Do We Really Need To Make Our House gluten-free?

[katifer]

Me and my son have Celiac but my husband and 3 year old do not--we are struggling to get better and the doctor said that we should make our house completely Gluten free and Casein Free ( we also cannot tolerate casein).....what have ya'll done??

[Ursa Major]

The problem is that especially with a 3 year old around, you WILL get glutened. By kisses, messy little hands, crumbs....... Besides, how do you know if your little one isn't gluten intolerant? You might be surprised when you suddenly figure out what gluten did to the child, when symptoms disappear which you didn't know where symptoms (in small children there aren't always gastrointestinal symptoms present, but rather neurological ones, like temper tantrums, moodiness, 'growing pains' etc.).

Anyway, your doctor is right, one of the few enlightened doctors. If you are struggling and keep getting glutened, the logical thing is to make your house gluten-free.

My oldest daughter and four of her children are gluten intolerant, but her husband and three-year-old son are truly not. There is no way the little guy will be allowed to eat gluten in that house, and neither is her husband. He eats gluten when he is at work (and has to brush his teeth and rinse his mouth before being allowed to kiss his wife, because kissing is a good way of making her sick otherwise).

[gdobson]

I have to agree. Even though just me and my son are gluten free, my husband and daughter share our gluten free household without protest. They eat gluten at school and work. Not at home. Too many risks involved. No one really seems to mind.

[HAK1031]

As the only (diagnosed) celiac in my family, I wish our house was gluten-free...it would be so much less of a headache. I say go for it. Your family will live- they can get their gluten fix outside of the house. It would be safer you you and your son that way.

[katifer]

thanks so much!!~ i just have to be able to tell my husband that many other celiac families are doing the same thing..He is going to go in and talk to our doctor this next week. He wants to make his office in our garage the one place he can have gluten/casein..and i just think that is a bad idea..then my son can NEVER go out there..

[kbtoyssni]

Your stress level will probably be much lower if you have a completely gluten-free house. It's possible to still have gluten around, but it's much harder. Most things are no big deal - no one will care too much if you only buy gluten-free brands of condiments or buy corn tortillas instead of wheat. It gets a little tricker when you get to bread and crackers, but there are certainly ways to get around this.

[bakingbarb]

thanks so much!!~ i just have to be able to tell my husband that many other celiac families are doing the same thing..He is going to go in and talk to our doctor this next week. He wants to make his office in our garage the one place he can have gluten/casein..and i just think that is a bad idea..then my son can NEVER go out there..

Even though this is very hard for us, it is also very hard for our loved ones. Not only do they have to deal with our illnesses and our total change in eating, they now are expected to do the same. I mourned not only that I couldn't eat the same or cook the same but I mourned the going out with my loved one and eating a meal together. He too has to mourn.

I think if he can keep his crumbs to a minimum in his office then let him have it. Coming from someone that cannot eat gluten you might be surprised that I say this, but I do understand what the rest of the family goes through. Maybe there are times when he will need to do business when he can't be disturbed at all, maybe this is the time he can eat the other stuff?

Our family is me then 4 other people (all teens and older). I do most of the cooking and it is gluten free but there is gluten in the house!!!! I just have to be careful and I make everyone clean up their own crumbs because I would expect that in the first place.

It isn't perfect and I don't always like it but I don't get sick from them though either. Everyone has to compromise.

[Guest Happynwgal2]

Your stress level will probably be much lower if you have a completely gluten-free house. It's possible to still have gluten around, but it's much harder. Most things are no big deal - no one will care too much if you only buy gluten-free brands of condiments or buy corn tortillas instead of wheat. It gets a little tricker when you get to bread and crackers, but there are certainly ways to get around this.

My heart goes out to the original poster - this is a challenge when part of the family must be gluten free and part does not have to be.

In regard to bread: there is a bread mix that I use in my bread machine that turns out bread as good as any regular bread: Pamela's Wheat Free Bread Mix. It is wonderful and my relatives who are not Celiacs eat it without knowing it is gluten free bread.

