Anyone Not Super Careful About Cross Contamination

[MichelleC]

I'm not real careful about cross contamination...at least not compared to some things I've read on this site. I use the same toaster oven for all of my family's food, same pots, pans, dishes, etc. I do use different cutting boards or plates, whatever, if I'm making sandwiches for all of us. I don't always wash my hands after handling gluten containing products.

Is anyone else as "bad" as me? I guess I should be more careful, but I was only diagnosed 3 weeks ago, so I feel like getting the hang of the diet is most important. I'm doing really well with it. I do feel better already...except I think I have a dairy thing...working on that!

Perhaps this issue will get easier on it's own, as my 9 and 7 year old kids just got positive blood tests back (my 3 year old is okay). So, less "glutaminated" fod to deal with!

Thanks,

Michelle

[lovegrov]

For your kids' sake if not for yours, you need to get more paranoid about contamination. All of you may get to the point where even crumbs make you sick. And even if you don't feel sick, the gluten is doing internal damage.

richard

[Guest missyflanders]

I am not real careful. In fact, my husband is better at making sure I don't get into anything than I am. That being said, I recently had my blood work rerun and I am now negative for celiac, despite not being extremely careful. Just my two cents.

[Guest jhmom]

I MUST becareful because if I get the smallest crumb I get VERY sick! Yes I bought a new toaster but I use the same pots, pans, dishes, etc.... but most of my cooking is gluten-free.

[bigapplekathleen]

LIke jhmom, I am affected by even the tiniest speck of gluten. I have separate toaster, but we use the same pots, pans, etc (stainless steel which can be easily scrubbed). However, we cook mostly unprocessed foods in our house now, so gluten becomes less and less of an issue.

A lot of celiacs are also affected by dairy, like you mentioned, until the villi are healed. I hope you will meet with a good nutritionist who can help you with all of the issues you mentioned.

Kathleen

[catfish]

According to my GI doctor different people have different tolerances and different reactions. Some people who are gluten intolerant can eat a piece of bread each week and maybe only get a little gas the next day, whereas others can eat a single crumb and immediately get violently ill. I think you will only know how careful you need to be based on your own experiences. So far my experience (only about a month's worth) has been that when I make a mistake (darn those spelt tortillas, they were so good and they say "wheat alternative" right across the package!) I will get IBS symptoms the next day or two, but nothing too severe so I have not worried about small contamination issues at all. Well, I did buy a new wooden spoon but that's about it; I still use the same pots and pans, etc.

[flagbabyds]

Catfish-

Even if you don't get symptoms you are still doing damage to your intestines. Try to be a little more careful when reading labels and about cross contamination.

[Guest NitaB]

I, too, haven't been as careful as I should be. I don't seem to feel all that bad, so haven't been concerned!

I do have a question. I had some salad dressing called "one Carb" that doesn't list anything bad in it. But, I had a salad for dinner last evening, using that dressing. I went to bed feeling a bit bloaty, woke up feeling sluggish, took a nap at noon (!!!!), and still feel tired this afternoon. Anyone think it could be the dressing? Can just that mistake make me feel fatigued? I'm not particularly sick, just sluggish.

This seems to be the worst I feel, with a mistake. I guess I'm lucky, but I know it'll still keep my lesions from healing. Well, it also makes me feel a bit down, as fatigue tends to do. So, guess it's bad, even if not gut painful sick!

I'm also still having trouble getting Dr.s to be of any help. I wish I could find one around here, who was more understanding. I probably need to find a local support group! You folks here, have been more help, than anything!!!

Thanks!!!

NIta

[cmom]

I have not purchased new kitchen utensils and have been gluten free 3 yrs. I do use the same toaster as the family but not often. When stirring food on the stove, I do use different spoons. Just had blood tests this year and my counts were way down from 3 yrs ago, so I think I'm doing ok.

[kvogt]

I won't cook anything with gluten; others in our home may cook what they like. I keep my own toaster ($10) and crumbs on the counter worry me, otherwise I use the same pots and pans. Beware the butter dish!

Some people say that you damage yourself even if you don't react, but that is assumed, not proven.

[hapi2bgf]

I am very careful about my labels and products that I buy. However, I do not feel the need to take this to the extreme yet. To date, I have not seen the need to keep a strickly gluten-free house. I am the only celiac. All meals are made gluten-free except Pizza, pasta, and pancakes. They like theirs "normal" and I like mine gluten-free - of course.

My hands bother me if I touch gluten, so I wear gloves to make the kids sanwiches on regualr bread. I use the same pots as the rest of the family, but they are scrubable. The cast iron pans are only used by my husband for his "normal" foods. I do not eat anything off the cast iron pans. I have my own collander. We share the toaster oven - Left side gluten-free & Righ side regular. So far, I've never had a problem with that. All of the wooden cutting boards and cooking utensils are gone.

The goal for me is to find a happy middle ground. I do not have accidents and they non-celiac disease members of the family still have some of their old favorites. This works for us.

