Flour dust (baker's asthma) allergy

About flour dust (baker's asthma) allergy

Flour dust is one of the most common causes of occupational asthma in the UK. It contains cereal proteins, and often added enzymes such as amylase, which are high-molecular-weight allergens able to trigger an IgE-mediated (antibody-driven) reaction. When flour dust is inhaled day after day, the airways can become sensitised, leading to so-called baker's asthma and allergic rhinitis. Bakers, pastry makers, millers, food-production workers and caterers who handle flour are the groups most at risk, especially where dusty tasks such as sieving, weighing and dough-making raise clouds of powder.

Sensitisation usually builds over months or years before symptoms emerge. Once established, exposure can bring on sneezing, a runny or blocked nose, itchy eyes, cough, chest tightness and wheeze, sometimes within minutes to hours. Skin contact may also cause irritation or hives. A telling pattern is that symptoms often improve on evenings, weekends and holidays and flare again on returning to the bakery, which strongly suggests a workplace trigger.

Diagnosis is usually coordinated through occupational health and may include skin-prick testing or specific-IgE blood tests together with lung-function measurements recorded at and away from work. The priority is reducing airborne dust: better handling methods, low-dust techniques, local exhaust ventilation, good housekeeping and health surveillance. Confirmed occupational asthma is reportable under RIDDOR. Because continued exposure after sensitisation can cause lasting lung damage, early recognition and effective control are important.