What Non-food Things Do I Have To Be Careful Of?

[3groovygirls]

It's official that Violet has Celiacs. I don't know if you all remember me, she's the baby that's now 20 months old but had failure to thrive and has reacted so violently to gluten she got immediate vomiting and diarrhea. So we saw a GI Dr. and he said it would be too bad to put her on gluten just to get the biopsy and blood test, due to her failure to thrive. So he did the genetic test and said if she had that she most likely had it. That in cases like hers they DO use the gene test. So she tested positive for the HLA-DQ2 gene.

My question is, what things *other* than food should I be careful of. For instance Play-doh. We do it nearly every day! This has four in it. She doesn't eat it but she plays with it. Is this ok or is it it bad for her? Do lotions have it? What about sunlotions? I know California baby says it's "gluten free" so I tried to use it last summer but it gave her hives, so I switched to Baby Blue Lizard. Gluten isn't listed as an ingredient but it doesn't say "gluten free".

I'm new to this so I don't get - can lotions and soaps that have gluten REALLY go through your skin and hurt her??

What about when her sisters eat and if she gets even a few leftover crumbs off the floor of something - will that hurt her? (Meaning if it's not enough to give her diarrhea?)

Anything else I should know or be cautious of with a toddler new to Celiacs? Something that I wouldnt' even think of?

Linda

[Amyleigh0007]

Congratulations on Violet's diagnosis. I know that is a strange thing to congratulate someone on but I think you are lucky! You have the key to your daughter's health! Many, many people aren't as fortunate.

As for things to be aware of.... We are a gluten free home. It just makes things much easier. You won't have to worry about crumbs, contaminated pots and pans, and things like that. The reason why Play-Doh is a no no is because it can get under the nails and if hands aren't washed properly, the Play-Doh can be ingested. That is true for soaps and lotions too. The gluten molecule can not go through skin but the problem arises when it gets into open sores, eyes, mouth, etc. If she has Celiac then, yes, even a crumb of gluten can hurt her. Like I said, it's so much easier to have a gluten free home. Good luck!

[dandelionmom]

There are some gluten-free play dohs. We usually just use Moon Sand though, it is more fun!

The lotions don't go through the skin, the concern is that they'll put their hands in their mouths and ingest it that way. It is up to you how careful you want to be. We keep all our lotions, soaps, shampoos, etc gluten-free because we're trying to minimize risk as much as we can.

My daughter is extremely sensitive to gluten (a few crumbs are enough to make her sick for a week) so we keep it out of the house for the most part.

[3groovygirls]

Thanks guys! I see what your saying about congrats - after reading many posts on here it seems that Violet is in the minority having such clear concise results! You are right to be thankful for that.

Not to be totally clueless but how do you KNOW if a lotion doesn't have gluten in it? Or shampoo, etc? I guess what I'm asking is what is the chemical name I'm looking for, KWIM? Or a master list of gluten free products? Sorry, I'm so clueless!

Also do you all also have other kids at home? How do they react to having to be gluten free? I am willing to bet there is no way my DH would go gluten free. EVER. He's too into food. I mean, my 2 older kid ALL their snacks and food have gluten, if I just took them away, wow, they'd go into shock! They're so darn picky I think they'd eat nothing....

I really honestly think my 3 year old (well she's 4 next week) has it as well. She's 4, only 27lbs. They thought she had it back at 1.5 years old but only ran the IgA tests, which were negative (as they often are in babies right?)no gene test. Now she's still not on the growth chart, barely has hair, etc....

I suppose I should get tested too. Can I ask something really random (and I hope this doesn't sound bad) if I do have Celiacs and I go off gluten will I gain weight? My entire adult life, other than being pg, I've been 5'9" tall and no more than 115lbs. I always thought it was the genes - ROFL - yeah probably the Celiacs gene! So will going off gluten make me gain weight? (Not that I won't do whats healthy, this is entirely a vanity question....)

[dandelionmom]

Not to be totally clueless but how do you KNOW if a lotion doesn't have gluten in it? Or shampoo, etc? I guess what I'm asking is what is the chemical name I'm looking for, KWIM? Or a master list of gluten free products? Sorry, I'm so clueless!

I just called the companies on the products we used. We had to stop using Aveeno products.

Also do you all also have other kids at home? How do they react to having to be gluten free? I am willing to bet there is no way my DH would go gluten free. EVER. He's too into food. I mean, my 2 older kid ALL their snacks and food have gluten, if I just took them away, wow, they'd go into shock! They're so darn picky I think they'd eat nothing....

I have three children, one with celiac, one we suspect (too young for accurate testing), and one that doesn't have it. The one who doesn't have it eats gluten at school but gluten-free at home. She's okay with it. We talked about it when we first go the diagnosis and promised her we'd keep things like chips, popcorn, cheese sticks, and gluten-free cookies on hand. She wants her sister to be healthy too. I bet your DH will feel the same way. My H eats gluten at work and when out with friends then we limit the at home snacks to gluten-free ones.

I suppose I should get tested too. Can I ask something really random (and I hope this doesn't sound bad) if I do have Celiacs and I go off gluten will I gain weight? My entire adult life, other than being pg, I've been 5'9" tall and no more than 115lbs. I always thought it was the genes - ROFL - yeah probably the Celiacs gene! So will going off gluten make me gain weight? (Not that I won't do whats healthy, this is entirely a vanity question....)

You should all be tested. I found out I had celiac disease after my daughter was diagnosed. I feel better than I ever have so I (usually) see it as a blessing. I have gained weight but I probably would have done that anyway!