If teacher has celiac disease, whose responsibility is it for exposure to gluten?

I taught for a year after my diagnosis of CD and all I did was eat a different lunch and wash my hands frequently. I even played the playdough (I taught preschool) but washed my hands very good after I was done. Gluten is not an issue for the skin unless the teacher has a DH rash (a rash associated with CD) and it is open. The gluten molecule is too large to be absorbed through the skin unless it gets in a open sore such as the DH rash.

In all honesty it is not your responsibility, it is hers and the schools. I would NEVER have asked my students and parents to restrict their snacks! That is crazy asking the parents to have their kids all eat gluten free during school? Insane. All she needs to do is wear food gloves when touching the food and wash her hands frequently. Unless she is deathly allergic ot gluten, it is not a problem. If she is, then she perhaps needs to find another profession! Gluten cannot be passed around on papers, etc bc it is a protein, found in wheat, rye and barley. Unless she's licking the papers or her hands after touching them, she'll be fine.

Perhaps you can direct her to some resources on Celiac Disease or talk to the principal.

www.csaceliacs.org

www.celiac.com

www.celiac.org

I think this is going a bit too far. I can understand the dilemma of the teacher, but I find it impossible for the parents of her students to be responsible for keeping her classroom entirely gluten free. You also mention good points about lunches in the cafeteria that may contain gluten and may be eaten/handled by her students and also about eating gluten products before coming to school.

I think that the teacher needs to take more of the responsibility for ensuring that she does not come into contact with gluten products.

If her students eat in the classroom, then all non-food items should be removed from the eating area and the children should be told to please not touch anything that is shared (pencils, paper, etc.) while they are eating.

I am going to "guess" that this is elementary school? If so, where I live our elementary school classrooms have a teacher aid. If you have something similar, then the aid should be responsible for wiping down the tables and chairs after the students eat and also supervise to make sure that the students wash their hands (which they should do anyway) after they eat.

If the teacher must have interaction with her students while they eat, I would suggest that she wear disposable gloves just in case she accidentally touches something that isn't gluten free.

I would also express your concerns with your PTA and/or school principal.

NoAmnesty is correct. It's different if it's a peanut allergy or something. That's often potentially fatal upon skin contact. Celiac disease is not even affected by touching or handling foods containing gluten. It's only affected by ingesting them.

I have a feeling the teacher must have a new diagnosis so she's unsure about what it means to "avoid all products containing...."

Don't concern yourself with this. The teacher might find it helpful to receive an anonymous gift of a book that would help her to understand how to maintain a gluten free diet. There are several good ones here: http://www.celiac.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=48

Unless the teacher licks crumbs off pencils, she would not be exposed to risk. Gluten-free diets help most celiac patients, but not all. Ingested gluten is the problem, not peripheral exposure to gluten. Assuming she does not eat the children's snacks and follows adequate hygiene and washes her hands before meals, the teacher is safe. She could be just wishing her students not have snacks in the classroom.

I really had to THINK about this one. Here goes, If anyone (teacher or student) is made sick or to feel really bad by something, I would try very hard to help and to do my part to keep it from happening. Aggravating, yes , but necessary. The teacher is there trying to teach (help) your child. Since her/his condition is so touchy, I would think , she/he must eat in her/his own class room, alone, how sad. There is also the question of "Able and available". If the teacher's condition worsens at all, she/he may have to retire. Hope this helps.