Visiting the Dentist or Hospital with Celiac Disease can add extra stress if you aren't prepared. In today's episode I am sharing some useful tips with you and steps you can take to keep you safe.
Learn more about Ultimate Celiac System here
www.belindawhelan.com/ultimateceliacsystem
Join my free community and grab your copy of 11 Mistakes People Make Living Gluten Free here www.belindawhelan.myflodesk.com/11mistakes
And I would love to connect with you on Instagram thehealthyceliac
If you have a spare moment, please pop over to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review. Thank you!
Visiting the Dentist or Hospital with Celiac Disease can add extra stress if you aren't prepared. In today's episode I am sharing some useful tips with you and steps you can take to keep you safe.
Learn more about Ultimate Celiac System here
www.belindawhelan.com/ultimateceliacsystem
Join my free community and grab your copy of 11 Mistakes People Make Living Gluten Free here www.belindawhelan.myflodesk.com/11mistakes
And I would love to connect with you on Instagram thehealthyceliac
If you have a spare moment, please pop over to Apple Podcasts and leave me a review. Thank you!
Hello, and welcome back to the healthy celiac podcast. On this week's episode, I am talking with you about some instances that you may have come across already, or that you may need to be prepared for in the near future. If you are perhaps visiting the dentist or a hospital visit and just how to keep you self safe and be prepared for those situations. So I, I guess I wanted to talk about this because, uh, a question came up the other day and there was a bit of a discussion on someone's Instagram page, about food in a hospital setting. And it reminded me of when I had my second child and there was no food available to me. So that's, what's inspired me to talk about this this week, and I hope that this episode's really valuable to you and helps you be prepared if the need arises. So let's first talk about the hospital setting, and then we'll talk about the dentist. So when you go to the hospital, often it can be a, of it's an emergency, or perhaps it could be something that is pre-planned. So you may be going there for a surgery or childbirth, one of those situations where you know, that it's happening. So in that instance, we can be a little bit more prepared can't we, but when it's an emergency, it's a little bit harder to be prepared. So let's talk about the instant where you may be going there and you are prepared for it. So when my son was about to be born, I already had my hospital bag packed and ready to go. And of course I had gluten-free snacks in there because I don't go anywhere without gluten-free food. So I definitely made sure that I had plenty of snacks in there for not only through the labor, but also afterwards as well, so that I had some food to, to snack on if need be. Now, the thing was when my son was born, he was born in the early afternoon. So I missed the lunch meal. Right. So after he was born on, I was famished for any of you that have had children, you probably understand that when you've gone through childbirth, you yes, starving, and you need to replenish, you know, some fuel. And I, I needed food. The snacks that I'd taken were not enough. I needed a meal and I missed out on the lunch service. So they offered me a sandwich. I said, yeah, that'd be great. Thank you. I need a gluten free sandwich. If you could please get me a gluten free sandwich. That would be wonderful. Oh, sorry. No, it's just the leftovers of what we've got from the lunch. So, no, we don't have a gluten free sandwich was pretty much what they told me. So I didn't get offered any food further from that. They couldn't get me anything. It wasn't mealtime. It was after mealtime and I had to wait for the dinner meal. So when the dinner meal came around, because I hadn't put my order in the day before, that's basically how it works in our hospital system. Here, you put your meal orders in the day prior. And because I wasn't there the day prior, I couldn't put my meal order in. So I didn't even get a gluten free, safe meal for myself for dinner that night. So as you can, well, imagine I was starving. The snacks were just not doing enough for me. And my poor husband had to leave us, my newborn baby and my other daughter as well, had to leave us behind and go and find me some gluten-free safe food. And he was gone for quite some time trying to get a meal that you know, was, was gonna be okay for me to eat and, and bring back to me. So that was kind of heartbreaking that I wasn't looked after and the fact that he had to leave me there, you know, not long after I I'd had our brand new little baby boy. So definitely, definitely something that I was quite shocked about. Um, when my first child was born, my first daughter, I didn't have celiac disease at that time. So I didn't, didn't even have to worry about it. So with my, my second child, it was a whole different story. So anyway, the next morning I was given a gluten free breakfast