So, our little celiac has her first real head cold since being diagnosed. I thought it was tough finding sugar-free over-the-counter medicine for our diabetic when he got sick, but it was nothing like trying to find out if OTC cold medicine is gluten free. This frustrating online search has led me to believe that there must be an online conspiracy designed to purposely confuse people. Although there are many resources to be found online, it is virtually impossible to verify the validity of any of them - most of them could just be people's opinions for all I know. One of the sites that I did find that would have been helpful to me was last updated in 2009, so there's that. From all my research these are the truths that I was able to walk away with:
- Unlike with food products, OTC medication manufacturers are not required to identify on the label if the top allergens are in their product.
- OTC Pharmaceuticals often contain sugar alcohols like maltitol, which contrary to its name is not a concern for gluten (malt). Any gluten has been processed out of it.
- Just about every website I came across with a list of "approved" gluten free OTC medications listed all Mucinex medications and most (but not all) Robitussin medications.
- Several of the supposed expert sites had errors on them from either misspellings or misleading information, leaving me to question whether they are indeed maintained by experts at all.
- I miss the days when both of my kids could take OTC medicine without worrying about whether it would spike their blood sugar or tear apart their gut :-)
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