Airborne Gluten--How Much And Where

[Strawberry-Jam]

heya. I don't know if I am super-sensitive nor not. I am gluten-free 9 months and am deteriorating rather than improving, however. I am currently researching co-morbidities, low stomach acid/lazy pancreas, and fat malabsorption.

however, i've gotten to the point where I am hella paranoid. I started wearing a surgical mask on my walk to work in order to avoid people's second-hand smoke which was bothering me a lot. They'll just light up on the street and if you're stuck behind them for any length of time you get several full breaths of smoke. my walk is an hour long and usually involves anywhere from five to a dozen cigarettes... so I don't care if I look like a dork, I have really bad acid reflux and I don't want your second-hand smoke, thank you very much.

and then I got to wondering if I ever got glutened in a grocery store? Because every. single. grocery. store. in. Ireland. bakes its own bread and has huge sections with unwrapped gluten breads, or strong-smelling delis. the bread aisle always has a really strong "BREAD!" smell, and I have to pass it to get to the gluten-free stuff, eggs, or the meats section. And lots of grocery stores put the gluten-free items in the normal bread aisle.

today I wore my surgical mask into Dunnes to buy some sunflower/pumpkin seed mixed bags, which were next to the huge unwrapped bread section/bakery/deli. Even thru my surgical mask I could smell the BREAD!! smell. I get the smell walking past bakeries, sandwich shops, and certain cafes as well, but only for a second or two, and I'm outside the door so surely that's not as bad as what it's like in these grocery stores.

surgical masks only cost 16 cents each at the pharmacy. I'm going to write "ALLERGIES <3" on my mask so that people giving me funny looks don't think I have TB or something...

[lovegrov]

Surgical masks will NOT stop smells from coming through. They're designed to stop germs and solid particles, not smells.

The vast majority of people with celiac have absolutely no need for a surgical mask, but it's certainly your choice. Masks are common in some societies, particularly in Asia.

richard

[Strawberry-Jam]

no I know it won't stop smells, but surely it would stop particles of flour from the bakeries in the grocery stores, right?

and cut down on my exposure to second-hand smoke.

[Di2011]

My rather nasty experience working in a bakery has made me physically and mentally VERY intolerant to airborne. I try to avoid walking in the bread/bakery areas in stores. The few times I have handled gluten-free flours haven't given me any trouble but I have come out of some stores in a mighty mess. The stuff needs to be rounded up and incarcerated permanently