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I'm interested in the recent discussion on urinary tract symptoms and their
possible relation to gluten. One of the unexpected changes in our four-year-old
daughter once she went gluten-free was in her bathroom habits. Before her
diagnosis, she always insisted that she never had to urinate, and she usually
went only twice a day. She had "accidents" a few times a week. Once she began
the diet, we were amazed that she began urinating regularly every few hours, as
we would have expected a child to do. Now, she rarely has an accident--it seems
to happen only when she accidentally ingests gluten. It's as though something
about her reaction to gluten makes her unable to monitor her bladder sensations.

Although I myself am not a celiac, I have had frequent urinary tract problems
since toddlerhood, so I definitely sympathize with anyone going through this. I
remember how painful and confusing it was as a child to have near constant UTI's
(sometimes for months at a time). Some things that helped me were heat (bath,
shower, heating pad) and TONS of water to really flush out the system. In my
teen years, I discovered Pyridium, which relieves much of the pain, and I never
went anywhere without it.

I'm very wary of attributing every problem to gluten--for instance, I know that
my difficulties are related to a uretural stricture, not to celiac--but it's
been interesting to read how it may affect the urinary tract in some people.
What would be the medical explanation for this? I'm particularly interested in
understanding how it could make my daughter lose bladder sensation and control.
--Trisha in New York