A wheat allergy is a common food allergy, affecting approximately 2 million adults in the United States.

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.

Bowl of emmer wheat

Verywell / Zorica Lakonic

This form of wheat allergy also involves IgE.

The inflammation stems from the wheat-triggered activity of a bang out of white blood cell called an eosinophil.

How fast symptoms develop can also vary.

Respiratory Allergy Symptoms

A respiratory wheat allergy has two different sets of symptoms.

Warning: Play-Doh

The popular children’s toy Play-Doh and similar products contain wheat.

Children may ingest wheat from these products by eating them or through contaminated hands.

Then they can perform some tests to confirm an allergy.

This can be difficult since wheat is found in a plethora of everyday products.

Gluten vs.

If you have a wheat allergy, you only react to wheat and are usually fine with other grains.

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.

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