Reading through responses to my posts from people diagnosed with celiac disease before the 2000s has been fascinating. Their attitudes about living gluten free are often more pragmatic than many of us today, and it really puts celiac into perspective.

Recently, my friend’s teenage son—who has celiac—attended an event where flour was being thrown (see my other post about public events). Surprisingly, he had no obvious reaction to all that gluten exposure, which is both reassuring and concerning.

Silent celiac disease means you don’t have a physical reaction upon gluten ingestion—no stomach ache, no rash, no warning. This makes identifying gluten exposure incredibly difficult.

And because he’s in his mid-teens, rebellion is normal. Gluten experimentation might sound strange, but it’s almost like alcohol or drug experimentation—except the damage happens silently. Teenagers with celiac disease face a unique challenge in staying compliant without those immediate symptoms.

Whether this teen continues to take his celiac seriously remains to be seen. I know my friend is on top of it, and I’m here to support however I can.

My Own Health Update

As for me—I’m finally feeling better. Steroids, Benadryl, and rest have helped, but the big question remains: why am I having these significant allergic reactions? I had a similar reaction in 2018 that forced me to drop out of the Nexvaxx clinical trial. At the time, we thought it was a delayed reaction to amoxicillin—but amoxicillin wasn’t involved this time. This reaction was either more severe, or I let it go longer than I should have before seeking help.

I’m considering seeing an allergist to get to the root cause. These episodes are unsettling, and I want to understand why they’re happening.

While not everything in my life is directly celiac-related, somehow it all connects back. If you’ve been through something similar—whether silent celiac or strange allergic reactions—I’d love to hear how you handled it.