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Somebody wrote a couple of weeks ago to tell us that he KNOWS you can
absorb gluten through your skin because his wife has celiac-type
reactions and even anaphylaxis from topical gluten. He also said that
the fact patches work proves you can absorb gluten through your skin.
I wrote back disputing this but thought I'd post here, too. I am not
a medical expert and will be happy to hear if I've messed this up
somewhere.

It's my understanding that all the scientists who have looked at this
matter say the molecules that cause us problems are simply too large
to be absorbed through the skin. And even if they were how would they
end up in our small bowels? I probably have an imperfect
understanding of how nicotine and birth control patches work, but
it's my understanding that they work because the material being
absorbed has a much smaller molecular structure AND because the
patches are engineered to allow us to absorb the stuff. That does not
mean, however, that you can absorb just any old thing.

I also said that it sounded like his wife was having severe ALLERGIC
reactions to wheat exposure. Anaphylactic shock is a reaction to an
allergen. Allergy is different from celiac. In fact, anaphylaxis ALSO
includes numerous reactions that are just like celiac reactions,
including diarrhea, which he said his wife was also having. Unlike
with celiac, there's no question that people with severe allergies
can have bad reactions by touching or even just breathing the
allergen. I know somebody whose peanut-allergic child went into shock
when somebody who had just eaten peanut butter breathed on him. This
does not mean, however, that you absorbed it through your skin.

The best evidence we have today still says that gluten on the skin
for people with celiac but not an allergic reaction is a threat only
because you might accidentally get it in your mouth and swallow it.

richard

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