Ultra Sunlight Dish Soap

[Cypressmyst]

Just thought I'd let folks know that as of November 2010 Ultra Sunlight Dish Soap is not gluten free.

It got me tonight. Disguised itself in a Softsoap container at a friends house. I knew within one minute, no touching my mouth, no open cuts on my hands. So much for it not getting through the skin ne?

Hope this helps to spare someone else.

That is all.

[heatherjane]

Just thought I'd let folks know that as of November 2010 Ultra Sunlight Dish Soap is not gluten free.

It got me tonight. Disguised itself in a Softsoap container at a friends house. I knew within one minute, no touching my mouth, no open cuts on my hands. So much for it not getting through the skin ne?

Hope this helps to spare someone else.

That is all.

How do you know for sure that it contains gluten? Do you have info from the company?

[dilettantesteph]

If it does contain gluten, can you be sure that it went through the skin? Could you have created an aerosol during the scrubbing process which you inhaled or got on your lips?

[lovegrov]

Soap is not absorbed through your skin and neither is gluten.

richard

[GFreeMO]

Soap is not absorbed through your skin and neither is gluten.

richard

Thanks for clearing this up once again. I think there is a big misconception that gluten can go through your skin and into your system. I read posts about people thinking they got glutened by touching pet food or giving cheerios to a baby etc. If you wash your hands before eating, you wont be consuming gluten. Right?!

[gflooser]

i sure as heck hope not because i touch gluten ingredients all the time for my family and daycare children. (i of course wash my hands a bazillion times a day though!!!!)

[Cypressmyst]

Tingling and numbness started in my hands within 30 seconds of putting it on my skin. Inhaled gluten always gives me a headache/brain fog first followed by joint/muscle pain, so while that could have also happened (inhalation), the fact that it started with tingling in my fingers right off tells me that it was a skin reaction.

And then for the rest of the night my hands were like ice and dried out something awful in addition to my other usual symptoms.

This is the 3rd time in 6 months that I have been glutened by either soap or hand lotion. It is absolutely getting through my skin. Same reaction all 3 times.

I'm sorry if this is not an answer that you want to hear. But that doesn't stop it from being the truth.

I'm not sure *why* it effects me like this and maybe not you but it does, and to dismiss it out of hand because of some study comes pretty close to the typical doctor response that we have all gotten.

You don't have a gluten/any problem...it's all in your head.

Gluten can't get through the skin...it's all in your head.

I had DH and work from a gluten free home only having to venture out to go grocery shopping, have the occasional meeting, or to a friend's place who is also gluten-free. Could those be contributing factors bringing my tolerance level lower?

I don't know, but neither will you if you just keep dismissing it out of hand.

*How* many times have the "studies" been wrong?

[psawyer]

It sounds to me like, in addition to celiac disease, you have an allergy. Skin contact definitely can trigger an allergic reaction. Wheat allergy and celiac disease are distinct conditions, but they can occur together.

[kareng]

Cypress,

That sounds like what used to happen to me back in high school. I worked at a movie theater and whatever the cleaner was would make my fingers tingle and burn and dry out. For years, touching something freshly washed in some public places did that. I think it was an allergic reaction to something in the soap. Either it doesn't bother me anymore or it's not used in cleaners because I don't have that problem.

Maybe it's not gluten bothering your hands but something else. I know coconut is in alot of soaps and bothers people on the skin. Just a thought.

[RideAllWays]

I was going to say maybe an allergy too, especially if it has also happened with lotion..it could be the perfume. Also, what are the ingredients in the soap? How do you know it has gluten in it? It is a lot more likely that if it did contain gluten, you got sick from touching your mouth or eating off the dishes it had been soaked in.

[kareng]

I went and looked at the product safety sheet for it, but it only lists 2 chemicals. The other ingredients are considered " no big deal" so they don't have to list them. I think the only way would be to ask them directly if it contained gluten. I know that some hand lotions or shampoos have wheat germ oil.

[Cypressmyst]

After the tingling started I did go look it up online and a list on this site said it was safe as of 2002. I was momentarily releived and then wondered why my hands were tingling.

I did not touch my mouth or eat anything and within 10 minutes of contact with the soap I had a headache, joint and muscle pain, and brain fog. All my usual glutening symptoms.

And today I am tired, spacey, and my joints/muscles are very achey. My typical glutening reaction.

Then add to it that my cousin (Who's house I was at) is also gluten-free and all I ate over there were two Larabars, nothing off of her plates and it becomes pretty clear to me where the glutening occurred.

Is it possible that a wheat allergy would cause all of the symptoms of a glutening?

I didn't call the company because I already know there is wheat/rye/or barley in it. My own body is way more accurate than any other test out there.

[dilettantesteph]

Even if a study shows that gluten doesn't go through the skin for the celiacs studied, that doesn't mean that it doesn't go through the skin for all celiacs. You should definitely trust you own reactions to make decisions on what to do with your own body, as you are doing. I was just wondering about the skin issue. Thank you for clearing that up for me. I have heard about very sensitive people reacting to Larabars, so you might want to check those out too. It sounds like you are one those people sensitive to very low levels of gluten, like me.

[lovegrov]

A 30-second celiac reaction? Highly unlikely. Sounds like an allergic reaction to something and considering the fact that the dish soap hasn't had gluten in the past and probably doesn't have it now, it's very possible it's something else that you need to look into.

As for some people absorbing gluten through the skin while most don't, that would seem to me to indicate a serious problem with your skin barrier, which would mean the barrier would have to be letting through all kinds of things that shouldn't get through.

richard

[dilettantesteph]

It is theoretically possible, perhaps, that a little bit gets through and it only bothers a few of us. After all, it isn't the whole gluten molecule that bothers us, only a small fragment, was it a 5 amino acid subunit? I can't remember. Anyway, testosterone and estrogen creams are used so those large molecules do go through the skin, and those are fairly big molecules, so the idea isn't totally crazy. I haven't experienced it myself. I certainly don't think that it is something that an average celiac should worry about.

Edited: Sorry, just looked it up and it's a much bigger fragment, more like 12 - 33 amino acids.

[gflooser]

two questions. 1, have the lara bars ever given you a problem before? 2, since this happened in your cousins house, who you say is also gluten-free, does her dishsoap bother her ever???

i would most definately call the company. it's the only way to be absolutely 100% sure. not only will you find out if it does contain gluten, but if it doesn't there is something else in there that is giving you this reaction. then you will know that there is one more thing to stay away from. it's a win win situation!