My Desk At Work

[CarolinaKip]

I was out of my school room this afternoon. I have been going to another room for the last couple of fridays while another teacher joins mine. Today I walk in and the teacher is eating from a bag of crackers at my desk and has them on it. I stopped in my tracks. I was quiet, but freaking out in my mind. How many Fridays has she done this? The children have snack on Fridays, so she eats what they do,gluten. I went ahead and told my teacher in a nice way I'd prefer if no one ate gluten on my desk. She apologized and said they didn't even think about it. So, a scrub down of my desk is in order. Do you ever feel safe anywhere? I'm wondering if on my bad days I'm getting some gluten from places I thought where safe. I'm rethinking everything, from my lipstick to work.

[sahm-i-am]

A cute, but noticeable "Gluten Free Zone" sign on your desk might be the reminder they need.

[kareng]

I bet speaking to her once will do it. She didn't realize it will be a problem. She doesn't live with it every day so she doesn't think about it like we do.

Do the kids know? This would be a good way to educate them a little so as they get bigger, food allergies & Celiac won't seem so strange.

[sandsurfgirl]

If you haven't been getting sick don't worry about it. We live in a gluten filled world and you won't be able to keep it away from you when you are out of your house.

Wash your hands before you eat and maybe wipe down your desk before you eat at it as a rule because kids have gluten on them all the time, on their hands etc. Keep a big jar of wipes and some bottled water in your room for desk washing if you don't have a sink. If you have a sink then it will be easier.

I don't think you need a super thorough panicky scrub down of your desk because of some crackers. I am really sensitive and get sick from trace amounts and I wouldn't go nuts scrubbing the desk over that. Honesly I probably wouldn't have even worried about it at all. There's gluten on every surface you come in contact with pretty much because everybody has it on their hands.

Frequent hand washing is your best ally. Also when i was a teacher I kept baby wipes in my room (asked parents to donate) for room cleaning. Non toxic and not harsh on the hands and they do a great job of cleaning. Use them at home all the time for quick wipe ups.