So you’ve been caught out, glutened, contaminated. Whatever you call it, you can’t hide the fact slip ups with food happen. Whether it’s from a restaurant, an accidental lick of a spoon preparing someone else’s food and getting carried away, you can’t stop gluten affecting you. And when it does, you’ll know about it.

Everyone’s symptoms are different and there’s a lot of variety. Vomiting, stomach pain, and a huge pregnant like bloat being the most common. Headaches, fatigue, joint pain, and the visible itchy skin reaction, Dermatitis Herpetiformis are also signs that little old gluten over there has made it’s introduction into your system.

For me, I get headaches, crippling pain in my tummy, my knees feel like they’re on fire, and I go from having a shrivelled Mr Burns type skinny body to looking six months pregnant. Let’s ignore the obvious TMI symptoms, wouldn’t want to put you off your gluten-free food, would I?

So here is my ritual for whenever the Gluten does its work for whatever reason. I’m not a nurse, I’m just going off of what works for me, please don’t shout at me.

Water, lots of it. 

Water is essential for your body, everyone needs it to function properly, and it helps you stay alert. Drinking fresh water aids in the flushing out of toxins, so it really helps to keep you refreshed and able to cope with the symptoms better.

For the headaches.

Like I said water helps flush out toxins, and generally staying hydrated works. But if it doesn’t you can always take a mild painkiller to help. Temple balms are a great thing that work, and LUSH Cosmetics have an exclusive one called Dreamtime which really soothes a headache and relaxes you. But if you haven’t got that, you can mix lavender essential oil and coconut oil together and make your own, rubbing in gentle motions on your temples. Or drop some lavender , peppermint, or eucalyptus essential oil on to  your hands and rub into the back of your neck.

For the Bloat and groggy belly.

I’ve got friends who have ibs problems, so I try and keep things in my bag for when we have slip-ups. Colpermin, Buscopan and peppermint tea are essential items in my bag to help with that. I would advise going to your local GP and seeing if you’re okay to take items such as Buscopan, as it is a pharmaceutical product. Hot water bottles and a duvet help too, as I’m pretty much a beach ball with legs when I get caught, so I can’t do an awful lot. So make the most of it, ring a friend, have a movie day, snuggle your pet, whatever distracts you from all of those feels.

For the Joint pain.

Sometimes, my joints feel like they’re actually on fire and I wish it was as easy as splashing cold water on it to cool them down. I like to use LUSH’s Wiccy Magic Muscles or Hottie Massage bars. They are a solid bar of cocoa butter and oils such as peppermint and cinnamon which help the blood flow and relieves the pain. Or I go in the bath. Which is good for all sorts of symptoms, and my favourite thing to do.

Why I love bathing when I get glutened.

A bath, if you have one is great. And once again, I’m going to talk about LUSH. I got into the products when I first got diagnosed as I read that gluten in cosmetics can cause reactions for certain people. I know they are all natural, and now I work for them. But the staff in their store were so helpful with choosing new products for me, and now all of my shower/ bath products are from there. But bathing is great for all sorts of reasons depending on how you do it. I love to do stretches in the bath to help move things along, and it puts me into a relaxed state. When you’re in a stressful situation, your body slows down and tries to sort out the ‘big thing’ thats affected you before it carries on. So a relaxed bath can help you get things moving on a lot quicker than usual, and you won’t want to start a war on gluten and get your revenge on coeliac disease. Bath bombs are essential now for me, and I will share a few, which help me, and may help you guys too.

Butterball. This has chunks of organic cocoa butter inside of it, and soothing vanilla, so if you get DH form of Coeliac disease, it will be great for moisturising, and stopping itching.

Big Blue. Packed full of seaweed, Portuguese sea salt, lavender and lime, this is guaranteed to be a refreshing yet relaxing one. Seaweed contains lots of minerals such as iodine, which is great for the skin, and the sea salt is sure to take the pressure of aching bones, joints and muscles.

Avobath. This citrusy ball is packed full of avocado butter and lime, so it’s a sure fire way of making you feel super energised. The avocado definitely makes it softening on your skin, and the fresh scent of it gives you a great boost in mind.

Intergalactic. The most colourful and extravagant bath bomb, this is great for if you’re feeling stuffy. It’s fragrance is so minty, and great if you have a headache, and all of those mental symptoms. If you’re like me, you’ll love how glittery and exciting this is, and take time to snap photos of it for your instagram, which can distract from the symptoms you have. If only for a while, it’s worth it.

So there you have it. My ritual for if I get glutened! I hope this helps someone, but everyone has their different experiences, symptoms, and it’s what makes us all unique. If you have a specific thing, why not leave a comment below of what YOU do to make yourself feel better.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe and follow my instagram and Facebook @theglutenfreesloth.

Georgina x