Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Could it be the lotion?

Lizzie89

Recommended Posts

Lizzie89 Rookie
Lizzie89
Posted

Hello. My 8 year old daughter has gluten intolerance that manifests in terrible behavioral problems. We learned of this in March, after years of searching for the reasons she acted the ways she did. Since then, we have done everything we can to eliminate gluten and dairy (another intolerance diagnosed), along with a number of food additives that have proven problematic. The change has been dramatic. 

Here is the thing: over the past three weeks, her behavior has tanked. She is angry all the time, and has hit and kicked me on several occasions. She is in camp, but I send her with snacks and lunches and she now knows to avoid crumbs. The only thing I can think if is that she likes to use Eucerin lotion on her skin. Eucerin can contain gluten, it turns out. I have done some web surfing, and I know gluten doesn't get absorbed through the skin, but she could be ingesting it because it's on her hands. 

Does anyone have thoughts on this? Help! 

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted

Contact the manufacturer and ask about the gluten. Some say the hand soaps, lotions, shampoos do not matter, I say if you touch it with you hand casually then touch your food, a mint, gum, lips, etc your going to evetually gluten yourself. Heck those of us with long hair can attest that it blows into your mouth randomly with a fan or wind.

Everyone is different with timing, and the time a exposure effects us. My mental quirks with gluten last less then 48 hours...but I have recently noticed other symptoms can wax and wane up to 6 weeks after a small exposure. So you do not know if it was a one time freak exposure with food, play dough, a snack at a friends house, candy, or perhaps she touched something with flour dust on it and touched her mouth/food in the past few weeks.

Give it some time and research everything, double check, things, email manufactures and if in doubt about something just throw it out.

tessa25 Rising Star
tessa25
Posted

I changed my lotion to one without gluten in it. I use Jergens daily moisturizer fragrance free.

She's probably getting glutened at camp.

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Though using a gluten free lotion is important as many people tend to put their hands in the mouth, the camp is probably the culprit.  Unless they have strict gluten free kitchen practices and the counselors oversee good hand washing practices, there is no way she can be safe.  Did you tour the kitchen?  I know that our local Girl Scout camp kitchen staff approached me for gluten free safety measures besides additional training from the celiac organizations. 

If the camp was local (day) like a soccer camp or one run through park and rec, you should talk with staff and insure they can protect her.  Does she have an IEP or 504 plan in place?  

Consider a celiac camp next year.  There are several.  I wanna go!  

BergieF Explorer
BergieF
Posted

My kids and I use Everyone Lotion.  It's Certified Gluten Free.  I've been able to find it at my local Wal Mart and have ordered it from the site below.  I second what Ennis said about calling/emailing the manufacturers.   

Also, Gabriel Cosmetics and ZuZu Luxe have certified products.  My daughter and myself use their line of makeup.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

StylinVer Newbie
StylinVer
Posted

I had the same reaction to that lotion. I use Hempz lotion now. It’s gluten-free and works amazing. Many different ones to choose from. Smells great too! My favorite is the Triple Moisture. 

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted
1 hour ago, BergieF said:

My kids and I use Everyone Lotion.  It's Certified Gluten Free.  I've been able to find it at my local Wal Mart and have ordered it from the site below.  I second what Ennis said about calling/emailing the manufacturers.   

Also, Gabriel Cosmetics and ZuZu Luxe have certified products.  My daughter and myself use their line of makeup.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I use Gabriel’s lipsticks.  I love them!  

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Lizzie89 Rookie
Lizzie89
Posted
  • Author

Thanks to everyone who responded! This is all good advice. On the camp front, it's a day camp and I pack her lunch. Nonetheless, her twin brother, who goes to all the same camps, says that there are crumbs all over the table during lunch, so that's a likely source. 

She also does use lotion a lot, and probably isn't washing her hands afterward. 

I just hadn't realized how sensitive people can be to this stuff. Also, since her symptoms are mostly emotional/behavioral, the whole thing is harder to pin down for me. 

Thanks again!

Lizzie89 Rookie
Lizzie89
Posted
  • Author
13 hours ago, StylinVer said:

I had the same reaction to that lotion. I use Hempz lotion now. It’s gluten-free and works amazing. Many different ones to choose from. Smells great too! My favorite is the Triple Moisture. 

