How Far Does One Go With Possible Cross Contaimination?

[janelyb]

Ok so my 3.5 yr old has been gluten-free for 2.5 weeks with maybe 1 or 2 oops. His blood tests came back inconclusive on the celiac panel, but the GI doc just suggested we challenge him on the gluten-free diet.

Anyways should I be so careful as to cross contaimination??? Currently there still is gluten in our home that is prepared near him, although I try my best to make sure no one double dips in the mayo jar,butter dish, etc...but I don't go so far as to wash my hands while I am eatting gluten food and then touch him or help him eat his (I often prepare his gluten-free food 1st tho). Also I try to avoid the food that the labels that say processed in a facility that uses wheat but I often still give him that gluten-free item anyway because I assume it was cleaned throughly based on the company's phone calls. And the whole playdough thing, he hasn't used any since going gluten-free but I don't want to deprive him and we already have tons of new playdough.

So how far do I take the cross contaimination???

I am extremely happy that he is accepting the gluten-free foods and I'm trying to keep it positive for him and he helps me read labels and he asks me does this have wheat??? He's doing really good accepting the new food change.

[Ursa Major]

Yes, unfortunately, you really, really need to wash your hands after touching gluten foods before you help your son eat the gluten-free foods. And regular play dough is absolutely forbidden for kids who are gluten intolerant. Think about it, it will be under his finger nails, kids eat with their hands, you really can't constantly manage to get him to wash his hands and scrub under his finger nails.

Some people with kids here found that their kids wouldn't get better because of 'little' things like that.

Otherwise you seem to be doing pretty well with how you handle things. But it would be easier for you if you would join him in eating gluten-free while you are together.

Have you noticed any positive changes in your son since he's started the gluten-free diet?

[tarnalberry]

I agree with what ursula said - direct exposure to gluten (say, from crumbs while you're making food, or from unwashed hands) should be avoided. Those are both sources of gluten that you can identify and avoid, which means they should be avoided. As he is likely to get some gluten that you *can't* find (and I'm talking minuscule amounts), it's far better not to give him even more by not avoiding contamination situations you can identify.

[ravenwoodglass]

"but I don't go so far as to wash my hands while I am eatting gluten food and then touch him or help him eat his"

This alone will be enough to keep him glutened. If you must cook or use gluten containing foods please make sure to wash throughly before helping him with his.

CC is a very serious issue that can not be taken too lightly. I won't even allow this toxin to cross my threshold.

On the playdoh issue, please take that seriously. Sculpey products are gluten free plus you can then bake his creations and have them around for years or just mush it wrap it and it will stay pliable for a very long time. You also need to watch out for gluten in paints, toiletries, shampoos and if you have pets in their food and litter.

[Phyllis28]

To prevent "double dipping" in my household I buy different brands of jelly, peanutbutter etc...

[JennyC]

The whole cross contamination issue took some time to get used to. (We're only in week 5.) I'll go over my practices. Our entire home is not gluten-free, but mostly it is except for regular bread and pasta. (gluten-free is so expensive!) We bought a new toaster, some new pots and pans, cookie sheets, strainer, utensils, and cutting boards. There are varying opinions as to far you have to go with buying new pots, and pans, ect. but ours were quite old and were scratched. Better safe than sorry. I gave everything a good wash down. I too usually cook his food first. I never put ANY food or untensil directly on any surface. I wash the gluten-free dishes first and try to avoid contamination of the gluten-free dishes by placing gluten utensils in them. My son is also 3.5 yrs old. I got rid of all of his plastic dishes. I bought some smaller sized glass plates and bowls. (Plastic, wood, and Teflon are the worst to keep because of scratching.) We have separate butter, peanut butter, ect. and label them gluten-free. As for play-dough. I got rid of it. I kept the toys that go with it thinking that I might wash them and make gluten-free "play-dough." There are recipes out there. I bought floam. It's interesting but does not take the place of play-dough because you cannot use cookie cutters with it.

Good luck!

