Food Allergy Questions - Plymouth,MI

Updated on April 06, 2009
C.E. asks from Plymouth, MI
14 answers

My 6mos. old son has a 'rash' (best way to describe it) on his back and belly we believe is attributed to a food allergy/reaction. He gets red splotches iwth little bumps and VERY dry itchy skin. We're working with our doctor, we're eliminating our prime suspects (he's still breastfed, so my diet is limited now too)...I have it narrowed down to Strawberries (for sure); potentially nuts and/or oatmeal (and I dare to even think dairy as I love milk!!!).

My questions are: I've never heard of an allergy to oatmeal - can it be? I've eaten peanut butter, peanuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds at least once a day all along (even when pregnant) - no reaction until recently. Does an allergy just occur overnight? Similar with the dairy thought - no reaction until recently with at least cheese, milk and maybe a yogurt daily... What else would I be looking for if I know strawberries for sure??

Thanks ladies!!

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O.K.

answers from Lansing on

The top 8 allergens are
* Milk
* Eggs
* Peanuts
* Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts)
* Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder)
* Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp)
* Soy
* Wheat

Being wheat free and gluten free are different things. Gluten-free means that a person avoids all foods containing gluten. Gluten is the general term used to describe the protein found in many grains including wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, oat, triticale, semolina, pumpernickel, and farro.

If you're having a problem after ingesting oatmeal, it may be a gluten allergy instead of a wheat allergy.

Have you see an allergist?

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

Hi C.
My family just figgured out last year all 3 of us are sensitive or allergic to gluten. My husband is alergic, and my daughter and I intolerent of gluten. My husband and daughter get skin reactions, rash and hives mostly. I get inflamation in my wrist and guts, and it's also caused 5 miscarrages. So the reactions to gluten can be so wide and hard to track.
Most of us sensitive to gluten are also not so good with dairy, and vise versa.
Oats don't have gluten, but are procesed when the other glutenious garins are processed (wheat, barlry, rye). I had bought sogram flour thinking it would be fine as the garin is gluten free naturaly. But it was processed on the same equipment as wheat and we all had reactions. Sometimes they say the equipment is cleaned well between milling other grains. But that dosne't always cut it. You can find gluten free oats.

I wish you the best of luck, hang in there. A. H

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J.K.

answers from Detroit on

My boys both have food allergies. My 3 year old had eczema when he was an infant and we never found what he was specically sensitive to until he had a couple vomiting reactions and we had him allergy tested. It turns out he has a peanut and tree nut allergy. I know I ate nuts when I breastfed him for 4 months. Now his little brother is in the process of figuring out what his allergies are. Blood and skin testing help, but they can't test him for everything, so the more info you have for the allergist the better.

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M.P.

answers from Grand Rapids on

My heart just aches for you right now as I am recalling the painful journey it was in figuring out our daughters food "sensitivities." Her skin broke out between 2 and 3 months of age and as food was introduced her cheeks were red and blotchy all the time. That's when I started doing my own research.

My daughter is 3 now and I know that she is sensitive to over 25 food items. Many of them were diagnosed as an allergy, others came back negative on both skin tests and blood tests but still cause her to respond. One of those is strawberries! I mentioned it to one of the nurses from her Allergist and she said that there is a chemical in strawberries that is very similar to histamine. For some people, particularly highly sensitive people, when they eat strawberries the body recognises the "histamine" and says, "boy, there must be something we are attacking, we need to make more!" Thus the rashes.

After three years of dealing with this, my suggestion is ask your peditrician to refer you to a good allergist and have your son tested. It is a bit painful to watch, but much easier all around then having to live with the rashes and itching and heart ache. And, the sooner the better because, as others have mentioned, food allergies can be very, very serious...a whole lot more than a few pink cheeks!

Second, KEEP NURSING for as long as you can! It is very difficult to change your diet, but well worth it for your son. And, there may be wonderful benefits for you too; I lost a stubborn 30 lbs after changing my diet to accomodate my daughter!:-)

Finally, as others suggested, take the big 8 or 9 out of your own diet. Oatmeal has gluten in it, and that's likely the culprit.

