does anyone here have celiac?

[ijack]

like legit have it? I have a question.

[litasail]

My best friend does. What's the question?

[ijack]

does handling gluten make you sick? Nanny mentioned something about how she was scared that making cookies was going to make her sick and do something to the baby. I didn't realize it could be that bad (since I've seen her eat gluten and she's still alive).

[litasail]

I think it depends on how sensitive you are, but yes, my bff does have to avoid being around it. If she breathes in flour it can make her ill.

[y4m]

As I understand it you can't react to handling gluten by itself (this is one reason celiac is different than a wheat allergy--it has to be in the digestive tract). But if you handle gluten, you can cross-contaminate your fingernails, hands, etc. and get sick that way.

[ijack]

interesting. she had never mentioned it before she was pg and now I'm worried that we need to be more careful or something.

[ijack]

she's pretty good at making sure there isn't cross-contamination. this was just something she mentioned about pouring the flour into the bowl. Normally they bake GF stuff but they were making this for a family member and did regular cookies.

[FishChicks]

Just handling flour/gluten hasn't caused me any problems, but using the same toaster oven as my gluten-eating spouse has led to some serious digestive unhappiness. I think the cross contamination of my gluten-free bread was responsible.

[DazeyDee]

My little brother has celiac, and has it VERY severely. He had eliminated all gluten from his diet, and still wasn't feeling better. He couldn't figure out what was going on until he looked at his shampoo - it had wheat in it, and just the tiny little bit of the suds that would get into his system when rinsing his hair was making him sick.

He can touch bread or whatever, but is super careful to wash his hands immediately if he does so he doesn't have any accidental ingestion.

[MadamePresident]

I think that is a legit issue. We were making pizza at my aunt's house and all the flour in the air from the regular crust, got onto the gluten free pizza. Ditto on the toaster oven. My parents have two in the house, one is gluten free the other is regular.

[loveday]

Yes, I blister from it. I am considered a "super sensitive"

[Deleted]

Jul 6, 2012 13:41:00 GMT -5 ijack said:

she's pretty good at making sure there isn't cross-contamination. this was just something she mentioned about pouring the flour into the bowl. Normally they bake GF stuff but they were making this for a family member and did regular cookies.

Could you buy a big pack of disposable gloves that she could wear? We keep them around for chopping hot peppers, but I could see them being useful for something like that. Then she doesn't have to worry about it getting under her fingernails.

[ijack]

oh, great idea bridey thanks!

[Deleted]

My sis is celiac & actively avoids even just touching it.

[Deleted]

Oh & given how sick it makes you I could totally see being extra careful when pg. I know it can cause infertility...I am kinda amazed she got pg so "easily" with celiac.

[AAM2012]

I have celiac but I can handle bread on an occasional basis and am fine as long as I wash my hands afterwards. If I am handling flour or going through a bakery I do try to hold my breath. I know someone who had to quit his job in a restaurant because he would get sick constantly from handling and smelling the gluten particles (I dont' know if that's the appropriate word).

So it can happen. Everyone has different symptoms and some symptoms are more severe than others.