My home consist of only my 18 year old daughter and I; we are both gluten free. So our home has no gluten at all. My oldest daughter and my granddaughter are gluten free as well, but live in a home where there is some gluten.

[FlourShopGirl]

Me and my son have Celiac but my husband and 3 year old do not--we are struggling to get better and the doctor said that we should make our house completely Gluten free and Casein Free ( we also cannot tolerate casein).....what have ya'll done??

I focus is mainly on my son and I- not my daughter in husband so I can relate. I buy mainly gluten-free/CF items now for everyone. I get snacks we all can enjoy and my husband knows if there is something he truly wants, I'll pick it up and he can hide it from the kids. I think it's important to keep on track and so far nobody complained.

[Joni63]

Hi katifer,

I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't think the whole house has to be gluten free. If your husband is careful and has a place in his office where gluten-y snacks and food are permitted, why not?

My house is not gluten free and I actually cooked wheat based pancakes with my kids early on in my diagnosis. I was really super careful and I did not get sick. I have to admit I am not overly sensitive to gluten so if you are you may need to reconsider what I'm saying.

I recently went for my 6 month Celiac panel and all 5 numbers measured were negative. I was just diagnosed in August and have been super careful withy my diet, but still allow gluten in the house and in the kitchen.

Maybe you can try allowing your husband to have gluten in his office and if it works, and everyone else is fine you'll know it's working for you and your family. If someone gets sick from it or your Celiac panel does not change, than eliminate gluten from the house entirely.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

[moon-gypsy]

I'm struggling with this as well. I am the only celiac in the family, and I posted a similar thread a few weeks ago. Since then I have made a few changes to my kitchen, although we are not totally gluten-free. My kids are very messy, so I have eliminated everything crumbly. No bread (this was the BIG one we struggled with), crackers, cakes, granola bars, etc. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds that my silverware slots seem to collect crumbs of whatever was made on the counter. Yuck. There are still a few snacks in the house containing gluten, but they are not messy, and for the most part they will be eaten in the car or while fishing with Dad. Speaking of my husband, he still drinks his beer. I cannot imagine him giving this up. If he does, you will know that we have eliminated everything else in the house, and I am still ill.

If you do keep food with gluten in the house, it would be best if you have separate cooking equipment for it. I am considering keeping a pizza plate and a spatula just for frozen pizzas.

I know it would be more logical to eliminate everything, just to be on the safe side. But psychologically I have to do this in stages. I have read posts from a number of people who manage to keep gluten in the house for the non-celiacs. I'm not sure if this can work for everyone, but clear rules and communication seem to be imperative. I'm going to give it a try. This has definitely been a learning experience.

I would let your husband have his food in the office. If your child knows that he is not allowed to eat Daddy's food, and if your husband isn't a complete slob, I would give it a try. If you are really worried, make sure your kids wash their hands as soon as they come in from that room.

Best of luck. Remember that there are so many more of us going through the same thing, and take heart.

-D

[Ursa Major]

I agree with trying to allow your husband to have gluten foods in his office. Your son would have to wash his hands after seeing your husband there.

If you find that somehow the two of you get glutened because of it, then you can still make the office gluten-free as well.

Just remember, it isn't healthy to get too paranoid, either. Taking every reasonable precaution is important, of course. But don't overdo it. By the way, sterilizing everything in the kitchen/house with clorox wipes or equally crazy measures is NOT healthy for you, and does nothing to eliminate gluten, since it is not a germ. Washing or scrubbing with water, soap and/or scrubbing gels/powders (whichever is appropriate for the surface) on the other hand will get rid of it (gluten is very sticky).

[jeanbean]

On the topic of kitchens and disinfecting, I've wanted to ask this question. In a gluten household with a dishwasher, we still wash some dishes by hand. However I wondered about the dishcloth

(J cloths) - gluten can stick to it. Is rinsing it good enough? We clean counters with it as well as dishes. I change mine often - every few weeks.

I hope this is not a silly question.

