Keep Getting Sick From Kisses!

[raen]

I have been gluten free for almost 3 months now, and my general health has been improved dramatically.. My apartment is gluten-free, except for one room where people who come over sometimes have pizza. My shampoo, handsoap, and sanitizer are all organic and gluten free, and so is my dish soap.

But still, i find myself getting cross-gluttened once every 2-3 weeks!! I cant sleep, up all night with stomach pains TWO days in a row. Ive wanted to hurl half both days (but in staid belch, if anything) and my throat feels like it swallowed big balls of salt. now that im finally healthy i cant take getting sick like this anymore. its like having a cold mixed with food poisoning!

my only pathetic excuse for comfort is always the uncertain "if it IS gluten and im not ill, i will feel better 3 days from the start" ontop of that, i have chronic hyperventilation syndrome, the symptoms are somewhat similar to the pains belching and sick feeling of gluten, i sometimes mix them up and it gets nerve-wracking. being stressed form the gluten makes me all the more likely to hyperventilate too, and overlapping Cant be good for long-term health.

My boyfriend brushes his teeth and washes his hands, and now even washes his face whenever he eats gluten, but that obviously isnt enough.. how can keep kissing without getting contaminated?? he would give up gluten for me if needed, but i would rather not ask him to do that.

[darlindeb25]

Well, maybe it's time to not allow gluten in your home. You may be getting CC'd from that. I have been gluten free for 8 yrs, and I do react to the smallest amount of gluten...yet, I have never been glutened by a kiss. My guy rinses his mouth out after eating gluten, even washes his mustache, just to be sure he doesn't gluten me, and it works. I think probably you are being CC'd by the other gluten in the house. If your boyfriend is willing to go gluten-free for you, then let him. He can eat gluten outside your home if he wants it. Give it a try and see if it helps.

[RiceGuy]

Since you didn't specify what sort of hand soap you use, I'll suggest a liquid soap, not bar soap. That way, there won't be gluten all over a bar of soap, so you won't be washing your hands in gluten.

Still, I agree it doesn't seem wise to allow gluten into your home.

[raen]

i use burts bees, bar soap in the shower (no other type of soap), and liquid soap for washing hands.

i only allowed it because i almost never go into that room, i obsessive compulsively wash my hands, they only eat over the floor (which i have him vacuum for me), and are not allowed to use any of my dishes. still it can't hurt to say "eat it outside" anyway.

I know for a fact i have been glutened form kissing before, after he had beer even though he brushed his teeth, for one example. i considered "crumbs on his shirt" and "i can sometimes smell it in his breath or skin" as potential problems. i think brushing isnt enough, and mouthwash may help more.. has anyone else had that problem?

[aikiducky]

Mouthwash won't help, since gluten isn't a germ and cannot be killed. I really don't know what the next step would be from brushing teeth and rinsing, apart from not eating gluten at all, which is quite a lot to ask I'd think.

To me it really sounds like you're being quite careful. I wonder if it really is cc that is getting you or if there is a product that is slipping through the cracks, or possibly another food that you are also intolerant to? Do you eat out at all?

I used to get mystery "glutenings" until I figured out that I get almost the same symptoms from dairy as I get from gluten.

One idea could be too keep a food/mood/symptoms journal for a while, that way you can start to detect patterns. If for example you're always sick the day after seeing your boyfriend, that is a clue. But it could also be after eating tomatoes (just making something up here).

Also if you want you could write down here what you usually eat, maybe someone on the board has some ideas.

Pauliina

[purple]

Could he floss before/after brushing his teeth and eat apples and carrots to get between the teeth?? Just a thought...

[Generic]

Let me just start by saying, please don't take think that I am attacking you.

But they say that once something is in a person's mouth for 20 minutes or longer it is neutralized by the saliva. They had thought a woman died from kissing her boyfriend because he had eaten peanut butter and she was severely allergic. Turned out it wasn't possible.

What I am trying to say is, it is very unlikely if he is brushing, etc.that you are getting sick from him. I would look into other issues like what was suggested. Keep a food diary and you will get to the bottom of it. I figured out the hard way, (years ago) that licking stamps was making me sick.