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Does Quantity Matter?


Tanner's Mom

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Tanner's Mom Newbie

Hello. I'm a mom of a child with newly diagnosed Celiac. The one question I can't seem to find an answer to is this: does the quantity of gluten my child is exposed to change the severity of the reaction? There is so much discussion about even a spec of gluten due to CC and people who report becoming very sick from this miniscule amount of gluten. If they're sick for two days from a spec of cross contamination then would it be exponentially worse if they ate an entire piece of wheat bread? I guess I don't really understand the way the body is reacting to the gluten if such a miniscule amount can cause such a profound reaction. Thank you for your input!

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psawyer Proficient

Yes, and no.

We each have a threshold where the amount of gluten is such that it overtakes the body's ability to heal.

Small amounts of contact may or may not affect you. Do what you can to avoid them, but be practical.

If you have an accident, do not assume that more will not do more damage. Do not eat a slice of pizza because you discovered an uneaten crouton in your salad.

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beebs Enthusiast

It does for me, if I have small amounts I can still feel it, and get symptoms. But if I have large amounts I get severely ill and last time ended up in emergency.

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Takala Enthusiast

The longer one is off of gluten, if one is celiac or gluten intolerant, the more likely one is more sensitive to it. People who start out not reacting to "casual" levels of cross contamination, may be in for a big surprise a few years down the line of a gluten free diet.

On "tiny" amounts:

You can't even see viruses that cause the common cold or flu - but that does not mean that they are not capable of causing a physical reaction in your body. Once exposed, if it's the same line of germs, it is not going to cause a cold over and over again, unless it is a different strain that mutated. So you then get over it, after the body mounts a defense to try to get it out of you by running a temperature and making snot, and you're "immune" to that strain. You never get "immune" to a celiac or gluten intolerance reaction, once you're over one of them. The gluten doesn't change or adapt on its own, because it is a plant protein, and your body's reaction to it doesn't change. It doesn't say, well, we sure killed off that gluten before, so now we don't have to worry about it anymore. It is instead your immune system is going awry, lurking, and poised to go after your own tissues if it is accidentally turned "on" by the presence of the gluten invader, again.

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Tanner's Mom Newbie

Thank you for your input, I appreciate the responses!

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    • trents
      And the fact is, no two celiacs will necessarily respond the same to gluten exposure. Some are "silent" celiacs and don't experience obvious symptoms. But that doesn't mean no harm is being done to their gut. It just means it is subclinical. 
    • AlyO
      Thank you, Trents.  I appreciate your helpful and friendly reply. It seems more likely to be a bug.  It has been a pretty severe bought. I feel that I don’t have enough experience to know what signs my little one shows after exposure to gluten. 
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      Hannah24, be aware that if you are on a gluten free diet, you will invalidate any further testing for celiac disease (except genetics) and would need to go back to eating significant amounts of gluten for weeks or months to qualify for valid testing.
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      We do hear of cases of remission but they generally eventually revert back. I wouldn't push your luck.
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