[girlfromclare]

Yes cross contamination is a tough one... and with our son, his reaction is to get really cross, cantakerous and downright angry so that makes cross contamination even tougher in our house... we know instantly as his mood is so quick to change. It keeps us on tenderhooks as we hate his mood to change especially if we have people over or friends staying or whatever...

We use a separate toaster... we do our level best to keep utensils and knives etc as far away as possible from anything being used with gluten in it. All that sounds like it would be really tough but its not after a while it kinda becomes routine... and it doesnt have to take over you life... althought eating out or going away for the day is a bit of a pain in the bum.. we have to pack two or three meals for our son to bring with us. Also I got rid of playdough. I just wouldnt take the chance as it is completely made of flour so if you think about it, there isnt much point in doing all the other stuff in avoidance of gluten, i.e. the sepearate utensiles, butters etc if you are just going to turn around and let him play directly with flour... see my point? anyway that floam stuff is really cool. My son loves it - also it doesnt stink like i think play dough does... and it is really mallable. Hours of fun (and thats just me!!)

Hope all that helps.. good luck

liz x x

[Nantzie]

Another reason to go 100% is that you're not truly going to be able to evaluate his response to the diet. The type of cross contamination you're talking about is enough for me to get sick as a dog and stay glutened.

I also had inconclusive tests so I thought at first that I wouldn't have to do any of the CC stuff. I figured I could take the bun off the burger and pick the croutons out of the salad. As it turns out I'm actually very sensitive to CC and have to be very careful of everything. So test results don't necessarily give you a level of how sensitive someone is, unfortunately.

The easiest way to think of guarding against CC is to think of it like cooking chicken. Everybody is so used to washing your hands, tools and work area after working with raw chicken that you don't think too much about it. Really, guarding against CC with gluten is just as simple as with chicken. The only difference is that you and your husband also can eat the "raw chicken". So you just take extra precautions while eating around him.

Nancy

[kbtoyssni]

I agree with everyone - CC really is a big issue. In my opinion, it's the hardest part of the diet. Avoiding foods that don't have gluten isn't too bad - it's making sure they didn't come in contact with other gluten foods that's more tricky and something I don't feel I always have control of (restaurants for example).

I think you do need to get gluten-free playdough or make your own. I know as a kid I loved to eat the stuff even though my mother told me not to (and I know I'm not the only one here who did that!) That in itself should be reason enough to get rid of it. Give your old playdough to the local homeless shelter - some kid there will love it.

[janelyb]

thanks everyone. I think I will donate all the playdough and get some floam..hey I've got Moon Sand, is that gluten-free?

And our family dinner each night is gluten free for the entire family (except for rare occassion when I buy french bread to eat with pasta for hubby but I haven't bought any in over 2 weeks). Breakfast & lunch typically is served at preschool provided by me. On weekends though our son eats gluten-free food with us and we often are eatting non gluten-free food.

Gosh I never thought of replacing plates,utensils and stuff. Now the toaster over I did give a good scrub down but yes I am still leary about it and haven't yet used it for his gluten-free food. I typically wash all the dishes in the dishwasher, isn't that good enough? I have a sani rinse cycle maybe I should use that too??? My Pots and Pans are newer and get washed by hand in hot soapy water and I have often put foil on the pan when I cook. I don't think we can afford to replace all our cook and eattingware.

As far as have I noticed a difference, well honestally not at all actually his rash has gotten worse and his ab is still extended (it went down for a bit now it's bloated again)but I didn't expect to see anything this early in the game either.

As far as the rest of us going gluten-free, it's more the rest of us are gluten lite. We can't seem to give up bread (and the occassional sweets which I often do not have in the house anyways) but other than that we are basically mostly eatting gluten-free. Bread is so hard for us to give up...we love bread,pizza..etc...I ate a gluten-free pizza and it was uh ok but not like our normal take out pizza.

[dahams04]

I thought last we all checked with the Floam reps. they could not confirm if it is Gluten Free. If you search "floam" you'll see the responses. My guys like Moon sand (confirmed Gluten free) and then I bought some Gluten Free playdoh from Discount School Supply website. My boys love it. Hope this helps.

