Children going wheat free

[reikizen]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice/experience to offer. Dd2 (8) has constant nasal congestion, frequent headaches, eczema and very often complains of tummy ache. Frequent loose stools but nothing that needs treatment. Obviously I have seen gp and appropriate referrals to ENT have taken place but I wondered if it may be an intolerance to wheat? At the moment I can't even imagine how anyone goes wheat free as it is in bloody everything, but I wondered if anyone else has had similar experience and whether it worked?

has she had tests for coeliac? You aren't supposed to cut out wheat prior to a test as it could give a false negative result

Visit your gp, explain and ask for a referal to a paediatric dietician.

FWIW, DH and I gave up wheat last year and both of us are feeling 100% better for it. Its hard but we cook from scratch anyway.

I also mind a coeliac child and a child with gluten intolerance. Its not to bad, particularly as most supermarkets and even our local farm shop have an excellent GF range.

But try for a diagnosis first.

To be honest the symptoms you describe sound more like a dairy / lactose problem, but gluten intolerance can cause dairy intolerance. You can get tested for coeliac disease through the gp but recent research is showing that the testing throws up a lot of false negatives, and there's no reliable test for gluten intolerance.
I've been on a wheat / gluten free diet for most of my life (with the occasional lapse!). Things are a lot easier now with loads of gluten free substitute foods but I try to have those infrequently because I'm not sure if all the extra ingredients added to make the food look and taste right are really that healthy. I find it's easier to just eat food that's naturally gluten free eg. Asian food as it's mainly rice based