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*Is there cigarette smoke in these places?  My guess is that you may be
getting too much of the second-hand smoke (unless you, too are a smoker).
Anyway, if these are smokey places, try taking a decongestant before going
out.  It sure works for a lot of people.

*I wonder if it isn't smoking that bothers you.  From what I've noticed,
any places where drinking occurs in Europe, there is always a lot of
second hand smoke.  It bothers me a lot!

*I doubt if contact with the skin would cause a gluten attack since, as I
understand it, the gluten is too large to pass through the skin. There
has been a lot of discussion on this board about shampoos with gluten
causing a problem and the concensus is that it can't happen.
Obviously if you drink from a glass that was not washed well there could
still be gluten residue. Also, kissing someone who has just had a beer
could cause the problem also.

*I suspect kissing your boyfriend is one of your problems.  My boyfriend
and I have talked about the issue of kissing and I posted a question on
the list about it, with the result that everybody does it differently.
When we go out, he often stays gluten-free if he can, and if he can't, he
brushes his teeth before we kiss if he's been eating gluten, or at least
rinses his mouth out if he's been drinking gluten.  Be aware that your
partner can be a source of contamination, but I take the responsibility
and it works out well... in fact, he's often willing to take more
responsibility than me!

*You can have a reaction from hair and skin products, why not from
touching someone's beer stained lips or having it spill on you.

*I don't have an answer for you but I can't imagine getting ill from the
"fumes" of beer.  I actually drink Heineken on occasion without a
problem.

*I can't tell you exactly what's going on, but it sounds at least partly
psychological. You cannot have a gluten reaction simply by touching beer.
You cannot absorb it through your skin this way. Somebody out there is
going to write and tell you that you're absorbing it through your skin
but they are just flat out wrong. Can you absorb beer through your skin
and get drunk? Of course you can't, and you can't get gluten poisoning
that way, either. You CAN get it by kissing somebody who just drank some.
Although you could be getting beer into your mouth somehow, which would
make you sick, it sounds like you might be talking yourself into feeling
bad simply because you're around so much beer. I sometimes feel ill just
being around a lot of bread even though I'm not eating it.

*You have to consume beer for it to have any effect on you.  Touching it,
or having it on your skin, or being in a place where beer is served, will
not do it.
Maybe you are eating something else (gluten) to have these symptoms.

*I don't think you're paranoid (well, no more than the rest of us anyway
:)), because gluten must be ingested to be a problem, but strange things
do happen from time to time. You are obviously very gluten-sensitive and
you know what you have to do to stay well. You don't say how long you've
been gluten free, but the problem will problem lessen the longer you are
gluten free.

*No, you are not being paranoid. Beer, as you are probably aware, is made
from malted barley and if you are a coeliac, drinking this would pose a
major problem. Coeliacs must avoid anything with gluten in it, that is:
wheat, rye, barley and oats, so if you are very sensitive to gluten, just
smelling that beer could make you ill as it still gets into your system.
____

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