Wheat Allergy Vs Gluten Allergy

[Greentealady]

Is there a difference between a whet allergy and a gluten allergy? My daughter just found out she has an allergy to wheat but not sure if it all gluten food. We had the RABST food test done. She has bad acne and we had her tested because we thought this might be the reason. Interested in your thoughts?

Thanks

[Skylark]

What is RABST? Is it the same as RAST?

Wheat allergy is not the same as gluten-free, although products that are labeled gluten-free will also be wheat-free. She would need to be tested separately for barley and rye in order to know whether she has to avoid those as well. I hope going off wheat helps her skin.

Also, remember that a result on RAST doesn't always mean a person will react when eating the food. Your doctor probably explained this. If she goes off wheat and absolutely nothing changes, she may be OK eating it even though it came up on RAST.

Oh, and by the way, a "gluten allergy" is extremely rare. The part of wheat that celiacs react to is different from the part allergic people react to.

[irish daveyboy]

Is there a difference between a whet allergy and a gluten allergy? My daughter just found out she has an allergy to wheat but not sure if it all gluten food. We had the RABST food test done. She has bad acne and we had her tested because we thought this might be the reason. Interested in your thoughts?

Thanks

This Video may be helpful, one of the many Celiac related videos on my Website (access via my profile).

Open Original Shared Link

Best Regards,

David

[Jenniferxgfx]

Allergies are histamine responses to proteins, and there are 4 proteins in wheat: albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten(in). To my knowledge, allergy testing doesn't differentiate between wheat's proteins... Gluten allergy is a bit of a misnomer, but celiac/gluten intolerance is an autoimmune reaction to the presence of gluten specifically.

[Greentealady]

All of this is pretty darn overwhelming, I am so thankful all of you are here :-)

The RAST test only testing for wheat I think in regards to gluten. So am I mistaking when I say she has a gluten sensitivity since the paperwork came back and it said wheat?

[mushroom]

Yes. As the pp stated,an allergy is different from an autoimmune response. The RAST tests for allergies. Celiac is tested for by a specific celiac blood panel, which is usually followed up with en endoscopy with biopsy to check for physical damage to the intestine. It is possible to have celiac disease with or without a wheat allergy. It is possible to have a wheat allergy without celiac disease. It is also possible to have gluten sensitivity or intolerance, which is similar to celiac disease in most respects, but the testing and biopsies are negative. This may also occur with or without a wheat allergy.

[Greentealady]

[Wow please don't get frustrated with me as I ask some more detailed questions. This is so complicated. You have already given me way more then the doc did.

So.............

My daughter took the RAST test because she has had chronic acne. Went on Accutane and it helped but it began to have some serious side effects so we took her off it. This was a year and a half ago. Her acne stayed away for about 5 months. Now it is back. After a lot of research we decided to go gluten-free as it seems this can be a side effect. It did seem to get better,not sure if it was in our minds or not because we wanted it to be the answer.

Took the RAST test. It came back as a 1 for wheat and less then a 1 for peanuts. Everything else is fine.

Should I keep her off Gluten in general or just wheat??????

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE with my ignorance

[mushroom]

Since she is gluten free (how long?) she would probably test negative in celiac testing. You can try making a vegetable soup and adding barley to it, and feed her that several days in a row and see if she responds adversely. It is difficult to test rye specifically because it normally occurs along with other grains in breads. I don't know any use for it off hand apart from breads.

[Skylark]

Should I keep her off Gluten in general or just wheat??????

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE with my ignorance

Gluten is found in rye and barley as well as wheat. She is ONLY tested for wheat, not gluten, and the reaction the RAST test is measuring is almost certainly not to gluten but to another protein in wheat.

If I were her, I would eliminate rye and barley as well for a few months. Then try eating them again and see if the acne returns. Alternatively, you could get RAST testing for her for rye and barley if it's available.

[Jenniferxgfx]

I realized my science wasn't quite right. Gluten is a composite protein from both glutenin and gliadin.

Pardon my pickiness.