I don't have CD, but am gluten intolerant. For me, I sometimes take a chance on food processed in gluten facilities. At times it works out okay, but at other times I have had a reaction, although twice it was because the manufacturer changed the ingredients.

Regarding topical products, such as lotions, etc., some celiacs stay away from them because of possible absorption through the skin and into the body. Because of my myositis problem, I must use very mild topical products, so I also stay away from those with wheat because I don't want to take the chance.

As for the cat's food, I don't think that I'd worry about it.

As long as your daughter is not eating the cat food there should be no problem from the gluten. However, if she is sensitive to small amounts of gluten, make sure she is not handling the cat's food, then eating some of her own food, or placing her fingers in her mouth. I mean no offense here, I assume your daughter is quite young. As for the chips, how sensitive to small amounts of gluten is your daughter? I'm guessing you may not know yet, since it has only been about five months since you placed her on the diet. It can be a difficult decision to make, but for me there is no question, I would avoid any processed foods that are handled in a facility that also handles gluten containing products.
Sorry if I sound 'preachy' but the absolute best remedy for the gluten intolerant is fresh whole food, fruit, veg. meat, fish etc.
Definitely more work for you mom, but your girl's best chance for good health and normal development is a strict gluten free diet.
My opinion.

I eat things that say 'processed on a line that also produces gluten products'. To me, I think that's ok. But some people say no. I believe it's impossible to remove ALL gluten. If you eat out or someone else in the house eats gluten, you are risking contamination.

Cat food is fine as long as your daughter isn't eating it.

Lotions, soaps and shampoos that contain gluten are fine (unless you have an ALLERGY not an intolerance). As long as she's not putting them in her mouth (you might want to supervise these activities any way).

=]

I personally have not looked into Lay's potato chips. Ruffles are gluten free, and so far I have not found contradicting info (like saying its processed in a facility that also produces wheat products).

I have seen how bad both of my girls have gotten with gluten. I have seen how a tiny bit can cause as bad a reaction as eating a piece of whole wheat bread.

For me and my wife, we have decided that our kids will be GF to the 100th degree.

When we started reading how bad gluten can hurt them later in life, and the other Auto Immune disease it could trigger, for us it was a no brainer.

No doubt this is a pain in the ass. We avoid eating out. We bring all of our own food to family events. And we have to watch them like a hawk when around others. Damn kids will share everything.

As far as the cat food, I say be cautious. My oldest had one of the worst reactions after she decided to try our dogs food. Seems to be one of the worst reactions we have had since her diagnosis.

Thankfully she learned from it! Now we are more cautious with our second one!

Hugs to you, and good luck!

I want to share my experience with my leave-in hair conditioner; it had a wheat by product in it. I had been off all gluten for about a year and was still experiencing unexplained sickness. When I stopped the hair product it made a huge difference.
Also, I noticed after about 1 1/2 yr when my intestines were healed and I was feeling well, I became more comfortable relaxing the strickness of my diet. I will eat food processed on equipment where there was gluten. They clean the machinery and there might only be trace amounts. (I too enjoy Lay's potato chips!) Also taking L-Glutamine helps heal & cleanse the intestinal lining. And there's this other product in GNC called Multi-Enzyme Formula that's formulated to help digestion of gluten & lactose. I love the product.
About the cat dander, I would ask the vet. I'm not sure on that one.
Hope this information is helpful.

Thanks everyone for your advice! As a parent, I think I second guess myself all the time when I'm making food selections. She's not extremely sensitive, so if she consumes gluten accidentally I really am not going to know it. But I'm scared of the silent issues it can be causing on the inside. I'm sure I'll get the hang of this before too long! She's got so many birthday parties to attend this month, I have to get my GF cucpcakes ready! Sigh.

Hi,

Hope it's ok to join in here. I am a mum and myself and my son both have to be on strict gf diets. I wasnted to mention something that happened when he was a child, he would chew carpets and wallpaper... why? I suddenly found out that they both had wheat gluten in them! Somehow his body was craving the gluten and had found a way to get it.

We also have a farm and we had to change the straw bedding we use to wood shavings or shredded newspaper as we both got so sensitive we reacted to even breathing in the straw particles and handling it.

I have tried to de-sensitise myself now as I react to the smallest amount. So far so good.

Oh, ps, our German Shepherd also has a gluten intolerance lol and is on a gf dog food, apparently it's very common for them? There must be a gf cat food I should think?

Rosewolf, that's really interesting. I've heard that there was a child who was on a gluten free diet (Coeliac) and eat her Mum's foundation (which contained gluten) because they were craving it so much.

Even if your daughter doesn't respond to a very little amount of gluten doesn't mean it's not doing the damage.

You have to remove gluten as much as you can, but I can't be 100% gluten free, but I try 99%.

I do find that when 100% then the reaction to minute crosscontamination is dreadful, just like eating full gluten. The sensitivity just gets out of hand so much that I couldn't even walk past the bakery in the supermarket without having symptoms.

Good Morning Everyone! I just want to tell you that I have changed my position on the Multi-Enzyme Formula from GNC. Yesterday I was experiencing abdominal pains and after having taken it for a couple of weeks have deceided it was the problem because it has small amounts of wheat in it. The fellow in GNC told me this was o.k. and necessary, but I think for "gluten intolerence" not celiac. I have found that if I have 'a little bit of gluten' it's not too bad (if I really have no other choice) but whenever possible I should NOT eat it. BUMMER...

I think we need to avoid it all costs, but be realistic about it

im the only person in the family who DOESNT have celiacs, but my husband and both my kids do totally fine with lays chips. even my daughter, who is REALLY sensitive.

i really wouldnt worry about the cat food unless she has a tendency of playing in it and then touching her mouth or face (same goes for play-doe though)

as far as lotions, soaps, etc. some celiacs have skin reaction also, so having those ingredients in a lotion can cause them to break out in a rash. that is one of the reasons why people say to avoid it. my kids use a shampoo that has oat extract and they do totally fine!

I really think it depends on her body. If she isn't having a reaction to them as she would normally react to gluten, then she is probably fine. We eat things like that all the time. Some things we can tolerate and some we can't, you have to live and learn with that one.

As for the cat food, I agree that it is probably not a big deal. She's not eating it or touching it, so it shouldn't be an issue. If she is very sensitive and gets it on her skin, it could bother her, but even for my 2 kids with full blown celiac disease, they don't have a problem with touching things with gluten in them.

AVOID at all costs!!!!

THere is gluten that can not be avoided. Wheat flour becomes micronized and stays afloat in the air for hours. Just walking thru you breath it in, then it is swallowed.
But why consume it on p7urpose.

Thats awful! That explains it! I thought I was crazy. I used to start itching just from seeing bread. Maybe it was from small bits of bread crumbs in the air, or on the counter etc...it sounds like good advice to stay away from bread isles. I was getting some flour for my mother inlaw, as I do her shopping. I never thought about the fact that flour generally gets everywhere around a flour sack. The most sensitive celiac may actually need a dedicated grocery store. that might be a bit much, but I am sure that would clear up a lot of potential problems. I guess you can send in a non-celiac into danger zones, and have them wash everything off.