As for the companies that state it is manufactured in a facility with Wheat, do you all avoid those products, or do you assume they are cleaned thoroughly?

[shayesmom]

I would definitely agree with the other posters here that cross-contamination is something to be avoided...PERIOD.

If your son's rash is worse and his belly went down...then bloated again....he is either getting glutened or you've got multiple food intolerances at work. Considering all that you've posted, my bet would be cross contamination. This disorder is not forgiving in nature. The reaction is the same whether gluten is eaten on purpose or if the exposure was a small, accidental one. I think that it takes time for a person to realize the scope of the issue and to finally make the necessary adjustments that have to occur. This situation does need to be corrected.

As for being gluten-lite...we did the same thing in the beginning. I finally gave up gluten completely in January 2006 and then in March, I gave up dairy...then soy and eggs. Let me tell you....my dd DEFINITELY got this from me. Our pizzas do not taste the same as the old take-out ones...but they are still good and satisfy the pizza craving. My dh actually enjoys my new pizza....it's gluten, dairy, egg and soy-free (I make cheese from cashews for it). And when I make it, he brings leftovers to eat at work. Considering that he goes out for lunch at work and could get a "normal" pizza, I am taking that as a compliment.

I do think that you've got the major points of the diet down....but these last steps to remove cross-contamination need to be taken. Otherwise, you're doing all this for nothing. With a celiac, one-eighth of a wheat thin cracker can cause damage that takes 4-6 WEEKS to heal. It doesn't take too many crumbs to add up to damaged villi. And you do need to examine this situation and decide what message you want your son to go home with on this. How seriously do you want HIM to take this diet? YOU are the one who ultimately sets that bar.

And as for not expecting to see results right away....with young kids, the healing usually occurs faster. We saw a difference the very first day on the diet. The bloated look took about 2 months to go away...but it did get better each week. I know that some kids take several months to get better...but most seem to have recovered by the 6th month. It's good that you're willing to give it time. Patience definitely seems to be a pre-requisite with this diet at times! lol!

Good luck and I hope that your son gets to feeling better quickly.

[janelyb]

I thought last we all checked with the Floam reps. they could not confirm if it is Gluten Free. If you search "floam" you'll see the responses. My guys like Moon sand (confirmed Gluten free) and then I bought some Gluten Free playdoh from Discount School Supply website. My boys love it. Hope this helps.

As for the companies that state it is manufactured in a facility with Wheat, do you all avoid those products, or do you assume they are cleaned thoroughly?

Can you give me some sites where to find gluten-free playdough?

[janelyb]

thanks. I am working harder on cross contaimination now. That being said, last night I forgot to tell everyone not to double dip in the butter...now I have to buy new butter.....I figured out if I label food gluten-free then people who are non gluten-free stay away from it...lol.....

I'm hoping to take him back to doctor to check out this rash and maybe we can get reffered to a dermotoligist before it goes away to see if it is DH.

I would definitely agree with the other posters here that cross-contamination is something to be avoided...PERIOD.

If your son's rash is worse and his belly went down...then bloated again....he is either getting glutened or you've got multiple food intolerances at work. Considering all that you've posted, my bet would be cross contamination. This disorder is not forgiving in nature. The reaction is the same whether gluten is eaten on purpose or if the exposure was a small, accidental one. I think that it takes time for a person to realize the scope of the issue and to finally make the necessary adjustments that have to occur. This situation does need to be corrected.

As for being gluten-lite...we did the same thing in the beginning. I finally gave up gluten completely in January 2006 and then in March, I gave up dairy...then soy and eggs. Let me tell you....my dd DEFINITELY got this from me. Our pizzas do not taste the same as the old take-out ones...but they are still good and satisfy the pizza craving. My dh actually enjoys my new pizza....it's gluten, dairy, egg and soy-free (I make cheese from cashews for it). And when I make it, he brings leftovers to eat at work. Considering that he goes out for lunch at work and could get a "normal" pizza, I am taking that as a compliment.