and I can still remember looking down at that meal and thinking, this is a to be serving to a mother that has just given birth. And it was gluten free rice pops with no nutrition in the whatsoever and a piece of gluten free bread, white bread. And that was it. And it was just a, it was just a, it was appalling to say the least. So anyway, from there I learned when I had my third baby. So when, when I was pregnant with my third, I thought, right, when I go to hospital, I am taking meals. I am taking breakfast, I'm taking meals for dinner. I am going to be prepared. And that is what I did. So the day that we left to go to the hospital, I had a meal that I took out of the freezer for both my husband and I, we put it in a little cooler bag and I even had some healthier cereal and bread options in there ready to go. So that the next day I would have those options rather than what the hospital served. So I guess that is, that is what I wanna share with you. If you need to go to hospital, I suggest that for a backup plan, you definitely take gluten free meals. So not just snacks. So always, always be taking snacks with you, but have a backup plan. So this is where it's always handy to either have frozen meals in your dinner, uh, in your freezer, sorry, frozen meals that you've preprepared and pop them in your freezer, and you can take them with you or have something really easy. So, you know, things that just need to be heated up in the microwave that are, you know, shelf stable or something like some instant noodles where you just have to boil the kettle and pour that into the container. So just really, really simple, but if you don't have access to a refrigerator in the hospital, these are a good backup plan. So if, if you are taking something that you are going to put in the refrigerator until it's eaten, I suggest you label it very clearly with your name and also your room number. I wouldn't even have that container that it could just have the lid opened on it and someone could peek in there or anything. I would have it perhaps in a plastic bag or a caller bag within that. So it just makes it that little bit extra work for someone to not only look at your food, but Tampa with it. So always be taking these extra steps. Now, if you have a child that has celiac disease, and they've been admitted to hospital, I would request that a large sign be written up and per posted above their bed or at the foot of their bed or on their notes of their medical records. And have it say that that that child has celiac disease and must be looked after 100% gluten free, because if you are not in that room at all times, and your child can't speak up for themselves, then you to take that extra step to make sure that they're safe. So just having these signs in place can just be that extra little step where if someone brings in a meal and serves it for that child and you are not there, or, um, medication is to be administered, anything like that, that at least is an extra trigger for that person who are, has taken care of your child to see that and make sure that they're being looked after with their gluten free diet and medication. Now there's lots of settings when we can be exposed to gluten and offered gluten foods, and it is heartbreaking and it, it is tough, but this is where it's always, always important to be prepared and always being organized. And it's very, very rarely that I walk out of my front door without some form of snack on me. You know, if I've got my handbag, there's always some form of, you know, a health bar or something in there that if you know, I got stuck outta the house for hours or something happened, I would have a snack available to me. Now, a few years back, I had to have a colonoscopy and an endoscopy, and this was in a private hospital setting and it was a beautiful hospital. And I was so looked after the staff were wonderful. My gastroenterologist was amazing. And I had to sit in a chair of my surgery and wait and, you know, deal with coming, coming off of the anesthetic and, um, wait for my husband to pick me up as I wasn't allowed to drive afterwards. So while I was waiting, it was suggested
Speaker 2:That I
Speaker 1:Have a cup of tea and something to eat. And I said, yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you so much. And they brought me over a cup of tea and a biscuit. So cookie,
Speaker 2:For those of
Speaker 1:You that call them cookies. And of course the biscuit was gluten biscuit. It wasn gluten free. And I was absolutely gobsmacked that I'd been served, something with gluten in, after having a colonoscopy
Speaker 2:For
Speaker 1:Celiac disease. So there is such a breaking communication in these areas. So this is where we need to speak up. We need to be our a biggest
Speaker 2:Advocates. We need to ask for what
Speaker 1:We need. And I, I,
Speaker 2:I
Speaker 1:Don't know.
Speaker 2:I just
Speaker 1:Assume it is silly. Like looking back it's, it's silly that I assume that when she offered me a biscuit, that it would automatically be a gluten-free biscuit.
