Cross Contamination

[Dixiebell]

Last night my spouse and I were debating about CC. He doesn't think we need to be so worried about it. My son is a scout and will be camping next month and the scout leaders wife wants to talk to me about the menu. My spouse told me that they want the boys to eat the same foods so that none of the children say 'how come I have to eat it if he doesn't?' Which is odd to me. I said to him, half of the boys take ritalin (sp?), that doesn't mean he needs it to. I had mentioned to him that if they had burgers at camp he could put our sons on foil and use clean tongs. He thought that was to EXTREME. He said with all the wheat/gluten our son was eating before, he would be dead by now if CC was an issue. What!!! I told him no, it's more of a slow death, cancers etc. All but one of my G-mothers siblings have died from all sorts of cancers and his mom has had breast cancer twice and now bone cancer. Not to mention all the other auto-immune disease floating on my side. He also said with all the wheat/gluten in the house our son hasn't had prob with CC. I reminded my spouse all we have in the house with wheat/gluten is his bread, his bagel chips, his beer and a couple cans of chunky soup that he eats. All the meals that I prepare are gluten free, when we go out my son and I order gluten free. Yesterday we had a back to school picnic with scouts and they were having hot dogs, I asked him if he wanted a hot dog too, he said no, I don't like them. So we took a PB sand on Udi's and he was fine. I know my son is fine with his food, he does't complain about it at all. My son has seen that he doesn't have severe tummy issues like he did before. So I guess my question is how careful should we be? As far as I know we haven't had any CC issues yet.

[kareng]

Looking at the food and the way it's prepared by my son's Scout troop, it would be easy to eat gluten-free. They cook in Dutch ovens over coals a lot. They line them with foil for ease of clean up. I would probably get him his own just to be safe. He can be involved in all the meal planning if he wanted. Sometimes something has biscuits or noodles, but that is an easy fix. Last campout they had foil dinners. Everyone put chicken or a burger with BBQ sauce or salsa and frozen veggies in their own pack and cooked it. When its hot they eat cereal, donuts or granola bars &fruit for breakfast. Bring their own lunch the first day if they go early a.m.

We had 2 brothers who would eat food they brought in their tent and not come out. My son thought celiac disease but turned out they are just weird. They have limited stuff they like to eat but have started to eat with the group.

Our troop has kids with so many issues, eating gluten-free would be happily accommodated.

[RachelisFacebook]

Honestly, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Its better to have them line it with fresh foil and use clean tongs than your poor son have stomach troubles while camping out. That doesn't sound like a very fun time to me.

[Mizzo]

Honestly, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Its better to have them line it with fresh foil and use clean tongs than your poor son have stomach troubles while camping out. That doesn't sound like a very fun time to me.

CC is always an issue in a non gluten-free environment.

My Examples:

My girl got cc with tongs at a family BBQ, and that was with CONCERNED family being careful, but oops forgot to use separate tongs and yes an mild stomach ache did occur ( just with tongs.)

I let her play with play dough, not thinking the CC a big deal as she is 7 and doesn't stick her fingers in her mouth. Yeah! right!! next day, stomach cramps and Diarrhea.

My girl ate nuts from a canister that had Sesame sticks in it and again cc'd, a mild stomach ache but still it was not fun for her.

We are at a the point where we can tell being cc'd is a concern and now take even more precautions. I pack all her food, right down to napkins now.

I don't care what others say she gets what I give her and nothing else, unless it's factory packaged then into her hands.

[kareng]

Dixie, if you need some Scout campout recipes they can all enjoy, message me. Son & hub would be happy to help you out. They do a cobbler that you could use the Betty Crocker mix in. Also, foil desserts, too.

[T.H.]

I'd say you have the right concerns. CC is definitely an issue.

Frankly, saying that if CC was an issue your son would dead is like saying. I don't look both ways before i cross the street, but if looking both ways before we cross the street was really such a big deal, I'd be dead by now.

Just because we were lucky, or didn't see the danger, doesn't make it not real.

And as for the danger with CC, or getting gluten at all? I have a good example in my own life. Every time your son gets glutened, he is immuno-compromised. Might not seem like a big deal, like he gets a few more colds or something, right? And usually that's the case. But it can lead to some pretty serious, nasty things too, that don't happen to people whose immune system is working.

Before I was diagnosed, I was eating gluten, was immunocompromised without knowing it, and I had the bad luck to contract a disease that just causes a cough for a month or so - if you have a good immune system. If you don't, it escapes the lungs, invades the body, and can cause anything from bone deterioration to meningitis and death. I had pain and problems walking for about a year, and this disease is now dormant, but there is no cure. If I'd been diagnosed and gluten free, this wouldn't have happened.

As to how little is needed to contaminate? I suppose I'd ask him if he'd treat raw meat as casually as he treats gluten for his son. We know bacteria can contaminate anything they touch from raw meat, so we wash the cutting boards, don't use the same knives and utensils on food that we've used on raw meat, etc... Gluten's no different, except that cooking STILL doesn't get rid of the gluten, so it's like 'gluten' bacteria from raw meat that never leaves and can only be washed away. And can't multiply, thank goodness, or we'd be in trouble, LOL.

[Grace'smom]

Dixie, if you need some Scout campout recipes they can all enjoy, message me. Son & hub would be happy to help you out. They do a cobbler that you could use the Betty Crocker mix in. Also, foil desserts, too.

Hi karen!

I'd love that gluten free cobbler recipe with the Betty Crocker mix, if you dont mind sending it! Thanks, Emily

[CeliacMom2008]

According to our ped. GI, every time your son ingests gluten it will take his body and intestines about 2 months to forget that "little" cross contamination. There's no such thing as "mostly" gluten free. For your son's sake, your hubby needs to spend some time researching for himself how serious Celiac is. He's right, your son isn't going to go into anaphylactic shock and die if there is cross contamination. But he isn't going to be healthy either, and down the road he will have an increased risk of a lot of diseases such as cancer. Further, the longer your son is gluten free, the more dramatic his reaction to it may become. Many with Celiac develop severe reactions when before they were only mild. Think projectile vomiting, severe diarrhea, or just plain feeling lousy. Wow doesn't that sound like a fun way to hang out with a bunch of kids?? The sooner your son learns to be careful about what he eats the easier his life will be.

It sounds like Dad doesn't want to stand out or be seen as different. I can relate to that entirely. I would much rather blend into the wallpaper than draw attention to myself. I've just had to get over that. There's just no way around it. Our kids can't eat what everyone else does. It's a fact of their life now.

[missceliac2010]

On another forum topic, someone likened the ingestion of E-Coli intentionally, and just "dealing with" the D, tummy pain, etc later. Would you DIE? Probably not. Would you feel like crap? Probably. When my family questions me, I ask them if they like D and tummy pain. Most people don't. The "heavy" stuff, like damage to my intestines, and possible future cancer if I don't follow my diet to the T, is not usually something the average person can wrap their heads around. So I like the E Coli/salmonella/food poisoning example to my skeptic friend/family. That tends to be a concept people can get through their thick skulls. My ex husband is a tough nut to crack since my son has gone gluten free recently and is feeling much better. I used this example with him, and he said he will do his best to keep him healthy when he has custody and would do some grocery shopping for my son. He asked me to email him a list of suggestions for his shopping list even! Try to explain to your husband in a tangible example what it feels like to "get glutened." When I get glutened, I turn into an angry, bi-polor"ish", manic depressive manic! LOL. Needless to say, my boyfriend is VERY careful about keeping me away from the gluten. Does your child have psychological side effects too? That could be another angle to get him on board.....nobody likes a cranky kid!

Good luck!