How To Recognize If Child Has Been Glutened?

[Tori's Dad]

Our daughter was diagnosed May 22 so we are very new to this. She has done quite well on the gluten-free diet. Within a week she was like a new child with tons of energy and was eating us out of house and home!

My question is, how obvious will it be if she gets some gluten? The last day and a half she has had a low energy level and been fussy/pouty like she was before the diagnosis. She said her tummy hurt a little this morning but it was not severe and only lasted about 30 minutes. She has had no D yet either. Do you think she got some gluten?

We can't identify any gluten that she has eaten so we are not sure if it's just a bad day, or if she had some gluten.

Is the reaction immediate or delayed?

What are the typical signals?

Thanks!

[mommida]

Well your child's reactions are just that - they are unique to the individual. What you noticed is most likely her reaction to that very amount of gluten. She said her tummy hurt and that is about all you can really go on when you are the parent watching.

Try and be prepared for the worst case scenario, I try and carry a change of clothes and sickness bags in the car. My son who wasn't showing any symptom of Celiac or gluten intolerance now vomits after so many hours of accidentally getting gluten.

L.

[celiacgirls]

I am fairly new to this also, but I would assume she had something with gluten. I am also gluten-free so it is making me more aware of how little gluten is needed to cause a reaction. When it was just my daughter who was gluten-free, I never really thought about trace amounts or cc.

One of my daughter's tummy hurts when she eats gluten. Then she is overly anxious for a few days. My other daughter gets very tired right away and irritable and foggy for several days after. My stomach kind of "twitches" when I accidently eat something with gluten and then I am foggy and sometimes nauseous the next day.

[Guhlia]

You may want to check to ensure that all her personal care products are gluten free. Also, you didn't mention her age, but here are a few suggestions if she's younger. Has she played with Play-Doh (it's made w/ flour) or any art supply that could contain gluten? Could she have mistaken something glutenous for one of her gluten free things? She may just be having a down spell. When I was into the diet for about two months I got very sick and depressed. My doctors said it was withdrawal from gluten. Could that be the case since she's so new to this? Could she have a stomach bug?

[Tori's Dad]

She is 5 and this afternoon she is back to her old self I would say. Her sleep routine has been messed up so maybe it was that.

She is at an art camp this week but my wife spent some time with the teachers and they changed away from using a wheat paste (not sure for what project) to a gluten free one. Are paints a problem?

Anyway, I am sure this is the first of many little spells we will have that either were not gluten or were gluten from a source we will never figure out. Thanks for the input!

[Guhlia]

I believe there was a topic a while ago that said that paints MAY contain gluten, but I don't remember exactly.

[skipper30]

Some paints and finger paints do contain gluten...I'd ask the teachers for the brands and double check for safety.