Speaker 2:So I
Speaker 1:Said to her, sorry, I can't eat this. Can I please have a gluten free version? And they didn't even have gluten free versions of their
Speaker 2:Biscuits
Speaker 1:There. They only had gluten ones.
Speaker 2:So I had a chat to
Speaker 1:Them about that. And I don't know, I haven't been back there since, but I dunno whether they've now changed that
Speaker 2:They've also got
Speaker 1:That option for people that have had their colonoscopies or their endoscopies, Because a lot of people with celiac disease, that's why, you know, they performed this procedure.
Speaker 2:So
Speaker 1:It was very interesting that they didn't offer that. But luckily I had my snack in my bag and I was able to
Speaker 2:Have that while I waited
Speaker 1:To be collected from the hospital. So yes, being prepared is a, a big one. All right. So recently I went to the dentist and we were chatting and I've been to this same dentist now for a couple of years, and she's wonderful. And I told her from day one that I had celiac disease. And every time I go there, she asks me just checking. Do you have any allergies? And a note that celiac disease is on allergy,
Speaker 2:But I do say to
Speaker 1:Her, yes, just for my I've got
Speaker 2:Celiac
Speaker 1:Disease. And yes, I, I cannot have any gluten she's like, yep, yep. I've got that on your records. Yep. Yep. Anything else? And so, um, I had her do my dental work and then I had another lady come in and she did, um, some, some cleaning and some treatment on my teeth. And because it was a totally different person, I thought, oh, I need to check
Speaker 2:With her what she's using. So I,
Speaker 1:I took a break and I said, just before you start, can you just confirm with me that what you're putting on my teeth is actually gluten free. And she kind of went, oh, oh, okay. Um, hang on a sec. And she went off and she checked and my dentist came back in the room and she double checked everything. And then everything was fine, thankfully. But however, if I hadn't have checked and I hadn't have just asked that question and they had accidentally used something with gluten in it, it would've been very easy to slip past wouldn't it? Because there were two different people working on me. And she wasn't the particular dentist that had asked me about my celiac disease or my gluten free. So it, it is easy to see where the miscommunication can be. Thankfully, everything was fine, but it's just something to be cautious of and ask, when you go to the dentist now, depending on which country you are in, there are, um, some countries which are more likely to have gluten in their toothpaste and others. A I have yet to come across a toothpaste here in Australia that has got gluten in it. But having said that there are definitely toothpaste out there that have got gluten in it. So when you do go to your dentist, ask the question, ask, what are you putting on my teeth today? What are you using in my mouth? Is it gluten free? You wanna, yes. You do not want, oh yeah, it should be okay. You want them to check for you? So you wanna be making sure if they're putting fluoride treatment on your teeth, that that is gluten free. If they're using any kind of polishing paste or any toothpaste, any mouth washes, anything like that, because it is in your mouth and you have a high risk of getting gluten if there is gluten in those products. So it is definitely worth asking. Now, another thing to be aware of if you or your child, if you have a child with celiac disease, if there is ever a need for a mouth guard to be made for you, for whatever reason, whether it's grinding teeth or what, there are polymers that they use to make these mouth guards that contain gluten. So you're gonna have to be very cautious of that and ask the question, ask your dentist to check with the manufacturer, cuz obviously the dentist doesn't make it. They take a mold, they get it sent off and it gets made elsewhere. So you'll go going to have to get them to check that very carefully because I do know of people in the past that this has happened to them and they've got very, very sick from it. So there are a couple of things that we, you know, we don't really think about it too much, but we need to have an awareness of don't we and be, you know, be our best advocates. Look after ourself, ask the question, make sure that we're getting the answers that we want. Be confident in asking for what you need and speaking up for yourself because at the end of the day, your health is the most important thing. And the best thing that you can do for yourself is to make sure that everything that you do for yourself is always 100% gluten for, and that you are eating well and looking after yourself. So I hope this episode has inspired you to speak up whenever you're in a medical setting and make sure that you're being looked after, have a fantastic week. And thank you so much for tuning in. And I look forward to talking with you soon.