How Dangerous Are Cosmetics and Skin Care Products to Celiac Patients?
Ingesting gluten is still the primary trigger of celiac disease
Ever wonder why there are no (or only a few) cosmetic products with gluten-free labels? Well, that’s either because there is very little gluten in them or that the gluten levels are untraceable in these products. These products are also not meant to be consumed. As far as scientific studies are concerned, the body can only react to gluten when it reaches the stomach. So for this, patients would have to be ingesting gluten for it to have a reaction.
A number of studies linking celiac to cosmetic products have been conducted and have identical results. One was presented by researchers at the George Washington University that concluded the risk of a flare of symptoms only comes from swallowing the products. They tested a patient who was found to have dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). Already adhering to a gluten-free diet, she started using body lotion with gluten in it, however her symptoms were still present.
Though when she stopped using it her symptoms disappeared, further tests have eventually proven that the patient accidentally ingested some of the product, thus resulting in the worsening symptoms.