Gluten Challenge For 2y/o

[celiac-mommy]

So we've decided, with the pediatrician to go ahead with the gluten challenge to see of DS's bowel issues and eczema clear up--is it virus or not??? Anyway, I didn't what the norm was for how long to keep him off the gluten. They suggested a week and then see him at the end of next week. Is that long enough, or does it depend on his symptoms and whether or not they clear up? We didn't have to go thru all this stuff before... Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

[Ursa Major]

Your title confused me, a gluten challenge is usually if you give somebody gluten again who has been off it for a while.

Well, often symptoms take more than a week to clear up on a gluten-free diet. I believe in order to give it an honest chance, a good trial period would be a month, not a week, to see if it makes a significant difference. Especially with eczema it will take a while to start clearing up, if gluten is the problem. On the other hand, bowel problems often start getting better within days, sometimes hours.

It is certainly worth a try. At the same time, you would do well to eliminate dairy as well. Eczema is often caused by dairy.

[celiac-mommy]

I'll rephrase the topic, I wasn't sure what to call it. Thanks for the info though, I didn't think a week was enough. I will definately take it thru his Dr. appt and see if he's doing. I'm getting worried about him. His bottom was bleeding last night, the rash was soooo bad. If I don't change him the minute he poops, he screams in pain. My heart breaks for him. I hope this gets better, I guess I need to rethink the dairy....

[Owen'sMom]

I agree to give it at least a month to see if things improve. My sons stools improved within about a week, they weren't perfect but a lot better.

He would also get the diaper rash that bled when we wouldn't change him the second he went. It was horrible to see him in pain like that.

His eczema took a while to get rid of but as long as we keep him off foods he is intolerant of he does fine. Gluten is the biggest offender and he gets sick and vomits the next day after he got a hold of something with gluten in it.

He just got glutened 3 times in a row and now his eczema is horrible again and he was vomitting and wouldn't eat a lot.

[celiac-mommy]

I agree to give it at least a month to see if things improve. My sons stools improved within about a week, they weren't perfect but a lot better.

He would also get the diaper rash that bled when we wouldn't change him the second he went. It was horrible to see him in pain like that.

His eczema took a while to get rid of but as long as we keep him off foods he is intolerant of he does fine. Gluten is the biggest offender and he gets sick and vomits the next day after he got a hold of something with gluten in it.

He just got glutened 3 times in a row and now his eczema is horrible again and he was vomitting and wouldn't eat a lot.

Is his just gluten or is it dairy too?

[Worriedtodeath]

vaseline works wonders around here and seems better than any diaper creme. Glob it on thick like a paste every time you change him. with my daughter it takes 3 diaper changes for the bloody stuff to heal and about a day for the rawness to not be so raw looking. Keep it thick and hers disappears in about 2-3 days. oh and use only warm water and a very soft thin smooth baby wash cloth for wiping. If I keep this up every single time and keep it thick, it normally keeps the rash at bay. When we let up, she gets that rash.

ANd it took about a solid week for the movements to stop from several times a day to just once or twice a day and to go from mush to stiff. Removing lactose took 2 days to stop the runny runny poop. We went from no gluten to a gluten challenge and 2 months into it , she became lactose deficienct. The poop went from mushy to basic liquid. i now can tell when she has diary because it is runny and snotty looking and the wheat is different looking more like oatmeal or mashed potatoes and so many times more like 8 diapers a day verses one or two. If you suspect diary, cut that out and see if makes any kind of change, then remove wheat. Our gi demanded it be done in that order even when we had an improvement with being gluten free. we had to add wheat back in, remove diary, and then remove wheat when her stomach got worse.

Good luck!

HTH

Stacie

[celiac-mommy]

Vaseline makes it MUCH worse (for us) The only thing that clears it up is Butt-Paste, without fail. It's just that every time he had a BM, it flairs back up. Its been 2 days w/o gluten and he had his 1st solid BM-finally. I know it could still be viral, but I started this so I'm going to see it thru. I think I will just focus on the gluten at the moment and if I don't see an improvement with the eczema I'll do the dairy-- it's hard because it's so cold and dry here right now and we're outside a lot. I think I just need to lock him up in the house and watch him for a few weeks Not realistic, unfortunately

[Owen'sMom]

Owen reacts to gluten, soy, tangerines, blueberries, corn and I'm sure there are more that we haven't figured out yet. We had him strictly dairy free for quite some time but he now does fine with small amounts of cheese and yogurt. I won't give him milk though as he does vomit after a couple of days on it.