Is it possible for gluten to transfer into the air and harm a celiacs sufferer?

January 9, 2008 11:24 PM

Is it possible for gluten to transfer into the air and harm a celiacs sufferer?

I work at a pizza franchise and they use a semolina and flour based product to coat the dough for tossing and prepping. I was recently diagnosed with celiacs disease and I'm trying to figure out if this could be adding to my continuous health problems. Could the gluten transfer to the air and be harmful to me through my lungs instead of my stomach? The manager did inform me that the flour and semolina is constantly in the air and ventilation because of the high volume of pizza tossing flour flying everywhere.

posted by isopropyl to health & fitness (7 answers total)

Flour dust that settles in your sinus and throat may eventually get swallowed and end up being digested. Depending on how sensitive you are, the effect could be tolerable to unmanageable.

Will your manager let you wear a dust mask? Even if you could wear a mask, working with one in a hot environment like a pizza parlour might be uncomfortable, unfortunately — I don't know if there are some masks that would be more comfortable than others.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:48 PM on January 9, 2008

Could the gluten transfer to the air and be harmful to me through my lungs instead of my stomach?

No, the gluten protein irritates and causes inflammation in the cells in the lining of your small intestine. Gluten protein itself will not irritate your lungs, or travel from your lungs to your small intestine.

Some airbourne flour, however, will be trapped in the mucus in your nose and throat and can be swallowed, entering your digestive tract through that path.

But much as any other dust, breathing in flour or any other particulate matter will irritate your respiratory system, though this irritation will be uncorrelated with your gluten allergy.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:58 PM on January 9, 2008

Yeah what they said. (Do you sneeze or come home with flour up your nose?) BUT do you eat or drink anything at work? Gluten is in sauce, chips, lollies... everything. Bite your nails? Chew on pens? Do you put ANYTHING in your mouth at work?
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 3:50 AM on January 10, 2008

In addition to wearing a mask, you may also want to wear gloves or thoroughly wash your hands and face after work, so that you don't inadvertently contaminate your own food and drink with residual flour from the workplace.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:00 AM on January 10, 2008

IANAD. And a lot of doctors aren't very clued in about celiac and how to live a GF lifestule - there're lots of horror stories about people being ill for decades, and no doctors being able to diagnose the problem. I've heard of very sensitive people breaking out in rashes just being in the same kitchen as potatos or eggs that they were allergic to. It probably depends on the person, but since you're recently diagnosed, you probably don't know.

Perhaps best to pose this question to a GF forum. http://www.celiac.org/connections.php

It'll take a while for you to learn to really keep gluten out of your diet anyway, but probably best not to be inhaling it while you're trying to avoid gluten and get used to living GF.

Depending on how much you like your job, and how good a relationship you have with your employer, it may be worthwhile to see whether you can take a leave of absence for a few months, with a commitment that you can have your job back when you return. I'd suggest lining up another job first, being open with your boss about the fact that you're going to try removing yourself form the wheat-filled environment. If this impacts your ability to work, you're potentially protected by the ADA. Luckily, your skills are probably transferrable to less-gluten-filled workplaces.

Good luck!
posted by quinoa at 9:54 AM on January 10, 2008

Sometimes gluten allergies are only the tip of the iceberg, see if you can get some mold or biotoxin testing (biotoxins are the types of infections that the body doesn't know how to get rid of) especially if you think you've been exposed to it, or have had any where you reside. I feel that a diagnosis is never something to be set in stone, and you should always check to see if other doctors have differing opinions. I'm not sure how much testing you've had done, just I remember reading that mold illness is often initially diagnosed as gluten intolerance.

I really think there's been a rash of bad mold strains around recently...the weather being the way it is (and the amount of gastro-intestinal threads popping up on ask-mefi as of late). How long have you had the symptoms of Celiacs Disease?
posted by samsara at 11:40 AM on January 10, 2008

Baker's asthma is the term for problems from airborne flour - it's well described, and there's a lot of interest in whether or not this kind of sensitization is related to celiac disease. Consensus seems to be that it probably is, and that the exposure is certainly bad for known celiacs, but don't take my word for it; read some of these links.

Why do people who know nothing comment on these threads at all, I wonder? Does it make them feel special?
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:23 PM on January 10, 2008 [1 favorite]