So, you got angry and emotional when using Eucerin? I just want to make sure thst's what you are saying. I am still trying to find my daughter's new baseline for behavior, and I always wonder what is gluten and what might be something else!

BergieF Explorer
BergieF
Posted
13 minutes ago, Lizzie89 said:

So, you got angry and emotional when using Eucerin? I just want to make sure thst's what you are saying. I am still trying to find my daughter's new baseline for behavior, and I always wonder what is gluten and what might be something else!

Eucerin lotion has gluten in it.  She needs to use products that are gluten free.  You have to think how many times a day a kid will touch their lips or pick something up to eat.  If that body product has gluten in it, she will end up ingesting it somehow.  Same thing applies with lipgloss/lip balm. 

 

Also something to think about since the school year is starting up.  

-make sure she has her own gluten-free soap to wash her hands before lunch.

-cleaning supplies for her desk.

-gluten free snacks to keep on hand so she's not left out during treat time. 

-make sure her art supplies are gluten free (paints, glues, etc)

-I always ask for a list of ingredients they will use in projects and provide my children with gluten-free versions.  

-Airborn gluten is an issue too, mine can't be in class if they have gluten flying around in the air.

-

Lizzie89 Rookie
Lizzie89
Posted
  • Author

Thanks, BergieF. I think the fact that her symptoms appear primarily behavioral has been really confusing for me as a non-celiac parent trying to navigate this. She becomes so beligerant about things that are so meaningless. I thought for years that she had a mental illness, and there still might be something. I have to nail down the gluten stuff in order to know what's what, but the gluten is such a mine field. Everyone's thoughts, advice and experience here is incredibly helpful!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      126,091
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Order Codeine Online Chris
    Newest Member
    Order Codeine Online Chris
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.9k
    • Total Posts
      69.2k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Kathleen JJ
      Options - 7 year old boy - Helicobacter pylori and serology

      By Kathleen JJ · Posted

      @cristiana Do you have any suggestions for the gummy bear type of candy? Because that is what is getting passed around. Someone told me "you will have to read all labels thoroughly from now on" but to be honest: I don't know what I'm looking for that should or should not be there? And is the notion "gluten free" trustable? And what about "may contain residual gluten"? Is that safe?
    • Kathleen JJ
      Options - 7 year old boy - Helicobacter pylori and serology

      By Kathleen JJ · Posted

      @trents The first thought indeed I had was 'thank god it's not cancer' and of course, there are many, many, many worse diagnoses to get. But this doesn't mean it doesn't come as a shock. I read a lot of the time 'the most common symptoms are...' and then all the things he doesn't have, but never do I find a list of less common symptoms (bar @Wheatwackeds examples - and also non of these are present). I get that severe pains can be a symptom, though the fact that they were omnipresent for 10 days (the exact time his viral values were up) and then 6 weeks later 1 episode also when the family was going through a stomach bug, and since then (nor ever before) none, this logically seems more related to a virus then a symptom of Coeliac, as I'd think this would have to be more present on a regular basis? He always has loved gluten-containing food and at that time was rather having less of it (due to the bug and feeling a little under the weather so eating more yoghurt and the likes then cookies) then more of it. It just doesn't sound all that logical. That being said, I comprehend AND accept that things can not always be logical.   I am trying to understand what you are saying about the tolerance - so as long as he eats gluten, he will have some tolerance to it, but when he stops, and say accidentally ingests something, he will react more as the tolerance is lower? It sounds so illogical (hmm, I see a pattern with myself: really looking for logic in a very illogical condition). And how do you interpret the values very 6 months as you maybe don't know there has been an accidental intake?  Do the values ever go down to zero or is it a question of getting them mainly lower and can they never go down to normal rates?   Normally results of his biopsy are coming in on monday, a little chance they come in today. I've been checking my mail every 10 seconds 🤦🏻‍♀️, this will not be a productive working day I fear 🙄. Then we know the values, but we only have an appointment with the specialized pediatrician and dietitian on December 6d (which in Belgium is a children's holiday comparable to Santa Clause). So we'll get the full "introduction" to the disorder and approach then.   I did talk to the pediatrician and gastrointestinal doctor who did the gastroscopy asking their advice about a plan I was having: to wait to start the diet after the holiday season, we will be abroad in a hotel and to start there in this very new world feels quite stressful for us, but even worse: it will start this journey in a lot of negativity. So our plan is to have a "yummy" party after we return from our trip, during Christmas holidays, inviting some of his friends and buying and making a vast array of gluten free goodies and having them sample and score it. This way it feels like a festive thing AND we can immediately find some things (hopefully) he genuinely like.   Both doctors agreed with this approach as this was truly an accidental find and hadn't we tested his blood 2 weeks ago chances were we'd only have found out in a year or 2 so those extra few weeks will not make the difference.   So now I'm gathering information, talking to people to know where there's good stuff...     But what keeps on being quite ununderstandable to me (I hope this will get explained on December 6th) is how it works. So it's auto-immune, meaning gluten trigger an immune response. Is this a black and white thing? Does 1 grain of wheat trigger the same response as a full bowl of spaghetti? And I mean this on a bowel and organs level, not on a symptoms level, as I gather (is this correct?) that not having any symptoms does not mean that his bowel doesn't get attacked?   I know it all could be worse, I truly do, but to be honest, this is the 4th "anvil falling on my head out of a clear blue sky" diagnosis that I got for one of my most loved people. First my mother was diagnosed with presenile dementia without anyone in the family having it. Then my unborn daughter turned out to have a chromosomal defect that made that she could only live inside of me and died when she was born, then my sister turned out to have (a tested non genetic 🤯) form of presenile dementia as well, with me being her only caretaker as my mother passed away a few years ago and she has no family of her own. And now this. And this is absolutely not only the least of this row but of course not even in the same ball park. But for my resilience and bearing capacity this just feels not little as it affects the life of my little boy...    
    • Wheatwacked
      Has anyone found Ozempic affected their symptoms?

