How Long To Expose Child That Has Not Been Exposed

[marmar]

My daughter has never been exposed to gluten but I want to get her tested and our labs/insurance only do the antibody test. She is 18 months old. Does anyone know how much gluten (I think it's half a slice of bread per day) and for how long she needs to be exposed before the test will work?

[Amyleigh0007]

I believe it's the equivalent of four slices of bread per day for at least a few months.

[psawyer]

I've heard a smaller quantity than four slices, but I don't know if half a slice is enough. Mind you, total body weight may be a factor. A child of 18 months would likely need less in absolute terms to trigger the same magnitude of immune reaction. Three or more months would still be the duration, I would think.

[ravenwoodglass]

The rate of false negatives in young children is high. For that reason in countries that screen routinely they wait until age four to do so and then they test again at puberty if the child has no symptoms. Is she is gluten free because your home is gluten free or is she gluten free because she developed issues when you added gluten in previously?

[Jestgar]

The rate of false negatives in young children is high. For that reason in countries that screen routinely they wait until age four to do so and then they test again at puberty if the child has no symptoms. Is she is gluten free because your home is gluten free or is she gluten free because she developed issues when you added gluten in previously?

I agree with raven. You could keep her gluten-free until she's older, or give her gluten now and see if she reacts. If you're worried about damage without symptoms, don't change her diet.

[marmar]

We've started giving her some gluten every day. I'm a celiac and am worried she may have inherited it.

So far, she hasn't had any symptoms but even if she does test negative I may keep her gluten

intake low until she's older. Why does the antibody test not work in young children?

[TotalKnowledge]

We've started giving her some gluten every day. I'm a celiac and am worried she may have inherited it.

So far, she hasn't had any symptoms but even if she does test negative I may keep her gluten

intake low until she's older. Why does the antibody test not work in young children?

I would think it would be safer to assume she has it. There really is no reason that I can think of that a child that young *should* eat wheat. It can be avoided much easier than adults can avoid it.

Right now she can't tell you how the introduction of gluten is effecting her. An older child can more easily express their discomfort with any of the problems that can be associated with gluten intolerance.

[Jana315]

I'm not a DR. but I'm gonna guess that antibody results often give false negatives in little ones because, basically, their immune system is very immature. For instance, if you speak to a seasoned allergist or Dr., they will tell you that babies less than 12 months of age, very, very rarely can have true allergies to any trigger - their bodies just don't produce mature immune system responses. So, this may apply to both Iga & Igg antibodies - just a guess on my part.

Jana

[LDJofDenver]

One thing you might consider is genetic testing (now or a couple years down the road).

Mainly because it would show whether or not she carries the gene for it. If she doesn't, gluten may be something she doesn't need to worry about in her dietary future.

Here's a link to 2 articles about Genetic Testing:

Open Original Shared Link

and 10 Facts About Genetic Testing:

https://www.celiac.com/articles/21567/1/Ten...ting/Page1.html

Here are a couple links to places where you can get the tests done:

www.kimballgenetics.com and www.enterolab.com