Allergic Reation to What?

MSG (monosodium glutamate)is a very likely culprit. Its really bad for humans. Some of us are more sensitive to it than others. If I ingest it, I have seizures. Same for everyone I know who has epilepsy. MSG is a brain drug...it doesn't change the food its on; it changes the chemistry in your brain so you're brain thinks it tastes better. It makes the neurotransmitters in your brain start firing off - just like street drugs do. The sad thing is that its in ALOT of foods. Its such a problem that the FDA finally mandated that MSG be listed on the label if its an ingredient (they haven't banned it because its sooo huge in the food industry). To get around the FDA rule, the food manufacturers con the public by listing it using other names such as "hydrolyzed" or "autolyzed". Chic-fil-a, MacDonalds, BKing, Taco places, Boston Market, Hooters, Wendy's (chicken), etc - all have MSG bigtime. Ramen Noodles, Chicken Noodle Soup has it. Sonic burgers are okay but not their chicken, ranch or BBQ. Some food makers & restaurants, however, take pride in having gone MSG-free. Two Rows is pretty careful and so is On The Border...you just have to start asking restaurant managers but even then, many of them don't really know b/c they get shipped in bulk w/o labels. Sorry, but if MSG is your son's problem, its probably just as well you know now so you can give him and your whole family a better diet anyway. That junk is linked to high blood pressure, obesity, cancer - so if you end up having to throw out a lot of things in your pantry and frig & start reading labels, don't be too bummed b/c ow you're alot smarter to helping your family live longer and healthier lives.

1 mom found this helpful

My daughter gets the same reaction to McDonald's BBQ sauce and Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. She can eat other BBQ sauce and Ranch dressing. I have to watch her closely when she has sauces and keep Benedryl handy. She acts OK but get hives where-ever it touches her skin.

A.,
My girls have a reaction like that to creamy salad dressings (ranch ect.) There probably is a common ingredient, although I haven't figured out what that is. Many people are highly allergic to MSG, could MSG be in there (monosodium gludemate or something like that.)

Also, could it be an ingredient in the food and not the sauce?

S.

A.,

My oldest daughter is allergic to nuts (tree nuts and peanuts). I know I have read to be careful of BBQ sauces because sometimes they contain nut ingredients. I don't know about the other sauce, but it might be something to consider. Also, maybe red dye?? I would ask your pedi to do a blood test for nut allergies. You will want to know because this could potentially be life threatenig if he ate something and had an anaphlactic reaction. I'm not trying to scare you, but take it from someone who knows, you don't want to find out the hard way and end up in the ER. You did the right thing by giving him Benadryl, but I would talk to the pedi so you can be informed and avoid any foods that might contain the dangerous ingredient. Good luck and I wish you all the best. Keep me updated as to what you find out :)

C.

Hello A.,
I will suggest you take him to the Doctor to do some cultures. Do not do try an error. you never know and cannot minimize reactions like that. I will not wait for a 3rd reaction.
Godd luck.

My kids both did the same thing with Ranch and ketchup. It is from coloring and acid. No big deal, just contact redness. It stopped around 5 years old. Sensitive skin is the cause I think.
Jenn

You will definitely need to discuss this with your doctor. Until you get to do this, I would just give him his food without any sauces until you get to the bottom of it, and maybe stay away from fast foods altogether. Those kinds of allergies can be fatal, so I would have this checked out fast. Maybe you can get samples of those items from the restaurants from where they came without telling them why you need them. Go order a couple of kids meals that would include those sauces so that you can take them with you to the doctor, or if you are like me, you probably save the extras. Just don't feed them to your child.

Hi A.,

Unfortunately, it could be a lot of things. The only way to know for sure is to get him tested. I am a chiropractor and I use applied kinesiology aka muscle testing to determine allergies. It is very specific and is a painless, easy technique to perform on a child. I have several test kits or you can bring in individual items. If you have questions or would like more information, please don't hesitate to call me at ###-###-####. Dr. Sandra S.

