K.D. asks from Vancouver, WA on January 30, 2008
Allergy to Something?!
I have lots of allergies so I watched for any reactions when I introduced foods really slowly to my son after 6 months of breast milk only. We eat as organic as possible, hormone-free/antibiotic free meats, and no sugar. My son, now 20 months, began getting what looks like pimples or accumulations of red splotchy spots around his mouth and on his cheeks about a month ago. At first I thought it was citrus, then acid in general, since the spots were more apparent after loving mandarins and tomatoes. (But the spots get more apparent as the day goes on and are sometimes no even there in the mornings.) So I stopped giving him acidic foods. The reactions haven't stopped. He's been fine on organic whole milk, eggs and bread since 14 months. (I never noticed any reaction to either so I hesitate to pull those out too.) I know all the common allergens and haven't seen reactions to any of the common ones. I've read that citric sensitivities tend to disappear after the child is one or so. I'm leaning toward going back to the early bean soups and rice that he loved when he first started solids and reintroducing everything again. I also wonder if there could be a cumulative sensitivity or allergy that might develop from any of these things when we hadn't noticed any signs when they were first introduced. (Citrus too: he had no reaction to tomatoes or lemons for the first many months he ate them.) Puzzled. Anything you might think of is appreciated.
More Answers
E.W. answers from Portland on January 31, 2008
It could possibly not be an allergy at all to any food you have been giving him, but something called impetiago(sp?). Try putting neosporin on a few of his red spots and if it goes away in a day-then that is what it is. You can take him to your doctor and they can give you a perscription for some stronger stuff, but I have found that neosporin works just fine. I have three children and two of them have had it. Nothing to be allarmed about, it just sounds bad.
Good luck!
A fellow mom from Hillsboro
1 mom found this helpful
E.O. answers from Portland on January 31, 2008
K.,
A great book about allergies is "Is this your Child". It saved my two year old kid from the misery of allergies that were causing both physical and behavioural reactions.
The author has key reactions to specific allergens but will also give you tools to identify others.
Trust your instincts and remember if your kid craves something it should make you question it. I still have to limit oranges at this time of year as my kid loves them but they don't do him any favours. Other foods he cannot tolerate without distressing reactions.
Good luck.
1 mom found this helpful
J.S. answers from Seattle on January 31, 2008
Could it be soy?
my husband and son are both very allergic to soy. I found out with my son while I was nursing him, i had to be careful of what I ate. If it is a soy allergy, it'll take about a week of being soy free to know for sure. Soy is in almost everything, so read the labels.
1 mom found this helpful
A.K. answers from Seattle on January 31, 2008
Hi K.,
My daughter (16 1/2 months) has food allergies and eczema, and she started having this reaction when eating certain foods which she hadn't shown allergies to before. I emailed her doctor, who said that it sounded like skin irritation from smearing food and saliva around her mouth while eating(she's a self-feeder.) He suggested we apply aquaphor or vaseline around her mouth before meals to keep her face from getting irritated. We use "un-petroleum jelly" and the rash has stopped.
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D.V. answers from Portland on January 31, 2008
This is one of those situations where the advice of other mothers is nice but cannot replace that of a doctor. You have such great detail of how/when/where these spots & bumps form: I think a good naturopathic physician would be worth a visit. If you don't have one, Dr. Ed Hofmann-Smith at the Natural Childbirth & Family Clinic (NE Portland, ###-###-####) is a truly fabulous doctor. Reasonable rates for folks w/out insurance or (more likely) insurance that doesn't cover naturopathy. We have insurance that doesn't cover his service but bring our 2 year old there still because Dr. Ed is so wonderful. I hope you find resolution!
1 mom found this helpful
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