How to tell child ate something unsafe and starting school

[rachael]

I'd love to hear from others who have experience with young children about how you tell if the child ate something unsafe? My son seems to have relatively high tolerance but will vomit if he eats fruit or pancakes with sugar, for example. He's never vomited since we found out about the HFI and changed his diet but I'm sure that unsafe things have snuck in there time and time again. One sign that I noticed is a sweaty head. Are there other signs? It's hard to tell if he's just tired/cranky or if he doesn't feel well.

He starts school this Thursday. He's going to a Montessori school where a lot of focus is learning practical skills, like cutting etc. What do you think they cut? Fruits and veggies of course. He never has an interest in eating these things. It's so bizarre, he'll take an apple and say "yummy apple" and pretend to bit it, but he never actually bites it or asks for some when I have one. I hope this behavior will continue in school and that he won't feel too singled out when they take away his plate of cut fruit and give him something safe instead. And I hope his teachers won't make a big deal out of it and that he won't feel singled out. Then again, I imagine that this becomes more of a problem in middle school... which is when his school is a Farm School and uses the farming experience to teach practical skills. So much keeping me up at night!

[colormist]

Sweaty head is a good indicator. Another good check is to have him hold his hands out flat in front of him (like he was putting them on an imaginary table). If there's a tremor to his hands, he has low blood sugar.

Low back pain in the kidney area might be a sign as well.

Both of these are a late sign--which might not show up until days later. The vomiting/nausea is much more immediate response.

[antonia]

Large amounts of fructose are pretty obvious, but I can tell when small amounts are sneaking in mostly by behavior and sleep patterns. When she gets fructose we start to have melt downs over nothing. Overly emotional, mood swings that change suddenly like a light switch. Nightmares return as well as a lot of twitching body movement once she falls to sleep. Also, how she feels when she wakes up after a night's fast. Grumpy, irritable and weak when her metabolism is off. Joyful, singing, running up and down the hall when it's not. When she was younger and not feeling good, she would say things like, "My legs feel wobbly." Not normal for your average toddler. And the hunger, ravenous for food even if she had recently eaten.

[rachael]

I didn't know about the hand tremor, I'll have to look for that when I suspect something in the future.
Meltdowns over nothing, he just turned three, I think those are unavoidable for now But we definitely do notice differences in how he wakes up; he used to be so cranky after naps that we dreaded them. It's been better since we figured out (somewhat anyway) the diet. And he definitely does have times where he's eating us out of house and home. Sometimes it might be a toddler thing, but I'll pay more attention to when that happens to see if I can pinpoint any food triggers.

Thanks to you both!

[jenn123]

Sweating, especially right after falling asleep. Nightmares. Irrational and major melt downs over nothing. Starving, sometimes she would jump in the car and scream (like really scream) at me to get her food.

I give teachers a print out of signs of hypoglycemia, print out of disorder and letter from genetics. Most people take it seriously when they realize that there is a valid danger.

I also give teachers a box of small sized latex gloves from pharmacy. She wears whenever she touches foods or crafts that may contain wheat or sugars.

I also make sure there are small boxes of whole milk and bags of chips as emergency food in her bag, cubby or with teacher.

And finally, I have told all teachers and parents to not give her any food that has not come from our home. If I have not provided it, she should not be eating it.

[rachael]

Thank you! I hadn't realized that there could be a contact issue when touching food with fructose/"bad" sugars. Is this common for most people with HFI r only if particularly sensitive?

[jenn123]

Regular play dough made my daughter very sick. It took me a while to figure that one out. It has wheat in it, which was likely the culprit.
Lots of personal items have sorbitol, natural flavoring in them. Read all ingredients, especially toothpaste and chapsticks.

[antonia]

We read labels for anything that sits on the skin, try to avoid plant based ingredients and alcohols, although plant based oils seem to be okay. This includes sunscreens, insect repellent, chapstick, topical meds, hand sanitizer, etc. I think back to my pregnancy days and how I wasn't allowed to put much on my skin for fear it would transfer to baby, so I do believe most of what we put on our skin does get into the bloodstream.

Schools and camps these days really love their hand sanitizer. My daughter knows now to tell her teachers she can't use it and that she needs to go to the bathroom and wash her hands instead. I just recently started allowing her to use toothpaste because I feel she's old enough now to not swallow while brushing and rinse her mouth out really well after too. We used to just brush with water and her teeth are just fine.

My daughter does not eat wheat either but I consider it an allergy, not related to her metabolic issues. Thankfully, so far, she only seems to react to it upon ingestion. We've not had any problems with Play-Doe... 🤞

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

Antonia,

The more I read about your daughter, the more I think she and my son have the same condition.

My son clearly has a fructose issue, but I have long suspected he has a gluten sensitivity on top of that. I hate to cut it out completely, so I give it to hi in small quantities, but if he goes above his "threshold" for wheat/gluten, he gets a rash on his neck and looks pale/anemic (familiar to me since he was born anemic). I wonder if I contributed to the gluten sensitivity since I have an autoimmune disease and am gluten sensitive myself and have been gluten free for years (I also used to get a rash on my neck).

I am glad I am not the only one who doesn't use toothpaste. They tried plain pumice at the dentist's office, but he spit it out. Hopefully, without sugar in his diet, he won't have cavities. Once he knows not to swallow, I will try the safest toothpaste I can find...

[tummyache]

Baking soda or salt are natural replacements for toothpaste on a pinch; but of course, without fluoride for cavity protection. Since we HFI'ers tend not to get cavities, that shouldn't be an issue. For a little one I think I would tap a wet toothbrush on a wee bit of soda to brush with and see how she takes to it. Otherwise...remember, the most important part isn't the paste but the brushing that cleans the teeth. [from a retired RDH]

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

Thanks, tummyache. I have tried making a paste with baking soda and my 3 years old spits it out. It should get easier soon-- I hope :-)
I agree, without sugar, the cavities should not develop, but I definitely feel he sometimes needs a breath freshener!!
:-)

[rachael]

My son is less sensitive than most, but we are having good luck with the Trader Joe's natural toothpaste in mint. And he will not always rinse and spit either!