What Cleans/kills Gluten? How Long Is It With Us?

[sillyactsue]

My 22mo. old daughter has two copies of genes for gluten sensitivity. It keeps her from growing. I have not been tested but obviously have at least one gene. Her dad has been diagnosed with celiac. We are on a gluten free/casien free diet but I have never seen anything written about what actually cleans a surface in a way that makes it gluten free. It isn't a germ so I guess it isn't something you kill, right? What about money? Door knobs in places besides home? Isn't it basically going to be everywhere? The baby still puts her hands in her mouth. Why wouldn't she be continually contaminated. What cleaner cleans it off?aaaauuuuugggghhhhhhh!

Please help.

[tarnalberry]

Soap and water and elbow grease. You just have to clean your surfaces and keep them clean. It's not going to stick around on smooth surfaces that easily, but nothings going to be a hypoallergenic bubble. No one (to my knowledge) with a anaphylactic wheat allergy, however, has gotten sick from a doorknob (well, I certainly wouldn't chance it in a bakery, but in general...).

[gfp]

Although you can't kill it you can do some things.... gluten is soluble in alcohol so using an industrial alcohol cleaner is probably a good idea, its also antiseptic and kills germs ...

Do NOT USE NEAR NAKED FLAME, HOT HOBS etc. etc.!

As for doorknobs... I see your point and its possible, I worry about public transport where people are eating sandwiches but being an adult I can not put my hands in my mouth but I do make a habit of washing them straight away when I get in (its not a bad idea anyway) ... in the end you can't live in a bubble and neither can your child. Regardless of however hard you try you will have slips and accidents because we are all human. Its not your fault much as you want to do everything to protect your baby .... accidents will happen we learn and we get stronger.

[LivingFree]

We experience problems if we go to a restaurant that has a playhouse. I can't normally see anything on his hands when he comes out of one, but if I don't clean them off before he eats his food (uses his fingers, not utensils) then we will undoubtedly have severe issues for several days. He has not had any problems with doorknobs, but the public pool can be difficult if they have had a party with hot dog buns, pizza, etc. Sometimes it will end up getting him. You just can't stop it all until they learn to make sure their hands are clean before putting them or anything else in their mouths.

[Nantzie]

I've been wondering about that kind of stuff myself. The only thing I completely trust to wash my hands is soap and water. I happened to read an article a few years ago about how cleaners work, and it said that basically the soap loosens the dirt from the surface you're cleaning so that it doesn't stick to it anymore and can be rinsed or wiped away. The way I think of it is that gluten is sticky (remember making paste out of flour and water?), so the soap is the best bet because it unsticks things.

When I first went gluten-free, I started trying to use Purell to "wash" my hands when I touched gluten (like handing my non-gluten-free kids a gluteny cracker). I got glutened just about every day that week. I figured that what was happening was that maybe the gluten was getting loosened by the Purell, but since there was no rinsing of any sort, it wasn't getting washed away, so got re-stuck on my skin, just another spot. I'm not sure how Purell and gluten interact though, so I'm not sure if that's what's happening or if it just doesn't unstick at all.

All I know is that as long as I wash my hands with soap and water, and dry them on a towel that I know hasn't touched gluten (I keep a towel on a hook above my sink that's just for me), before I put anything in my mouth I don't get glutened. Even if I've been up to my elbows in goldfish crackers all day.

I have been wondering about alternatives like baby wipes or wet ones. Would it really get everything off (assuming you were very thorough), or would it be more like my theory about the Purell and just move it around? It would be nice to be able to just do something like that rather than have to wash with soap and water, especially when out. And it sure would make washing door handles and such much easier. Maybe somebody has tried it?

Nancy

[gfp]

Nantzie havn't tried but your theory sounds sound.

The whole think with the soap and water is washing it away not just moving it about.

[queenofhearts]

Something I learned years ago (I'm an artist, avid cook & gardener & my hands need LOTS of washing!)-- use liquid soap, put it on FIRST before you wet your hands, rub up a lather, & THEN rinse it off. This lets the soap do its solvent job much better. You'll notice the difference especially if your hands are greasy, but I have a feeling it would help with the gluten too.

Leah

[jerseyangel]

Nancy--I agree with you. I use soap and water--often. I make sure I lather the soap for a good 30 seconds or so, and rinse well under running water. Not ony do I not end up glutening myself, but I don't get many colds and whatever else is going around.

[LivingFree]

When out and about with my son, I often use wipees. At times, it is all I have available. We have not experienced any problems when we use the wipees. I am very thorough with them, going around the nails and under them too.