Wheat Allergy

A wheat allergy is one of the most common food allergies. Most common in babies and toddlers. A wheat allergy can affect anyone. Adults can develop a wheat allergy later on in life. Some children who suffer with wheat allergies may grow out of them by the age of 16 years old.

A wheat allergy is when your immune system overreacts to you inhaling or ingesting wheat. There are four different proteins in wheat that can cause an allergic reaction. They are albumin, gliadin, globulin, and gluten. A wheat allergy is different from gluten sensitivity because your symptoms are brought on from your immune system attacking the wheat proteins.

It is also different from celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. It can sometimes be hard to diagnose which one of these you may suffer from, because a lot of the symptoms of these three conditions overlap.

Symptoms Of A Wheat Allergy

Symptoms or reactions from a wheat allergy can range from mild to severe. They will also vary from person to person. You could have all of these symptoms or you could only have a few. Most of the time reactions will occur quickly after exposure within minutes to a few hours. In some cases though it can take up to 48 hours for symptoms to appear.

Symptoms include hives, rash, stomach cramps, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, sneezing, runny nose, headache, wheezing, and inflammation.

Wheat allergies can also cause anaphylaxis. Symptoms of anaphylaxis are tightness of throat, chest pain, difficulty breathing, trouble swallowing, pale, blue skin, and dizziness.

Diagnosis

There are a couple of different ways you can be diagnosed with a wheat allergy. An allergist can perform a skin test. This is where they will prick your skin, then pour a tiny solution containing the wheat proteins into the prick. They will let the solution sit on your skin until a reaction occurs.

Doing a blood test to check for specific allergy causing antibodies for the most common allergies can test for a wheat allergy.

A food challenge test is another way. This is done in a controlled environment, where you eat a little bit of wheat at a time until you have a reaction. This can help your doctor know what your threshold is for how much wheat your system can handle before having a reaction.

Your doctor may also suggest that you keep a food diary. Writing down everything you have to eat and if you suffer from any symptoms and when those symptoms started.

A food elimination diet can also be helpful. Eliminate all wheat in your diet for at least 4 weeks. After that you will add a tiny bit of wheat into your diet, if you have reactions, you will know it was the wheat that was causing your symptoms.

Treatment

The best thing to do if you have a wheat allergy is to avoid foods that contain wheat. There are some foods that you may not think should have wheat in them. Becoming an expert food label reader will be important with a wheat allergy.

Foods that contain wheat are bran, bread crumbs, bulgur, cereal extract, club wheat, couscous, cracker meal, durum, einkorn, emmer, farina, farro, freekah, hydrolyzed wheat protein, kamut, matzah, pasta, seitan, semolina, spelt, sprouted wheat, triticale, vital wheat gluten, wheat germ oil, wheat grass, wheat protein isolate, whole wheat berries. Flour such as all purpose, bread, cake, durum, enriched, high gluten, high protein, instant, self-rising, steel ground, stone ground, and whole wheat.

Unexpected foods that contain wheat are soy sauce, ice cream, hot dogs, vegetable gum, ale, batter-fried foods, breaded foods, candy, crackers, potato chips, rice cakes, salad dressings, sausages, spices and turkey patties.

Shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and cosmetics can also contain wheat.

Reading a food label, if the product contains gelatinized starch, gluten, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, natural flavorings, starch, modified starch, or vegetable gum, those products can contain wheat.

There are flour substitutions that your doctor will be able to tell you if they are safe for you to use. Rice flour, potato starch flour, and corn flour can be alternatives.

Antihistamines can help in reducing symptoms caused by an allergic reaction if you accidentally come in contact with wheat.

If you have severe reactions to your wheat allergy, your doctor may prescribe you with an epinephrine pen. This is to be administered if you were to go into anaphylaxis. It quickly reverses the effects. It almost immediately can make you feel better. Using an epinephrine pen can cause side effects such as anxiety, dizziness, dry mouth, headache, increased sweating, nausea, and racing heart rate.

Takeaway

A wheat allergy can be challenging. So many things contain wheat. It can seem difficult to eat out at restaurants to make sure you don’t get any accidental exposure. Symptoms can range from mild to severe.

Don’t self diagnose yourself, ask your doctor to help you get tested so you know if you truly have a wheat allergy. There are ways to diagnose, ways to help you avoid and substitute other non wheat options, and medications to help manage symptoms in case there ever is an accidental exposure.

A wheat allergy is different from gluten sensitivity! #HealthSurgeon

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