My Unthinking Husband

[dilettantesteph]

We have a mixed kitchen. Part is gluten free and part isn't. My non celiac daughter has to do all the gluten dishes and my celiac son and I do the rest. My stupid husband put a gluten dish in the gluten free area. There was a dish with bread crumbs in it. I thought to myself, what could my son have eaten that looks so much like bread crumbs? So, I stupidly put my nose in there to find out what it was. Sure enough it was bread crumbs. I freaked out and started yelling at the gluten eating people in the family. My husband tells me that I am over reacting and surely that isn't enough to make me sick. Well, the stomach pain and burping started later that day along with all the mood stuff. In fact, by the way I freaked out, maybe that was somewhat immediate. Then I got sicker and sicker for 5 days and now I am finally improving again. Can't concentrate to read the newspaper, can't go out because I need to be near a bathroom, losing my temper with my poor kids. Why can't our loved ones be more careful? Why can they be so cavalier about our health? This is so unfair. Why did man ever develop gluten containing grains. They should be abolished. It is unfair for something to exist that makes someone feel as bad as this. I sure get sick of it sometimes. Just needed to get that off my chest.

[plantime]

I don't understand how you got glutened by a dish you did not eat off of. To cause a celiac reaction, the gluten has to be ingested, not looked at or smelled. Could you be having a psycho-somatic reaction? You really should relax and chill out a bit, overreacting will only get you labeled a nut-case.

[ShayFL]

I understand your frustration that you family was careless. We all need to vent now and again. Did you inhale a bread crumb? It s possible you got CC from somewhere else. But at any rate, it is your right to see to it that your family understands and helps you as much as possible.

[lovegrov]

I understand the frustration but don't see how you got glutened. Move the dish and wipe off the area. Sniffing the crumbs would not cause a gluten reaction.

richard

[dilettantesteph]

I don't understand how you got glutened by a dish you did not eat off of. To cause a celiac reaction, the gluten has to be ingested, not looked at or smelled. Could you be having a psycho-somatic reaction? You really should relax and chill out a bit, overreacting will only get you labeled a nut-case.

That kind of reaction isn't very helpful. I don't think that fatty diarrhea, blurred vision, mental confusion and arthritis could be caused by a psycho-somatic reaction, but maybe so. Inhaled gluten gets into the stomach via the villa that line the esphagus. Inhaled flour bothers lots of people, why not inhaled bread crumbs?

[jerseyangel]

A suggestion for the nex time--take the plate and rinse it well under running water, set it aside to be washed and then wash your hands well.

We have a mixed kitchen and this is what I do before putting the dishes in the dishwasher. I don't believe I've ever been glutened doing this in over 3 years.

The thing is that people will forget from time to time, it happens. I'm sorry you got sick, though.

[Jestgar]

I don't understand how you got glutened by a dish you did not eat off of. To cause a celiac reaction, the gluten has to be ingested, not looked at or smelled. Could you be having a psycho-somatic reaction? You really should relax and chill out a bit, overreacting will only get you labeled a nut-case.

It could be that the glutened dish was only a sign and the crumbs were more extensively spread. Careless people tend to be careless about a lot of things.

Seriously, we have enough people in our lives not believing we can get sick from food. The least we an do is believe each other.

[plantime]

That kind of reaction isn't very helpful. I don't think that fatty diarrhea, blurred vision, mental confusion and arthritis could be caused by a psycho-somatic reaction, but maybe so. Inhaled gluten gets into the stomach via the villa that line the esphagus. Inhaled flour bothers lots of people, why not inhaled bread crumbs?

Then you would be surprised at what the mind can do to a body.

Surely if you inhaled a crumb of bread, you would have noticed. It is large in comparison to the nasal passages, and you would have felt it. I think perhaps you might have gotten glutened from a different source.

For the record, I am the only one in my family that is celiac. I deal with breadcrumbs and the like all the time. It is MY responsibility to make sure that I do not inhale or ingest gluten, not their's. I don't sniff dirty dishes, lick mixing spoons, or put my fingers in my mouth. I simply rinse everything, load the dishwasher, wash the counters, then wash my hands. A little bit of personal responsibility goes a very long way.

[Treen Bean]

I had an interesting reaction a few days ago similar to yours. I was making my little sister a sandwich. I have done this before with no problems, as long as I thoroughly wash my hands afterwards. However, this time I actually smelled the bread. This is something I haven't done in two years. I don't know what possessed me to do it. I always smell my fruit before eating it to check the ripeness, so maybe I was thinking about fruit... I really don't know. But, I think I inhaled some crumbs or something, because I had a typical CC reaction. It wasn't as severe as I have experienced, but it was a CC reaction none the less.

I'm sorry you got sick. My family, who I don't live with but am visiting right now, tries very hard to be careful. Sometimes, though, we can't control everything. No one who loves you would want to make you sick. I know it is frustrating sometimes. However, I try to remember it is just as frustrating for my family when they make me sick. They always feel so guilty and often helpless.

I hope you feel better soon.

[dilettantesteph]

Thank you for your kind replies. It wasn't that bad of a reaction, and I am a lot better now. And I wouldn't have put my nose in it if it hadn't been in the gluten free part of the kitchen. I'm not a COMPLETE idiot.

[norcalballa23]

Oh man! i can just tell from your post you got glutend. I can tell caus i lash out at ppl too when i get gluten. Best thing to do is go to bed early. Take some sleeping medicine. Watch tv,Eat some safe food. Just bypass time and learn from your misfortune.

[dilettantesteph]

I had an interesting reaction a few days ago similar to yours. I was making my little sister a sandwich. I have done this before with no problems, as long as I thoroughly wash my hands afterwards. However, this time I actually smelled the bread. This is something I haven't done in two years. I don't know what possessed me to do it. I always smell my fruit before eating it to check the ripeness, so maybe I was thinking about fruit... I really don't know. But, I think I inhaled some crumbs or something, because I had a typical CC reaction. It wasn't as severe as I have experienced, but it was a CC reaction none the less.

I'm sorry you got sick. My family, who I don't live with but am visiting right now, tries very hard to be careful. Sometimes, though, we can't control everything. No one who loves you would want to make you sick. I know it is frustrating sometimes. However, I try to remember it is just as frustrating for my family when they make me sick. They always feel so guilty and often helpless.

I hope you feel better soon.

Below, I didn't mean to imply that you might be a complete idiot. I should have known better because I have gotten sick from inhaling flour before, when I was cleaning out my cupboards and I kept it all at arms length. I knew that breathing a bit into my nose makes me sick. You hadn't found that out yet. I was glad of the confirmation.

I am sorry that you got sick too. I find the via nose reactions last longer. I think the passage from the nose to the stomach must take a long time.

[one more mile]

Checking out crumbs is a hard habit to break because as the food provider, watcher and shopper I am always curious about what appears on a plate. Some times it is the only way that I find out that a key ingredient for dinner tonight has vanished. I had to break that habit though It is just to risky. My kitchen is tiny so there is no area for gluten-free and regular. I must never put my food down unless a fresh plate is under it so that it does not pick up the crumbs my roommate tosses around. He tires to be careful but as said earlier this is my illness and I must be be the one in charge of it. I am glad for others help but unless they walked a mile in my shoes I really can not expect them to get it. After all my dad is always saying that wheat is the staff of life, the creator of civilization. Most people tend to think that way. How many gasps have you heard when you said you can not eat wheat? I have heard quite a few.

Good luck.

One more mile