Should Celiac patients worry about gluten in their meds?
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1. Counselling Conundrum: a real question from a patient
2. Concise Conclusion: a straight-forward patient-friendly answer
3. Quick Wrap-up
Clearly, there are nuances that may not be captured in this format. The goal here is to provide you with helpful counselling tips which often draw from multiple sources or those which are not commonly accessed by busy healthcare providers serving the community.
Counselling Conundrum: "I was just diagnosed with Celiac, and they said I should make sure there isn't gluten in anything I swallow. Should I check all my medications?"
Concise Conclusion: In most cases you don't have to worry about medications containing gluten, or the amount will be so small that it won't affect your Celiac disease. If you'd like to be extra sure, check only solid (not liquid) medications that you take. You won't find the word "gluten", but check for flour, starches, dextrins, caramel coloring, dextrates, and dextrimaltose.
Quick Wrap-up: It may vary per patient, but Celiac disease is likely to be exacerbated when 10-50 mg of gluten is ingested. Remember to advise patients to avoid any wheat, rye, and barley, and to instead substitute them with corn, rice, or potato instead as they do not contain gluten. It is not necessary to worry about liquids or topicals either.
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