Sick At Grandma's House?

[seezee]

My mom tries really hard to not allow gluten into her kitchen as I, my daughter and nephew all have celiac. However, for the third or fourth time this year my daughter has gotten very sick from gluten from a meal my mom prepared. None of us can think of what it might be? Any suggestions? Could it be something else?

[user001]

What kind of meals does she eat there? I'm always discovering wheat in random things.

[bartfull]

Cutting board, wooden spoons, scratched teflon, cast iron pans, the toaster. Any of these that once held gluten could keep cross contaminating any food she cooks with it.

[kareng]

Sure, it could be something else. But, I think I would make sure it wasn't gluten first.

Go over Grandma's kitchen with her. Is she using a toaster, butter, PB, mayo, sugar container, etc. full of gluteny crumbs? What about a colander? Does she rinse the strawberries in the same colander she drains gluteny pasta.

I don't know how old your daughter is, but - could she be sneaking some of the others kids crackers or Grandma's Oreos?

Then I would go over the exact ingredients with Grandma. Whatever she used, get the same brand and read the ingredients. Sometimes people think that if the taco seasoning they got last time was fine, maybe they all are fine. Or maybe she is missing malt as an ingredient? Maybe she can't imagine how a food would have gluten but you find out one brand has wheat listed.

I would look into all that first. If all that checks out, is there anything in that meal that she never eats at your house? A brand of bread that isn't available or you don't buy. That sort of thing. Maybe you can narrow it down to an ingredient or a food she never has at home. Like - I never ate brocoli at home because my mom hated it. But I ate it at other people's houses.

You may never figure it out. But at least you will know you and Grandma have done your best.

[greenbeanie]

Do you and your nephew also eat the same meal and get sick, or is it just your daughter? If it's just your daughter, is there anything else she does there that could expose her to gluten, like feed a dog treats that have gluten in them, try on Grandma's make-up, or anything like that? Cc from the food seems much more likely, but if you can't find the culprit it's worth looking into.

For the first few months after diagnosis my daughter almost always had mild glutening symptoms when she came back from her grandparents' house, even though they were very careful about her food and they have very little gluten in their house. Then one day she mentioned something about how fun it was to feed their dog and give her dog treats, and the mystery was solved. We have no pets so it didn't even occur to me to think about dog food, and I hadn't realized she was handling dog food when she was there.

[seezee]

I don't really get sick from gluten noticeably and neither does my nephew any more. I am an asymptomatic celiac diagnosed with bloodwork and biopsy. My nephew now 10 was diagnosed at 3 and doesn't really have a such a strong reaction. My daughter who is 15 though it's like she has food poisoning when she gets a little, so she doesn't sneak. I'll try to get my mom to replace the wooden spoons and cutting boards... that sounds like it may be the culprit... my mom doesn't buy anything with gluten so there's not any around. She does get gluten free oats and maybe that might be it. I think some people react to oats who have celiac. Is there a way to check for that?

[BlessedMommy]

Yeah, the wooden spoons and cutting board may be the culprit.

 

If I were you, I would just buy your mom a new set of wooden spoons and a cutting board as a gift. 

[Jenn-Jenn]

I feel you pain. My MIL has celiacs and I get glutened almost every time I eat there. She isn't nearly as sensitive as I am, and therefore not nearly as careful. However, it is really aggravating to deal with my daughter's moods and tummy trouble after visiting grandma.