Classrooms And Sanitizer

[SilverSlipper]

My daughter's classroom washes their hands after going to the bathroom, but in all other circumstances (including before/after snack/lunch), sanitizer takes the place of soap and water. Am I correct in saying that sanitizer doesn't "kill" the gluten "germs"?

[GlutenFreeManna]

You are correct since gluten is not a germ it is a protein. Hand sanitizer does not kill or destroy it. They only way to get it off the hands is by washing with soap and water.

[Jestgar]

No. Nor will it remove food particles stuck to their hands that will feed all the new germs they come in contact with. I'd raise a fuss if my child were expected to using something as drying as alcohol on place of actual cleaning.

[domesticactivist]

This is a very common problem. You need to educate the staff at your child's school about the need for *all* the children to wash up with soap and water before and after eating. They can transfer the gluten to the tables, chairs, toys, door handles, each other, etc. They also need to understand that just because he doesn't have an anaphylactic reaction or they don't see any reaction right away doesn't mean he hasn't reacted. Educate them about the nature of *autoimmune* reactions.

I'm pretty sure my son got glutened the other day at his piano recital by playing the piano that everyone else played, then having blueberries without washing his hands. This does matter.

[SilverSlipper]

Thanks - the school is behind in 504 plan meetings so I'll mention it in the fall when we meet. My daughter does wash her hands but it's a bit vague as to whether other people do or not. Thankfully, she is meticulous about avoiding gluten and once she knows problem areas, she resolves them. So, I'll talk with her first.

[Roda]

Had to have the same discussion with my son's teacher etc. Also a few years ago my oldest was having horrible reactions from the hand sanitizer and soap. I told his teacher that he was NOT to use the hand sanitizer or soap and provided him with non antibacterial soap (we all have skin problems with it) to wash with. The poor kids hands were dry, cracked and bleeding.