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Could be the Ozampic is masking your expected symptoms.  Like an analgesic masks pain.  Qzampic slows digestion to lower the rate glucose enters the intestine to slow its effect on glucose level.  It seems it might also slow down the gluten entry into the intestine, reducing its trigger level for the antibodies.  Ultimately the damage from gluten is the same, just not as fast so the pain is less.  Sourdough bread has less gluten.  Ozampic siows its entry.
    • Wheatwacked
      Options - 7 year old boy - Helicobacter pylori and serology

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      You can sell it better if the whole family does gluten free.  If he does have Celiac Diease, it is genetic so either you, your spouse, or both have a 40% chance of also having Celiac.  There are over 200 non classic symptoms also caused by celiac disease not often considered by doctors. Joint pain, muscle pain, muscle cramps, osteoporosis, and allergies for starters.  
    • Wheatwacked
      On the cusp of facing a new life of managing a life with Celiac Disease

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Hello @MHavoc, thank you for your question and welcome to the clinic. First, has the contstipation abated with the GFD? If your are pursuing further diagnostics you must continue to eat gluten. Each lab has their own reference range for their test, but they indicate an H for high.  Typically anything above 11 is considered positive. Mild chronic inflammation (gastritis) can interfere with intrinsic factor for B12 leading to low B12 causing low MCHC (anemia). So what is causing your gastritis?  A high tTG IgA level generally indicates potential gastrointestinal problems most commonly associated with celiac disease.  Although the biopsy is the Gold Standard for diagnosis, not finding damage in the biopsy does not rule out Celiac Disease. It means they did not find damage where they looked.  The small intestine is over 20 feet long. Many here have been blood positive and biopsy negative, it just delays the diagnosis until you have enough damage to find and fit their diagnostic profile. The Ttg-iga is not only sensitive (90%) but highly specific (98%) and won’t show positive until the damage is severe.  It is estimated that 40% of first degree relatives of diagnosed Celiacs have undiagnosed Celiac Disease, so your sister is a big risk factor in whether you have it. Are You Confused About Your Celiac Disease Lab Results?  This article explains it better and is quite readable. Celiac Disease can cause deficient vitamin D.  Low vitamin D compromises the immune system.  Any other symptoms? liver enzymes?  Recent cold or flue? Celiac Disease and the malabsorption it causes through vitamin and mineral deficiencies can elicit symptoms not usually associated with Celiac Disease. Case in point maybe your gastritis and anemia.  
×
×
  • Create New...