I do think that you've got the major points of the diet down....but these last steps to remove cross-contamination need to be taken. Otherwise, you're doing all this for nothing. With a celiac, one-eighth of a wheat thin cracker can cause damage that takes 4-6 WEEKS to heal. It doesn't take too many crumbs to add up to damaged villi. And you do need to examine this situation and decide what message you want your son to go home with on this. How seriously do you want HIM to take this diet? YOU are the one who ultimately sets that bar.

And as for not expecting to see results right away....with young kids, the healing usually occurs faster. We saw a difference the very first day on the diet. The bloated look took about 2 months to go away...but it did get better each week. I know that some kids take several months to get better...but most seem to have recovered by the 6th month. It's good that you're willing to give it time. Patience definitely seems to be a pre-requisite with this diet at times! lol!

Good luck and I hope that your son gets to feeling better quickly.

[jerseyangel]

Everyone above gave you excellent advice--the only thing I'll add is a little trick I have. I treat gluten as if it were salmonella. I use that mind-set. That made it much easier for me in the beginning--and it's a good way to explain CC to others who aren't familiar to this.

Good luck with everything--it really does become easier, and then second nature

[happygirl]

I figured out if I label food gluten-free then people who are non gluten-free stay away from it...lol.....

That is definitely the way to go. It is only two of us (no kids), but we do that. Invest in a couple permanent markers. Butters, mayos, cream cheese, etc. are ALL separate and are ALL labeled "gluten-free-Laura only" and "everyone else." It is like this at my parents, and my inlaws.

[janelyb]

Funny thing my husband saw the mustard or ketsup and asked me where the regular kind was because I wrote in black sharpie gluten /wheat free....I had to laugh because it was the same one we always use. I told him I wrote it on there to make things easier for him instead of asking me if it is gluten-free.

That is definitely the way to go. It is only two of us (no kids), but we do that. Invest in a couple permanent markers. Butters, mayos, cream cheese, etc. are ALL separate and are ALL labeled "gluten-free-Laura only" and "everyone else." It is like this at my parents, and my inlaws.

[JennyC]

When I contacted the Floam company I got the "what's gluten?" response. Gotta love that. Anyway, I had them read the ingredients to me and it basically consists of tiny styrofoam balls and a bunch of very artificial-sounding ingredients. I don't know if you can but gluten-free playdough, but here's a recipe. (I haven't tried it yet.)

Gluten-free Play Dough

2/3 cup rice flour

1/3 cup potato or corn starch

1/3 cup salt

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 Tbsp cream of tartar

1 package unsweetened Kool-Aid

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup warm water

Extra potato or corn starch for kneading dough

In a sauce pan combine rice flour, potato/corn starch, salt, xanthan gum, cream of tartar, and Kool-Aid. Add oil and warm water to flour mixture and mix well. Heat the mixture on med. heat for about one minute or until mixture boils. Remove from heat. Turn the dough onto a cornstarch-floured board or wax paper. Knead in enough starch until the dough is no longer sticky.

Store dough in air-tight container. If dough becomes too dry or thick microwave on high for 30 sec and knead.

[Juliet]

I just found a recipe for gluten free play dough (or as it's called on the can "Kids Play Clay", too, on the outside of my Clabber Girl cornstarch can:

1 cup salt

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup Clabber Girl Cornstarch (or I'm sure, any cornstarch)

1/4 cup cold water

food coloring (optional)

In a medium saucepan, mix salt and 1/3 cup water over medium heat, stirring occasionally (about 3-4 minutes). Remove fron heat; add cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Add a few drops of food coloring, if desired. The mixture will resemble mashed potatoes. Stir till thickens, cool, then knead on a board or countertop that has been lightly dusted with cornstarch. Store unused play clay in refrigerator in a sealed container with a damp sponge.

[Amooliakin]

This is the kind of thread I need to read more often..... We try so hard to be 100% gluten-free... but I know from my daughter's mood etc. that we are probably only at 97% due to errors and CC.

It has been 6 months on the diet and in some ways it is easier - but then I learn more about how cautious I have to be.

We are going in for the 6 month checkup and I am curious to find out if the blood test results will be any different...