<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Dear Everyone,
I posted this on August 4, 1998.

"One floor below my office is a mexican restaurant where they bake wheat
tortillas every day.  When the window is open I often get headaches and
other gluten symptoms. Is it really possible that I am sensitive to gluten
in the air? If this is really the case, and I hope it isn't, I guess I'll
have to move my seat somewhere else.  Easier said than done as my boss
might think I was going too far with the gluten business. "

The general consensus seemed to be that it's entirely possible that the
baking tortillas give me a reaction. As far as my boss goes, a lot of
people sent supportive messages saying how other people who don't have our
problem just don't understand. The real problem here is more with my
self-consciousness about this annoying disease and not wanting to have to
explain it to everyone constantly.  I doubt my boss would mind me moving as
generally she's pretty okay.

In any case, the solution was simple.  I just explained the situation re
celiac, etc. to the woman I share my office with and we close the window
whenever they start baking downstairs. Luckily they don't start baking
until late afternoon and my co-worker and I can put up with a stuffy office
for a couple hours.

Dan in Warsaw

Below are the summarized responses.

If there are wheat particles in the air and you are breathing them, then it
is possible you could be swallowing gluten and this could account for your
problems.

One of the purposes of moist mucous is to clean the air.  It has occurred
to me that if a person were to swallow instead of spit, the impurities
(i.e. sawdust, dust, flour dust, etc.) would be swallowed into the
digestive system.

Since some people are responsive to small amounts of gluten, it seems
logical to assume that flour dust in the air could cause a reaction.  As far
as strong odors of any kind, they often give me headaches.  I doubt that it
has anything to do with CD.  However, it is a fact.

If any flour is entrained in the air entering your working area, then by
the normal working of your body, you will be swallowing some of it.  There
may be enough to set off a GF reaction.

My nephew, in England (not a known celiac) went to work in a Pizza place but
withn two weeks he broke out in a rash of unknown origin, which I was not
able to see.  However the family is in denial about my gluten-intolerance,
and ignored my suggestion that it could be the flour.  I think there is a
real problem for you to be so close to it too.  >>>>!!I only have to smell
wheat bread to get a reaction!!!<<< (My emphasis - Dan)

When I thought about getting a job in a donut shop, I was advised against
it, as when you breathe in the flour dust, it goes into your mucous, which
is then swallowed.

If others are also bothered by the baking smells, even though it is only
slightly, I would consider another source of irritant besides gluten.  You
may be affected more because of an increased sensitivity.  Maybe it is a
spice they are using or perhaps the fuel for their ovens.
Also, try a small window fan or a small air filter on your desk.
There are certain plants that really clean the air.  Don't
know if it would help in this case, but worth a try.  Spider or airplane
plants are the best for removing toxins from the air and are easy to care
for.

Before my diagnosis with CD, when I was loaded with gluten, I got bowel
problems whenever I went into a supermarket which had a bakery, especially
when they were baking fresh bread.


It definitely is possible to be sensitive to gluten in the air.  My son is
allergic to wheat and gluten and several other things.  He has had allergic
reactions when I was cooking regular wheat pasta.

It goes the same for other things too.  I was advised against cooking eggs
in my house...even in baking because my son is allergic to eggs.  Just
cooking them will cause him to break out in hives.

See:   http://infoventures.microserve.com/osh/abs/bakg0002.html
A page from the baking industry on "Occupational Flour Exposure and
Screening for Coeliac Disease". Very interesting. From The Lancet.

I am one who will side with you on this one.
My family is super sensitive and react when the breeze blows our way :-)

Here's a study I found which may or may not apply to your case, but it is
something you may wish to consider.

>          Airborne Levels of alpha-amylase allergens in bakeries
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Alpha-amylase is an enzyme used in baking industry and has been reported as
>the most common cause of sensitization in bakery workers reported in 24 to
>34% of bakers with respiratory symptoms. This enzyme is a derivative of
>Aspergillus (fungus).
>
>This study looked the exposure level of bakery workers to this enzyme by
>measuring 507 personal samples of airborne dust taken in bakeries.  Allergen
>exposure level varied among bakery workers depending on the type of bakery
>and job category.
>
>In confectioneries no enzyme was detected. In other bakeries exposure was
>found in workers directly involved in dough making. Amylase exposure was
>also higher in the large industerial bakeries.
>
>Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, March 1997.

Don't worry what the boss thinks; protect your health at any cost. Yes, it is
entirely possible to inhale gluten. I now cannot let my gluten-eating family
members boil or cook anything with gluten in it in the house. I react to it
every time...stick to your guns; you won't be sorry!.


I am also sensitive to air borne gluten.  The smoke from charcoal briquettes
makes my eyes red for days.  I can't walk past a brewery without my eyes
burning either.  I really sneeze and cough when around drywall, which also
contains gluten.  I experience nausea when walking past bakeries, and I feel
sick when my co-worker eats something high in gluten in the cubical next to
mine.  I think gluten does become air borne.  It gets in the mouth while
breathing and gets swallowed.  If it is in large amounts, from inhaling it
all day long, I don't see why it couldn't cause your symptoms.

Your headaches are not your imagination.  I react when I pass the bakery in
the grocery.  I also had company a while back and we went to Italian
restaurants and pizza carry-outs for 3 straight days.  I avoided the
temptation, but I got headaches and digestive symptoms.

Flour stays in the air for over 36 hours!  You are breathing this in and
that's why it's giving you symptoms.  My daughter can't even go down the
bread aisle at the grocery store or the flour aisle for that matter.  You
are not taking this gluten thing too far.

Yes, it is quite possible.  If I even smell bread/gluten cooking my nose
starts to run, and if around it to long the sore throat starts in..
(this used to lead to strep before going gf).

I was at my allergy doctor's office earlier this week and the conversation we
had would confirm that you could have a reaction to odors from the bakery.  I
told him I had developed bronchitis after opening my bedroom window.  The
cottage cheese-yogurt factory about a mile from my home sprays their waste
water on fields to dispose of it.  About 2 years ago they added a field
closer to my home and occasionally I can smell the milk odor.  I've had to
get up at night and close the window.  I asked if this odor in the air could
contribute to my bronchitis problem.  The answer was a definite yes.  He went
on to explain how some people have reactions just to odors.  They do not need
to touch a substance with their bodies to have an allergic reaction.
Actually an odor comes from tiny particles in the air.