Avoiding Cross-Contamination

[kiss4candie]

With school starting back soon, I am looking to avoid cross-contamination issue. I am wondering if hand sanitizing alone after school lunches will keep my daughters safe on the play ground. I just found out 2 of my daughters have Celiac disease and I am trying to inform their school. It is not very likely that they will have all students wash their hands prior to going out for recess and I was wondering if simply using hand sanitizer would do the trick. (one of my daughters is 3 - so she still puts her fingers in her mouth on a regular basis). Thanks in andvance for any suggestions or help.

 

[Greebo115]

With school starting back soon, I am looking to avoid cross-contamination issue. I am wondering if hand sanitizing alone after school lunches will keep my daughters safe on the play ground. I just found out 2 of my daughters have Celiac disease and I am trying to inform their school. It is not very likely that they will have all students wash their hands prior to going out for recess and I was wondering if simply using hand sanitizer would do the trick. (one of my daughters is 3 - so she still puts her fingers in her mouth on a regular basis). Thanks in andvance for any suggestions or help.

 

Lol, I'm over 40 and I still have to worry about the fact I put my fingers in my mouth (flaky lips, itchy face...etc)!

 

I just wanted to say that hand sanitizer in no good for getting gluten off - you need soap, water and some rubbing action for that - hand sanitizer just kills bacteria and moves the gluten around......sorry I couldn't reassure you.

[cyclinglady]

My daughter's co-op preschool (parents worked as aides), required the children to wash their hands before and after eating their snacks.  Unfortunately, her elementary school never gave them time to wash their hands prior to eating lunch.  Germy gel did the trick, but she doesn't have celiac disease.  I'd request that your children have the opportunity to wash their hands in the classroom prior to lunch and recess (when they have their snacks).  It should be done in the classroom so that your children will not miss out on any recess time.  If they are sent to the bathroom, they'll probably skip the hand washing.  Kids hate to miss playtime!

[Jmwilli]

I am new to this forum. My 5 yr old daughter was diagnosed at age 4 1/2 based on positive bloodwork as well as a positive biopsy. I am wondering about these same issues as well. She will be starting Kindergarten in a couple weeks and am anxious on how well informed the school and staff is about Celiac. They did mention that they would comply with whatever I needed them to do to keep her from cc, I'm just not sure what the best answer is. Does anyone have any thoughts about hand wipes? I feel like if she washes her hands in a sink prior to eating then what happens from the bathroom sink to the lunchroom? This way if she touches the table after gluten has been on it, hopefully she'll wipe it with a wet wipe.

[ImaMiriam]

This is such a complicated issue. My daughter was diagnosed in April, and she's almost 12. I'm very concerned about how she will fare once she returns to school. She was regularly feeling ill the past 2 years and stopped eating as much lunch while at school. Now that we know she has to avoid gluten, we have at least made some progress.

However, it's one thing for her to be safe at home, and another for her to be safe at school. She understands the need to avoid gluten as she suffers terribly when she eats it. However, like most other children, she wants to fit it....

 

Any suggestions are greatly welcomed!