[HAK1031]

nope- you should have separate dishcloths, sponges, towels, etc.

we use windex and paper towels to clean counters and tables. while it's not the most environmentally friendly option, it's the safest. and anything that had gluten (and even 95% of everything w/o) goes in the dishwasher. I never use the brillo pad we have for my gluten-free dishes if they won't go in the dishwasher as well.

[jaime1103]

I am so glad that this was posted. I was diagnosed in December 2007, so fairly recent, and I am the only one in my family (me, husband, 3 year old and 1 year old) that has been diagnosed so far. We have a mixed house.... I have all of my foods, and we still have gluten bread, cereals, snacks for the rest of my family. It IS hard, though. My kids (really too young to help clean up) are so messy, goldfish, cheese it, granola bar crumbs are all over, I am constantly dust-busting, etc. It is tough. I am really considering eliminating everything but the bread, since my husband needs it for his lunch. I have to wait though b/c my kids are going to get tested and the nurse was adamant that I not change their diet until after we are sure they are okay.

I did get all new spatulas, plastic spoons, colanders, pots just for my food, new silverware tray, my own sponges, etc. So I do try to be really careful. I constantly wash my hands, since I do prepare their gluten-containing breakfast and lunch.

Does anyone know if the dishwasher cleans all of the gluten off? I put everything in the dishwasher together and assume it gets rid of it all???

Good luck with your decision.... it is so tough!

And I have to second the Pamela's bread!!! It is AMAZING!!! I have made just the bread, the sweet bread and even made it for pizza dough last night - so delicious!!!! I swear, their are so many options out there that I have gained 15 lbs so far - ahhhhh!

[buffettbride]

We keep our house gluten-free and I'm glad we do. At first I thought we could manage having wheat bread and such around for my son, hubby, and me to use (my daughter is the only Celiac in the house). After researching problems with CC, and trying to think how much gluten my 3 year old could spread around the house to make his sister sick, we decided to make the house gluten-free.

Hubby and I do eat gluten outside the house, so does our son, so we are good hand-and-face washers when we get home from work/school.

It takes a HUGE load off my mind because I just don't have to think about glutening my daughter when she as at home. It is very rare occasion when we have gluten in the house (we even serve our guests gluten-free) so we are on high-alert when that happens.

It has made things somewhat more expensive, but we tend to focus on whole, natural foods rather than gluten-free replacement foods with a few staples such as pretzels, pizza crusts, chicken nuggets, etc. We have had a lot of luck with mainstream gluten-free foods so it really hasn't been much of an adjustment.

It also gives my daughter peace-of-mind knowing that in her own home she doesn't need to be constantly worrying about gluten exposure. She's a highly sensitive child and just becomes exhausted worrying about gluten.

Some people seem to be able to make it work having both gluten and non-gluten eats, and as my son and daughter both get older we might become a little looser, but for now it is working just fine, so why fix something that isn't broke.

[loco-ladi]

a gluten-free house makes life alot easier, and mine is 98% gluten-free... hubby is allowed a very small cupboard and a even smaller countertop for his food he "cant live without" however it stays in the cupboard when I am home.

[katifer]

So much great help and advice!! thanks so much --i have no idea what i would do without this forum- i am going to have my husband keep his cookies/snacks out in our office and we will just be careful--our house is absolutely going gluten-free and we will keep the casein b/c it isnt crumbly like bread--we will be careful:)--thanks! i need my one year old to gain weight!!he is so tiny!!

[Yenni]

I dream of a gluten, soy and casein free home. I live with my husband and his in laws and they take care of three grandchildren quite often during the weeks. There are always crumbs and stuff around. I have gotten super paranoid and have to eat on my own stuff and can never use the surfaces in the kitchen to make food. The little 3 year old grandkid often eat bread and other stuff in front of the TV and not washing her hands after. This house is a danger zone for me. We are moving out later this year and I am definitely gonna enforce a gluten/soy/casein free home. I would love to be able to just live normally without watching everything I do.