Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTypesSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentPrognosis
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Types
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prognosis
If you have awheat allergy, you’ll likely come down with symptoms just minutes—or sometimes hours—after you eat something that contains wheat. In some cases, this reaction can be deadly, so it’s important to know what to watch for and how to respond. The best treatment, though, is prevention, which means learning what you (or your child) can and can’t eat.
A wheat allergy is a common food allergy, affecting approximately 2 million adults in the United States.
Emergency Wheat Allergy Symptoms
Call 911 immediately if you or someone else experiences:
Verywell / Zorica Lakonic
Types of Wheat Allergy
A wheat allergy isn’t the same thing as a “gluten allergy.” While there’s not a true allergy to gluten, people sometimes use the term when referring toceliac diseaseorgluten sensitivity/intolerance, neither of which involves an allergic reaction.
True wheat allergies come in a few different types, depending on what effect wheat has on your immune system:
Food Allergy
The traditional food allergy is an abnormal immune response that involvesimmunoglobulin E(IgE), a protein in the immune system that functions as an antibody. Basically, your immune system mistakenly identifies wheat (or another food) as a threat and tries to get it out of your body.
When you eat something you’re allergic to, IgE goes to work, kicking off a complex chain reaction that leads to allergy symptoms. Your immune system tries to empty your digestive system, flush out your respiratory tract, and do anything else it can to rid your body of the “problem” food. It’s not really the food that the problem, though, it’s your immune system.
These symptoms come on fast and can hit hard, even triggering a life-threatening reaction.
Respiratory Allergy
This form of wheat allergy also involves IgE. Once IgE’s response to the presence of wheat kicks in, it proceeds much the same as a traditional food allergy.
Eosinophilic Esophagitis/Gastritis
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and eosinophilic gastritis (EG) are systemic diseases involving chronic inflammation of the esophagus (EoE) or stomach (EG). The inflammation stems from the wheat-triggered activity of a type of white blood cell called an eosinophil.
This is an entirely different process than the IgE-mediated response of traditional or respiratory wheat allergies and it takes longer for symptoms to manifest.
Treating EG and EoEEG is more serious than EoE and typically requires treatment with oral steroids to alleviate symptoms. Treatment for EoE include proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), dietary interventions, the monoclonal antibody Dupixent (dupilumab), and the oral corticosteroid Eohilia (budesonide).
Treating EG and EoE
EG is more serious than EoE and typically requires treatment with oral steroids to alleviate symptoms. Treatment for EoE include proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), dietary interventions, the monoclonal antibody Dupixent (dupilumab), and the oral corticosteroid Eohilia (budesonide).
Wheat Allergy Symptoms
Symptoms of a traditional wheat allergy can vary in severity from a mild, flu-like condition to a life-threatening, all-body reaction known asanaphylaxis.
How fast symptoms develop can also vary. With an IgE-mediated reaction, the symptoms can occur within minutes of eating wheat, or as long as a few hours afterward. A traditional wheat allergy can affect one or several organ systems at once and may include:
In moresevere forms of anaphylaxis, people will commonly describe a “feeling of impending doom” in relation to their deteriorating state.
Respiratory Allergy Symptoms
A respiratory wheat allergy has two different sets of symptoms. Baker’s rhinitis involves a response that’s similar to what people with seasonal allergies (hay fever) experience:
Baker’s rhinitis can eventually lead to baker’s asthma, which, as the informal name suggests, primarily involves asthma attacks:
Different Types of Asthma: Which One Do You Have?
Eosinophilic Allergy Symptoms
With a non-IgE-mediated reaction (EoE or EG), symptoms may not appear until a day or two later as a result of the different immune system activity. Symptoms typically include:
While the underlying immune system mechanisms of allergies have become better understood, healthcare providers still don’t know why some people develop allergies to begin with. Some suspected causes or risk factors include immune system irregularities due to:
Triggers
Wheat is in a lot of packaged foods, including some you may not expect. When dealing with any food allergy, it’s important that you become familiar with potentially problematic ingredients and read labels religiously. Foods that may trigger a wheat allergy include:
You’ll find these ingredients in all kinds of foods, including cereal, pasta, bread, soup, baked goods, and mixes for cooking and baking.
On ingredient lists, manufacturers will also use the phrase “may contain wheat,” or “made in a facility that processes wheat.” If your reaction to wheat has been severe enough to require emergency care or hospitalization, you will likely want to steer clear of these products just to be safe.
The same applies to certain cosmetics, hair care products, vitamins, and pet foods which may contain trace amounts of wheat and accidentally contaminate your hands or cooking surfaces.
Warning: Play-Doh
If your healthcare provider suspects a wheat allergy, they’ll consider your symptoms, personal and family history of allergies or allergy-related diseases (such as asthma or eczema). Then they can perform some tests to confirm an allergy.
As with all food allergies, the management of a wheat allergy involves completely avoiding wheat in any form. This can be difficult since wheat is found in a plethora of everyday products.
Around 75% of all grain products in the U.S. contain wheat, making this a particularly tough allergy to manage. To address the growing concern, the Food and Drug Administration requires all wheat-containing food products to be clearly labeled.
It is also important to note that the majority ofgluten-free foodsare also wheat-free, but not all of them are. Always check the food label and avoid the mistake of thinking that"gluten-free" and “wheat-free"are the same thing.
Gluten vs. WheatGlutenis a protein found in many different types of grain.People who are gluten-intolerant react to all grains of thePooideaesubfamily, including wheat, barley, rye, and oats. If you have a wheat allergy, you only react to wheat and are usually fine with other grains.
Gluten vs. Wheat
Glutenis a protein found in many different types of grain.People who are gluten-intolerant react to all grains of thePooideaesubfamily, including wheat, barley, rye, and oats. If you have a wheat allergy, you only react to wheat and are usually fine with other grains.
5 Different Types of Gluten Allergy
Treating Emergency Symptoms
Your healthcare provider may recommend that you carry arescue asthma inhalerand/or an epinephrine auto-injector (like an EpiPen) in case you have a severe reaction to wheat. Even people who’ve only had mild food allergy symptoms before can suddenly have a life-threatening reaction.
If an EpiPen isn’t available, call 911 immediately.
What Is Epinephrine?
While it’s less common to become allergic to wheat during your adult years, symptoms can manifest at any stage of life, especially if they’re related to your occupation (such as with baker’s asthma). The later in life you develop a wheat allergy, the more likely it is to be a permanent condition.
A Word From Verywell
A wheat allergy certainly complicates your life and adds a layer of stress and worry—especially if your child has a wheat allergy. However, once you have a proper diagnosis, you can learn to avoid wheat, manage your allergy, and treat emergency symptoms if they should arise. Fortunately, labeling of allergen-containing foods is much better than it used to be and more safe alternative foods are now available, so you don’t have to give up the foods you enjoy.
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Anaphylaxis.
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American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Eosinophilic Esophagitis.
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American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.Wheat allergy: Overview.
Dellon ES, Peterson KA, Murray JA, et al.Anti-siglec-8 antibody for eosinophilic gastritis and duodenitis.N Engl J Med. 2020;383(17):1624-1634. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2012047
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Cianferoni A.Wheat allergy: diagnosis and management.J Asthma Allergy. 2016;9:13-25. doi:10.2147/JAA.S81550
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