Gf/cf personal items?
How vital is it that items such as shampoo and soap be gf/cf? Have pplhad success on the diet without switching to gf/cf personal items?
Also, what is in play doh and glue that makes them off limits as well?Is the reason they are a no-no because the child could put those itemsin his mouth? What if the child simply washed his hands thoroughlyafter use?
This post tagged as: shampoo
Bethanie Milin said,
Wrote on January 28, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
Many kids like my son are addicted to gluten. They will do anythingto get it. Let me tell you some of my son’s tricks. When my son was2, he knew his Sunday School teacher was watching him to make sure hedid not get the playdough (which is made from wheat flour). Knowingthis, he ran to the table, picked up 2 balls and waited for her torush to him. Once she got near, he dropped one and popped the otherin his mouth while she bent down. For a 2 year old assessed asdevelopmentally at the level of an 8 month old, this planning ispretty impressive and obviouly he was obsessed. I would have to saymy son’s worst infractions have involved playdough. It is just toodifficult to always keep my eyes on him at all times. Even if youwatch closely and you can wash his hands, it sticks like crazy andgets under the nails. I know when I taught Sunday School, I wouldalways come home with playdough on the bottom of my shoes. It is justplain messy.
Now my son is 6 and even though he has been gluten-free for over 4years, he is still trying to get it. Near the end of last school yearI got a call from my son’s teacher. She said the last few days atschool, my son has been acting differently. He was tantruming (whichhe now rarely does) and having hard time with transitions. At home Ihad noticed he was not with it and was agressive. We went over whathe ate but couldn’t figure it out. At the end of the week, I went toBack to School night at his school. His teacher was telling me thatmy son has been so affectionate with her lately. He would like to sitnext to her and put his face against her arm. An aide said it lookedlike he was sniffing her. A red flag! I asked her if she hadmoisturizer on. She said she just got a new one but verified it didnot have wheat in it. Her husband spoke up and said it was oatmealbased (I think Aveno)! She looked so embarrassed. The next day shesent a letter to all the aides that they can only wear approvedlotion. My son’s tantrums stopped.
Another thing I have to watch out for that is not often discussed isrecycled paper. In the processing of recycled paper, they usedgluten. This is most commonly used for boxes (such as video gamepackaging), greating cards and board books. I cannot leave myautistic son alone with a board book or he will chew on it. When myceliac son was a baby he also could not have board books unattendeduntil he stopped the mouthing stage since he would get sick from thegluten.
I have heard other stories of a child licking mom’s face whose makeuphas gluten and a child licking the TV only to realize the cleaner usedhas gluten.
This makes me wonder how many kids were put on the diet that did notimprove due to non-food items making the mom think the diet didn’twork or how many kids make mild improvement when potentially theycould make even greater.