[sweetp]

hey there.. this site is soo great! i just found it today! very exciting.. i don't feel so alone! celiac disease tends to make you feel like you're the only person in the world that has it!! okay.. so how many of you have been asked if you are on the atkins diet? hee heee. anyhow, i've been gluten free since june 2003... and i was wondering if anyone has had this same experience when they accidently ingest gluten... the first time i ingested a significant amount (fish sauce in a stir fry) i was sick with diarrhea for about 5 days... i couldn't keep anything down.. that was about five months ago. This time, i felt like the reaction was much worse, just casue it keeps lasting... last sunday night (8 days ago) i ate a tortilla which i was told was corn, but i later found out that it did have wheat in it, since monday i have had "the dirrhea" which causes me to run to the bathroom about an hour after i eat, and the "all too familiar" bloating and stabbing pains in my abdomen. What kind of reactions do you have? just curious...

[EddieJP125]

i was in the same boat as some...been careless and even cheated once and a while till one day it all caught up to me and i was in hours of massive pain to the abdomen...i then realized that me cheating is goin to hurt, someone else already told me too that even though u don't feel any pain, u can get cancer and won't even know it till itz too late...

eddie

[lilliexx]

i guess you can say i am paranoid, i have a seperate drawer in the fridge that i keep non-gluten-free products in for my son, i make him put his dishes in the right side of the sink and mine in the left and i wash them with seperate sponges.

[DawnI]

I am very careful. we use a lot of paper plates. My kids do not use the toaster oven anymore.....if they do they use foil in it.... they like to heat stuff up in the Microwave on a plate....

my 11 year old is very obsessive about being careful. He Washes his hands constantly and doesnt like gluten foods near him......but he saw what happened to his Dad....so he is entitled.

Please be Careful!!!

[EddieJP125]

I am very careful. we use a lot of paper plates. My kids do not use the toaster oven anymore.....if they do they use foil in it.... they like to heat stuff up in the Microwave on a plate....

my 11 year old is very obsessive about being careful. He Washes his hands constantly and doesnt like gluten foods near him......but he saw what happened to his Dad....so he is entitled.

Please be Careful!!!

hi Dawn itz none of my business but u got me a lil worried more and more about cross contamination...wat happened to your husband?...is he a Celiac too?...email me if u wish...Eddiejp125@aol.com

thankx

eddie

[pturse]

I am not that careful either. I have been gluten free for about a year. I still have some ups and downs but I don't always attribute it to gluten. I share a toaster oven and I even sometimes use the same peanut butter. I even eat oats and don't feel bad . . . I know I know I could be doing damage but until the tests come back bad, I am going to enjoy what I can. I also drink Amstel Light Beer which is a totally wheat free beer and according to the company, what ever little malt is in the beer is burned off during the process. Each person is different. It's just a matter of finding where your problem areas are.

[lovegrov]

If you're sharing a toaster oven (which means you are getting crumbs on your stuff), sharing peanut butter (which certainly has bread crums in it), and drinking Amstel Light, which is not gluten free no matter what the company says (every grain expert I've read agrees that brewing does not "burn off" the gluten), then it's no wonder you have ups and downs. I also know a person with celiac who has a slice of pizza every now and then, but it's not something I would recommend to others.

richard

[pturse]

Well I don't any reaction from drinking Amstel and I know a few other Celiacs that do it too w/o a reaction. To each his own I guess. I believe the company and I believe my body.

I watch what I eat and I pick my own battles. For the most part, since I stopped being so extremely careful . . . I've felt 90% better than before the diet and even after I started the diet and was watching every single morsel area I put my food.

[lovegrov]

Picking your own battles is fine but I have a hard time understanding what's so difficult about using a separate toaster oven or having your own jar of peanut butter to avoid glutne. What the heck is hard about that?

As for the bgeer, I just drink rum and other distilled spirits that I KNOW are gluten-free.

richard

[celiac3270]

my 11 year old is very obsessive about being careful. He Washes his hands constantly and doesnt like gluten foods near him......

Sounds like me.... .....it drives my parents and my brother CRAZY.....I constantly wash my hands, as well, and I often try to stay away from someone eating gluten, stay away from any crumbs, I'm kinda a nut, but my mom is really accepting of it; after all, she says: "You're the one dealing with the symptoms and the pain, not me." Anyway, just wanted to say that that sounded exactly like me

-celiac3270

[celiac3270]

Every crumb, every little bit matters! It isn't that difficult to keep things separate; it just requires thinking and being conscious. I have my own PB jar, own cooking things (pot, frying pan, spatula, spoon, whisk, toaster oven). The toaster oven is really no big deal; it's a matter of investing a few dollars towards your health in the future. My toaster oven has a black exterior, the gluten one is white; it's really easy. Label your gluten-free jars with a sticker or use a permanant marker to write gluten-free on the cap......not too difficult, either. Regardless of how you feel, every crumb you ingest is hurting you.

[EddieJP125]

Aren't we all at a big risk of getting cancer if we abuse the fact that we are Celiacs, and that we must adhere to a gluten-free diet?

[lovegrov]

The risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma is indeed higher but it still isn't a very big risk. You're still much more likely to get other types of cancer, heart disease, stroke etc.

richard

[rattaway]

It is definitely a good idea to use seperate cooking utensils when you live in a house that has some celiacs and some non celiacs. Especially for your kids' sakes it is better to make sure that you are taking every precaution to keep them from having problems with their health by cross contamination.