Does wheat make Asthma worse

[Jokir007]

Iv had Asthma 20 years but for some reason things change drastically last year with and bad attack hospital admittance and complete change of medication.

Taking many months to feel normal. If you know what I mean.

Then find we are in September and things start to deteriorate after Flu jab.

Apologise for going on a bit...

Struggle on with visits to GP increasing inhalers nebulising steroids etc, now awaiting consultant appt.

During last summer had private allergy testing carried out and found I was wheat intolerant strange I thought. But started to look for alternatives.

Have done this for a number of weeks.

Since being unwell have stayed home from work as really not been able to walk around with out the constant coughing which has progressivly got worse. I have been taking my tablets with Brichol each morning. Only dawned on me this could be part of my problem.

As Iv not had as much wheat for many weeks, now as not being able to get out as much eating anything which has included wheat based products could I be causing my Asthma to be worse??

Iv since stopped all wheat again and only time will tell.

[Orbitolina]

Did you have a proper allergy test or just one that looks at certain antibodies? Most of those tests will come back positive for everyone who'd ever had wheat.

[Hidden]

I've recently had food allergy screening done via blood test. I came back negative on all the things they checked for (it was a list of about sixteen items and included all the major culprits - wheat, milk, peanuts etc). I did, however, have a rather higher than expected IgE count for someone whose asthma is well controlled, which resulted in the consultant who had requested the screening (a gastroenterologist) referring me to a dietician. So now I'm on a low fodmap diet for the next couple of months to see if that makes any difference. It will be interesting to see if it has an impact on my asthma as well. Nothing noted thus far, but I'm only one week in and I've been told it can take four to eight weeks for any changes to become obvious.

[Chip_y2kuk in reply to Hidden]

Can I ask what your ige count was?

Also have you been tested for airborne allergens?

[Hidden in reply to Chip_y2kuk]

Around 900. My asthma was well controlled that day (as it usually is). I had had a mild bout of sniffles early in the morning (rhinitis type sniffles), but that was well over by the afternoon when the blood sample was taken. I do also suffer from allergic rhinitis, but again, I can usually keep that well controlled, and I only need to use a nasal spray on an as and when basis.

The only allergy screening I've ever had was that food allergy screening. I was a little shocked by the count. I'd expected to have an elevated IgE count, being asthmatic; I did not expect it to be that high. From his reaction, neither did the consultant gastroenterologist.

[Chip_y2kuk]

That is high is it possible you are allergic to airborne allergens? I was recently tested for strawberrys,nuts various pollens, dust and an assortment the of airborne moulds

And I am wildly allergic to dust and pollen which I have been told to try and avoid (and take an anti-histamine )

Could it be the cold air? and maybe something airborne?

[Hidden in reply to Chip_y2kuk]

I know I'm allergic to dust, mould, cat and all other soft coated animal dander, cow parsley pollen, dog dander (though I can cope with really short coated dogs -whippet for example). We had returned from a holiday abroad the day before and had stayed with a friend over night before returning home. There is a cat in that house, but the friend is always extremely careful to keep said cat out of the room where we sleep (and hoovers it before we go in to make extra sure) and we all make sure it comes nowhere near me. On top of that I always use the nasal spray in advance of going there and also have eye drops as an additional defence just in case. We've stayed there many times and I've never had a problem (never had a problem with any cat or dog if I take appropriate measures and wash hands if I come into contact with them before those hands go anywhere near my face). The only thing I can think of is that the combination of arriving back in Britain and house with resident cat may have caused an IgE rise though I remained pretty much symptomless (other than that very slight sniffle - about one sneeze if I remember correctly) due to preventative measures - if that's possible. My asthma was absolutely controlled throughout. It was another week, when the colder and wetter weather kicked in, before I had to up my inhaler dose in response to it.

[O-T-]

Hi there, I am sure that wheat is a factor for me, though I've never completely cut it out, I do seem better in allergies and digestion when in a rice vermicelli phase. It can be difficult going against the grain by g.. er, well we have to find what works for us!