Kids and gluten, where to draw the line? page 3

[meeshar]

While the thread has gone beyond this now, I am quite gluten intolerant myself, and have had issues with sulfates/parabens/wheat proteins/etc, so it's not in her soap. Just to make a note.

That is a tough one. Do you need the test to be positive though, to say no more treats at school?
Can you bring things that you make so she can eat? Do treats happen often? It sounds likely to be that, but is it possibly something you are cleaning/washing her with? Maybe try no soap for a while? Or something environmental?
I have said to my sons school its ok he has whatever they have on someones birthday (the only time things like this happen at school), but if he had a rash like that id have to say no more.

Hope you can work it out soon

[Ayla2010]

While the thread has gone beyond this now, I am quite gluten intolerant myself, and have had issues with sulfates/parabens/wheat proteins/etc, so it's not in her soap. Just to make a note.

Thats cool, just wondered as you hadn't mentioned it.

[s-piper]

Our school is sugar, gluten, nut, latex, dairy, and egg free.

Good f#$%ing God! I'm so glad I'm not in public school right now....and dread the day I have kids that will be.

Nuts and latex don't surprise me, because I've heard of people being so allergic they can react just from being in the same room with it but there are really kids that are deathly allergic to dairy, eggs, and gluten? They react without eating them?

I wonder if grain consumption is making kids so allergy sensitive?

I have an allergy too, penicillin. I remember my 12th grade biology teacher freaking out that I didn't tell her before an experiment we did that used it. I didn't have a reaction, but to be safe I told my partner I was allergic and asked him to do there part where you had to touch the penicillin. She overheard and looked like she was going to faint.
I thought she was totally overreacting...guess this is why.

Anyway, yeah if you want the school to monitor whether your daughter eats gluten containing food, you will need a doctor's diagnosis. Good luck and I hope you find a good solution!

[notlupus]

IEP = individual educational plan 504 refers to legislation about including those with disabilities. Both are inclusion plans made by the school to ensure that the student can receive a safe and appropriate public education. Thankfully including students with allergies and learning disabilities has come a long way in the last several decades. When I was little if you had bad allergies you had to hope the teacher wouldn't give your child the crap the other parents brought in and that having it around wouldn't make them sick. If it did then you pretty much had to home school.

[teach2183]

My 2.5yo shows issues with gluten. He gets an exczema reaction including really red, dry cheeks. It take about a week for them to calm down and heal. We just moved and will be seeing a new doctor for birthdays this Spring and I'm hoping to speak with our doctor then. I'm not sure how I will approach this once school starts, but I'm hoping to avoid the testing as well. I too have noticed major behavior changes with both children depending on their wheat and sugar consumption. DD starts K in the fall so we'll see what we have to face!

I would start by talking to the school and see what they will do without an official diagnosis. It sounds like she'll be fine as long as she doesn't eat the food so you can probably get around it without the diagnosis. I would also find a new doctor if you don't agree with his view on this matter.

[meeshar]

Well, I took her to the doctor today, and he thinks it's just contact dermatitis. I'm not exactly sure how a rash that is only on her elbows would be contact dermatitis, but we'll try the steroid cream and see if it goes away. I mentioned that I'd looked up the rash and saw a connection with Celiac disease, and am gluten intolerant myself so we eat gluten-free at home, but she's not restricted elsewhere. He did ask if she had any digestive issues, but the only thing of note is looser stools when she eats away from home. If the rash doesn't clear up, then he'll look into it further. I didn't push it, probably should have but to be honest I was feeling pretty crappy myself today (bad toothache, seeing a dentist in the morning) but I will if the cream doesn't help. I'm still conflicted on whether to let her continue eating gluten. While it would make a diagnosis possible, she doesn't need to be suffering with this painful rash either.

One thing that came up when I was consulting Dr. Google was the mention of distended bellies in kids who get diagnosed as Celiac. That's interesting because she still has a "toddler belly" even though she's almost 5, and I've always thought that was a little odd. I guess that's another thing to bring up if/when we go back.

Edit - Just put the cream (triamcinolone acetonide) on her for the first time, it made her itch like crazy and she begged me to wash it off.

[notlupus]

I hope the doctor will do blood work next time and you don't have to wait for a biopsy for him to consider it positive. When she gets older I think having a definite diagnosis will help her stick with it as well as the school situation now. I've heard many stories about teenagers sneaking off to go have beer or pizza because they thought it was just their parents over reacting. i have one friend who went through something similar while in college before she eventually stuck with it 100%.

[meeshar]

I hope the doctor will do blood work next time and you don't have to wait for a biopsy for him to consider it positive. When she gets older I think having a definite diagnosis will help her stick with it as well as the school situation now. I've heard many stories about teenagers sneaking off to go have beer or pizza because they thought it was just their parents over reacting. i have one friend who went through something similar while in college before she eventually stuck with it 100%.

Me too, my husband was pretty upset today when I told him the doctor's reaction, I really should have put my foot down and said I wanted her tested. I know that conservative treatment is always the first line these days though (I used to work in medical insurance) but that just perpetuates the cycle of treating (i.e. throwing pharmaceuticals at) symptoms instead of fixing the root problem. Frustrating.

[zoebird]

Good f#$%ing God! I'm so glad I'm not in public school right now....and dread the day I have kids that will be.

My child goes to a private school. They don't find it difficult to do these things because it's common in our culture. You can go to any cafe and find vegan, gluten free foods -- and it's labeled as such. And, they are careful about cross contamination in this culture, too.

They just take it seriously here.

Nuts and latex don't surprise me, because I've heard of people being so allergic they can react just from being in the same room with it but there are really kids that are deathly allergic to dairy, eggs, and gluten? They react without eating them?

Yes. my son's "girlfriend" has such a severe egg allergy that we cannot send hard boiled ones with DS, and when she stays at our house, we cannot use the same pan that we fry eggs in (luckily, I found a camp-sized iron skillet online that was inexpensive, and so when she's over I cook for her on that).

[notlupus]

I have a student with an egg allergy and hers is considered mild because she can eat things that have the "processed in a facility that also processes egg" warning on them. I can't eat things with the same warning for wheat/gluten.