure" source.

Similarly, I worry about the "Natural Flavors" in the otherwise grain-less cat food I get (EVO Ancestral Diet). So I always wash my hands after feeding the cat...

In addition, I have reacted very badly to various building materials like Fix-All, floor vinyl glue, pre-mixed wood fill (when sanded), pre-mixed plaster for patching walls etc. etc. Including sheet rock (the powder when cutting or dismantling), and even plywood (the sawdust--the stuff is glued together). It all has starch in it. You guess what kind... Yes, I do know this from hard trial and error since I am a property manager of several old houses... I have discovered I have to wear a heavy duty mask now when we are at the demolition and/or clean up stage due to the gluten dust in the air. NOW when we need to fix a wall we use straight plaster of paris whenever possible.

Bea

[ravenwoodglass]

Believe it or not, DH outbreaks are not caused by touching gluten....for all Celiac problems, wheat has to be ingested into the gut. The only way a person is going to break out in a rash is if they have an allergy to wheat...Celiac is an internal reaction. Both problems are common and I would suspect that anyone suffering from DH would also have other skin issues involving wheat.

The NIH would disagree with you on this one.

Open Original Shared Link

"People with celiac disease can

[YoloGx]

The NIH would disagree with you on this one.

Open Original Shared Link

"People with celiac disease can

[Lisa]

The NIH would disagree with you on this one.

Open Original Shared Link

"People with celiac disease can’t eat foods or use items with gluten in them."

"You will learn to check labels of foods and other items for gluten. If you eliminate gluten from your diet, your small intestine will heal. If you eat gluten, or use items that contain gluten, you will harm your small intestine."

Due to the fact that non-food gluten items can find their way into your mouth (i.e. lipstick), as well as cross contact and lack of sufficient hand washing.

Open Original Shared Link

Those who react topically to gluten, have a gluten allergy.

It is possible to have Celiac Disease as well as a gluten allergy.

It is possible to have DH as well as a gluten allergy.

Adhesives:

Open Original Shared Link

Question: Is there gluten in envelope glue or stamps?

Answer: No, there is no gluten in envelope glue, according to the international Envelope Manufacturers Association. The Association's website says: "Remoistenable adhesives are derived from corn starch and do not contain wheat or rye gluten."

Furthermore, in the Fall 2007 issue of Gluten Free Living, Amy Ratner reported, "There are actually only a few envelope glue manufacturers in the United States. National Starch & Chemical, a New Jersey company, is one of the largest adhesive suppliers in the world. A company spokesperson says it makes its glue from corn, which is gluten free."

As for stamps, a Post Office spokesman told Ratner there's no gluten in stamp glue either. At any rate, the ingredients in stamp adhesives are much less of an issue, since the vast majority now have pressure adhesive glue and can be pressed onto your mail without the need to lick them.

[rdunbar]

the problem with any kind of processed corn is that is contaminated with gluten always. it is harvested with the same machinery as wheat, stored and processed in the same facilities as wheat is, so it's just always contaminated enough to be harmful. I stopped eating any kind of processed corn, chips, tortillas over a year ago, and I noticed my DH improved afterwards,

[irish daveyboy]

I knew about envelopes, but didn't even think about this. My son doesn't have DH that I know of..he used to get dry skin pretty bad, but not so much anymore, but band-aids...wow - never would have thunk...lol

Just to assure people THERE IS NO GLUTEN in envelope adhesives...FACT!

Extract from Gluten in Adhesives.

Envelope Manufacturers Association

The frequently asked questions page of the website of the Envelope Manufacturers Association www.envelope.org/page/6692/ states the following:

Is there Gluten in envelope adhesives?

Remoistenable adhesives are derived from corn starch and do not contain wheat or rye gluten.

National Starch

According to a company representative from the starch biomaterials division of National Starch, corn starch is most often used in the adhesives on stamps, envelopes, and stickers. The representative I contacted was not aware of wheat starch being used in these applications.

H.B. Fuller

According to a company representative, pressure sensitive adhesives (i.e., self-adhesives) are made from synthetic polymers versus starch and therefore do not contain gluten. Adhesives that require moisture, such as lickable stickers and envelopes are made from dextrin. Most of the time the dextrin is corn or potato-based, not wheat-based.

Open Original Shared Link

Best Regards,

David

[psawyer]

Some myths just keep going and going. Thank you for posting this, David.

[Gutsy Girl]

Hey, ya'll - thanks so much for the clarification!!

At least now I know there are a FEW less things I feel like I have to be PARANOID about.

Though I must say, I'm becoming more and more suspicious of gluten contamination in what are normally considered "safe" grains because of harvesting, transport, and storage procedures.

Now that some have mentioned band-aids, I'm beginning to wonder if that's why I break out in such a bad rash when I use my adhesive multi-day TENS unit electrodes. Hmmm. Never thought of that before. I'll try to contact the manufacturer.

Thanks for your patience in dealing with a newly-diagnosed Celiac whose been gluten-free since July 2009. I have SO MUCH to learn. THANKS!

[macocha]

thanks, David for posting that! I will no longer worry about that! appreciate the info!

[dilettantesteph]

I still think that I have been glutened by licking envelopes. Since the adhesive is made from corn, I wonder if I could have been reacting from wheat contamination of the corn.

[schelbo]

OMG!!! I have been suffering from DH since I was a kid. Unfortunately, I didn't know what it was until a couple of years ago. It traveled from one spot on my body to another. Doctor's misdiagnosed me for years and tried to treat the symptoms instead of the root cause.

I figured iodine had something to do with it because everytime I ate seafood I would have a really bad bout lasting months sometimes. After I was diagnosed properly, I googled DH, saw that it mentioned iodine and thought ( Yep, no more shellfish, ever!). Then after avoiding shellfish for quite some time I kept having breakouts. A few months ago I started breaking out REALLY BAD downstairs. I started drinking a lot of beer a few months ago when the weather turned warm. Googled DH again and saw how they associated this didease with celiac disease. I have also been diagnosed with asthma due to severe coughing outbreaks.( Starting to think it's not asthma at all, but another syptom of DH or celiac disease) This makes for a very weak bladder, so I've been wearing a pad non-stop for quite some time now. I never thought of adhesives in the feminie products I use.

I was wondering if anyone else w/ DH has experienced this.