Hang in there. I pray that it's a short journey toward answers for you and your family.

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C.Q.

answers from Detroit on

Wouldn't it save a lot of time and just have him take a blood test for allergies? This way you would know without having to put him through all of the reations, some that could be fatal. Don't mean to scare you, if my sister eats tree nuts or strawberries or even takes an asperin for that matter it could be fatal. One small poke might save you alot of headaches.
Good Luck.

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C.B.

answers from Detroit on

What are the chances it's triggered by something you ingested and he got through nursing?
You can maybe try organic foods. And use soy, almond, or rice milk. Start them off early they'll never know the difference.

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M.G.

answers from Jackson on

Hi C.,

I commend you for continuing to breastfeed even tho it is increasingly inconvenient for you. You probably know that breastfeeding is the best way for you to build and strengthen your child's immune system.

As far as foods to question you are on the right track. May I ask a few questions thought to better understand?

Has your son been on antibiotics? Asthma medications or steroids?

Have you ever heard about the relationship of good fats and health issues? Are you allergic to anything?

What you are working to uncover is not simple...but there is hope.

warmly,
M.

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H.U.

answers from Detroit on

After reading a lot of the responses, I would refer you to a Kinesiologist. Instead of putting such a young child through allergy testing, needles, scraping etc. A Kinesiologist will test them without poking a prodding.
My little one got rashes like that, and we found out it was cows milk (through our Kinesiologist). We backed off on the dairy, and the problems went away. It could be any number of things, and I just couldn't bear to put my little one through all that medically painful and traumatic testing.
A great Kinesiologist is located at the corner of Masonic & Schoenherr. Kid friendly, needle free, and you'll see results almost instantly!

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N.W.

answers from Detroit on

Yes, and allergy can occur later. My daughter used to be fine with strawberries and now she gets the same rash. Good luck!

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R.G.

answers from Detroit on

It could be a glutin allergy. Very common.

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W.F.

answers from Jackson on

Hi C.,
I went through simular things with my son, except along with a rash were MAJOR tummy troubles. We figured out dairy pretty easily, but I noticed that when I gave him baby oatmeal he threw up right away, I figured he wasn't ready yet, and moved on- it wasn't until the Cherrio's (sp?) that I realized that we had a problem. My son is lactose and gluten intollerant, which seem to go hand and hand. Cutting out gluten is pretty hard, but you can check but eating a big bowl of spaghetti- I love pasta, it was a bummer not to be able to eat it! I have also heard of just being allergic to oats- don't have much experience there, but I think that would be easier to avoid. Good luck!!

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L.K.

answers from Detroit on

Hi C.,

I don't have an answer for you as to what other foods to look for, but I did want to tell you that yes, allergies can start (or stop) overnight. About 7 years ago I cracked open a Brazil nut, which I had eaten my whole life, and within seconds of it touching my mouth my lips & tongue started to swell. Apparently I had also developed an allergy to cats, dust, and cigarette smoke, but lost the allergy to bees & wasps.

I would suggest that you get not only your son tested for allergies, but yourself as well. Best of luck with this!

L.

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P.R.

answers from Detroit on

Milk and milk products and gluten would top my list.

Find a web site that tells you food families and see what else is in the same food family as strawberries.

Dr. Doris Rapp's book, "Is This Your Child?" may be helpful to you as you figure this one out.

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C.M.

answers from Detroit on

Dairy and eggs are the usual culprits. Cut out both completely and see what happens. You are doing the BEST thing for you and your sweetie by breastfeeding. Hooray! You might even check into your laundry detergent or fabrc softener. Try something different for washing and cut out any fabric softener. The latest big culprit is wheat (gluten). There is a group of chiropratcor/clinical nutritionists in Grosse Pointe that do wonderful work with allergies, naturally. They are amazing. Go to www.ahccenter.com I hope this helps!

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