I get this question often. Individuals invest so much time into dedicating their kitchens, their budgets and their time toward refraining from eating wheat, or dairy, or other offending foods that have been identified. They experience the positive results from these dietary shifts and then BAM! They were out to dinner and the waiter sold them a food that had gluten or dairy in it (which they found out after the fact) or their child’s friend offered them a snack at school. Traveling too can bring about the greatest challenges.
Is there anything that can be done to undo the ingestion? The good news are there are options that would be beneficial to have on hand.
The following list of remedies can be tried to help alleviate negative reactions, (i.e. change in behavior, hyperactivity, tantrums after various foods such as gluten and casein). If following a gluten and casein-free diet, there may be times when your child is exposed to these foods inadvertently. Some children react negatively quite quickly, while others may have a subtle/delayed response. Not everything on this list has be used together. In fact, just one or two remedies can help alleviate the infraction reaction. The following list of remedies are different options to consider.
The idea behind these remedies is to neutralize the gluten and/or casein from causing negative reactions, or to help your child’s body process the proteins from these foods more quickly. Generally, if it has been more than a 45 to 60 minutes from ingesting one of these foods, the Pepcid AC, digestive enzymes (i.e. Peptizyde), activated charcoal, or Alka Seltzer Gold are not going to be overly effective. However, the Epsom salt cream or bath may still be worthwhile:
Activated Charcoal (www.nbnus.com, or local health food store) – 1 to 2 capsules mixed in water or dilute juice after known ingestion.
Pepcid AC (available over-the-counter from drug store) – ½ to 1 full tablet taken after known ingestion.
Alka-Seltzer Gold (available over-the-counter from drug store) – dose according to package instructions. Must be Alka-Seltzer Gold.
Peptizyde (Houston Enzymes – www.nbnus.com) – one capsule or two chewable tablets after known ingestion. Can use other enzyme brands that contain the enzyme DPP-IV.
Epsom Salt Cream (www.nbnus.com) – 1 to 2 teaspoons applied to skin every 30 to 45 minutes for the first 2 hours after known ingestion.
Epsom Salt Bath (high concentration) – 2 to 4+ cups in small amount of bath water, approximately 3 to 4 inches. Let child sit in water for 5 to 10 minutes. Some individuals are sensitive to espom salt at these concentrations where it can cause skin irritation, i.e. itching.
