question about cross-contamination

November 2, 2009

Hello everyone. I guess I should re-introduce myself. This is my second attempt

at this diet- I was a member of this group back in February. I've had Crohn's

for 15 years. I had my second bowel resection last May, have had reactions to

Remicade and Humira, and Cimzia did nothing for me. Imuran and 6mp do nothing

but make my hair fall out. I've been on and off prednisone all 15 years, and am

currently on 20mg/day. The last GI doc I saw said I was " steroid dependent " . He

also told me he would have no part of my treatment if prednisone was the only

drug that worked for me. So I basically have no doctor right now and don't know

how I'm going to get myself off the stuff. Anyway- I've been on the diet for 2

1/2 weeks and am starting to feel somewhat better. I am totally committed this

time as I know I have no other choice.

So here's my question- I have three small non-SCD children. They snack on things

like organic cereals, cookies, crackers etc. in bowls in the living room. They

then proceed to touch EVERYTHING in the house, including the kitchen, with their

gluten-covered hands. They also eat sandwiches, pasta etc. which I fix for them.

I've become so paranoid after reading about cross-contamination online. The

stuff I was reading was for Celiac's, but I figured it pertained to any

gluten-free diet. Am I being too paranoid? Does anyone else live with and cook

for non-SCDers and how do you keep things separate?

November 2, 2009

Hi, and welcome. My family is not SCD, and I cook for them. I basically keep my

food separate. If they put a fork in the rice, for instance, I watch that they

do not put that fork in the SDC legal meat. But beyond that, I don't worry about

cross contamination, like one would with someone with severe allergies. I make

sure my hands are washed, and utensils/ cooking items, etc are clean when I eat,

and that's about it.

Feel free to post here for any questions. Hope you feel better soon!

PJ

>

> Hello everyone. I guess I should re-introduce myself. This is my second

attempt at this diet- I was a member of this group back in February. I've had

Crohn's for 15 years. I had my second bowel resection last May, have had

reactions to Remicade and Humira, and Cimzia did nothing for me. Imuran and 6mp

do nothing but make my hair fall out. I've been on and off prednisone all 15

years, and am currently on 20mg/day. The last GI doc I saw said I was " steroid

dependent " . He also told me he would have no part of my treatment if prednisone

was the only drug that worked for me. So I basically have no doctor right now

and don't know how I'm going to get myself off the stuff. Anyway- I've been on

the diet for 2 1/2 weeks and am starting to feel somewhat better. I am totally

committed this time as I know I have no other choice.

>

> So here's my question- I have three small non-SCD children. They snack on

things like organic cereals, cookies, crackers etc. in bowls in the living room.

They then proceed to touch EVERYTHING in the house, including the kitchen, with

their gluten-covered hands. They also eat sandwiches, pasta etc. which I fix for

them. I've become so paranoid after reading about cross-contamination online.

The stuff I was reading was for Celiac's, but I figured it pertained to any

gluten-free diet. Am I being too paranoid? Does anyone else live with and cook

for non-SCDers and how do you keep things separate?

>

November 2, 2009

Hi, I am a non scd'er and I cook for my husband who is scd with crohns.

It is a very individual thing i feel because I dont do anything different with his food except give him scd stuff. He was really sick this time last year, and now he is nearly off all meds, down to 1mg pred per day and that will half if his next bloods come back ok. Others on the list claim to be sick even being in the same room as non scd foods, but I know the drugs can cause paranoia, so I am not going to say wether they are really suffering from a physical or psychological issue but all you can do is start out very carefully and see how it goes. I have noticed that many people seem to be overly cautious and that is fine if they want to live like that, but personally I feel that you have to be realistic and unless you want to live in a bubble, you should only take regular precautions, but that is just my opinion and I am sure there are others here who will totally argue the opposite point. Good luck and I hope you get better

jena

Husban crohns, diagnosed 12 months ago

scd 11 months, minimal meds.

Hello everyone. I guess I should re-introduce myself. This is my second attempt at this diet- I was a member of this group back in February. I've had Crohn's for 15 years. I had my second bowel resection last May, have had reactions to Remicade and Humira, and Cimzia did nothing for me. Imuran and 6mp do nothing but make my hair fall out. I've been on and off prednisone all 15 years, and am currently on 20mg/day. The last GI doc I saw said I was " steroid dependent " . He also told me he would have no part of my treatment if prednisone was the only drug that worked for me. So I basically have no doctor right now and don't know how I'm going to get myself off the stuff. Anyway- I've been on the diet for 2 1/2 weeks and am starting to feel somewhat better. I am totally committed this time as I know I have no other choice.

So here's my question- I have three small non-SCD children. They snack on things like organic cereals, cookies, crackers etc. in bowls in the living room. They then proceed to touch EVERYTHING in the house, including the kitchen, with their gluten-covered hands. They also eat sandwiches, pasta etc. which I fix for them. I've become so paranoid after reading about cross-contamination online. The stuff I was reading was for Celiac's, but I figured it pertained to any gluten-free diet. Am I being too paranoid? Does anyone else live with and cook for non-SCDers and how do you keep things separate?

November 2, 2009

Hi , and congratulations for empowering yourself. I hope the SCD works

miracles in your life...it certainly did in mine.

Back when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me and right when I was

finding BTVC, I spent a lot of time on the celiac webpages, and noticed the huge

fear of cross-contamination. After I read BTVC and Elaine's take on celiac, I

came to realize the most celiacs are probably overall carbohydrate intolerant,

and everytime they think they are getting cross-contaminated, it is more likely

a reaction to the other gluten-free but non-SCD compliant carbs they are eating.

I speak from experience, because I was gluten-free for roughly three months

before I started the SCD, and I, too, thought my food was continually

cross-contaminated. Then I figured out that all that gluten-free stuff was

making me as sick as the gluten, started SCD, and SHAZAM!! My life changed.

That said, I do need to share a story that MAY have been cross-contamination. I

was at a friends, and made a cup of hot water (I didn't trust their tea bags).

I noticed after drinking it halfway down that there were a bunch of cookie

crumbs at the bottom of my tea cup (the plate of cookies was being passed around

the table). I allowed myself a moment of paranoia, then forgot about it. Then,

24-hours later, I started to feel exceptionally bad. It lasted a couple of days,

and then I went back to just feeling really bad. But I've also been feeling very

bad since taking a course of antibiotics for h pylori, and it could well have

been the normal variation that all of us feel. Was it cross-contamination?

Probably not, considering that I sometimes, when desperately anxious, take a

xanax, which isn't SCD legal (I am planning on getting them compounded). But

one never knows, and I felt bad enough that I'm certainly going to be very

careful in the future. Perhaps when I'm feeling better I can loosen up a bit.

Good luck to you, it sounds like you've had a rough time of it. Here's hoping

for a full recovery.

November 3, 2009

,

I live in a SAD house and I'm the main cook. I'm like PJ - I keep the rice fork

out of the SCD legal meat and keep things clean and don't worry too much about

it.

Cheers,

Stocker

CD 1983

SCD 1/2005

Asymptomatic 8/2007

http://eatingSCD.wordpress.com

http://youtube.com/eatingSCD