Could it be the lotion?

[Lizzie89]

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! 

[Ennis-TX]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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!  

[Lizzie89]

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]

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]

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]

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!