I think it is a preservative they use. My girls used to have the same reaction to ranch dressing. They out-grew it eventually.

If I were you I'd call all the places you got the sauces from and find out what the common ingredient might be. It could be some sort of preservative and not an actual food ingredient. This sounds like a definite food reaction. You could also check out the www.foodallergy.org website, call them and ask their opinion.
You can also talk to your doctor, perhaps they might have an idea.
Good Luck,
E.

I agree with Carrie, except that most pediatricians do not do the allergy testing. You will have to go to a pediatric allergist for that. If your insurance requires a referral, ask your pedi if s/he will do the referral without an additional office visit, since you have already taken your son to be treated for the rashes. The pedi can give you a list of the allergists s/he knows, but you will have to call to make sure they take your insurance, because the doctors often don't know which insurance the other doctors accept. Your allergist will do a "full panel" test, because your son may be allergic to something else he has not come into contact with yet, and this will help you avoid those things as much as possible. You may also want to go ahead and have your other children tested, too, because allergies do tend to "run" in families.

You will probably also have to keep an "epi" pen on hand with you AT ALL TIMES, in case of a severe/anaphylactic reaction. The doctor will prescribe it, and give you instructions on how and when to use it.

Best of Luck!
~J.~
____@____.com

I am very experienced with allergies and ingredients since my 3yo is allergic to a long list of food. My guess is soy or corn syrup are probably in both sauces. Go ahead and go to an allergist and get him tested. If he is allergic to one thing he may have other allergies as well.

Could it be MSG? It is common in many sauces and chinese food and can be highly allergic.

With such a severe reaction you definately want to pin it down though!

And another thing - do you vaccinate? MSG allergies are a good reason to be highly selective about giving shots since they can often have msg, formaldehyde and other containmenants.

A. <><

Check ingredients: MSG is common in these sauces. Some kids have a reaction to this.

My first thought was to check for MSG (monosodiumglutimate, I think that's the spelling)
S.

A.,
My friend's son had the same problem. Her doctor that he was allergic to citric acid or phosphoric acid. He always broke out after eating BBQ sauce and sweet and sour for fast food place. He had the red welts on his face. My friend stoped getting him the dipping sauces and he is fine. My son gets welts for the sugar free syrups. It has citric acid in them. All I do is wash his face after eating it and his face clears up in a hour or so. I hope this helps.

It could very well be an allergy to the food dye used. My friend's son is allergic to anything with Red 40 in it (which is most sauces, etc that have red in them. Just read the labels to avoid it. As he gets older, the reaction will probably get more serious over time. This other boy avoided it fully, but when he was 14, he accidentally ate some when his mom got a different bbq sauce and did not check the label. He ended up in the hospital with Steven Johnson syndrome, he got horrible big blisters all over anad they had to run him on steroids and zovirax so he could even eat. The pain was horrible! He now has big scars where the blisters were. They avoid that particular Red 40, and as long as he doesn't eat it, he is fine. If they aren't sure because of labelling, etc. he will just choose something else that they know is ok, or he will skip it altogether. Please have him tested to eliminate food dyes as the allergen.

Please visit www.SharonKrahn.com. Sharon is my sister-in-law and she can pinpoint specific sensitivities/allergies using a technique similar to what the chiropractor suggested. It is called BioSET. It is non-invasive, doctors will run a sratch test - ouch.
With Sharon's treatments I have been basically allergy free for two years. (I have had horrible environmental allergies my entire life.) Granted I will flare up from time to time, it is not a cure, but my reactions are less severe and she can help me get over it more quickly. She has also helped my two youngest children with food sensitivities like the ones you describe.
I hope this helps you,
L.

pls feel free to email me: ____@____.com

The most common ingredient that the two both have is VINEGAR... I would suggest that you take him to the doctor for an allergy test... ketchup does use vinegar, but bbq sauce and sweet and sour use white or rice vinegar. I hope everything turns out good!!

Go online or back to these places to get the ingredients so you can be sure what to avoid in the future.