Toddler with Milk and Egg Allergy

My preschooler has allergies to several different foods. He has tested positive to egg and diary, and used to react to dairy when he was younger but he seems to have outgrown that allergy. I didn't give him eggs (scrambled or hard boiled, for example) for a long time and now he's just not interested in eating them but I do give him products that have eggs in them (baked goods & french toast, for example) and he tolerates them just fine. My son also tested positive for peas and chicken, however he ate those things for dinner just a week before his testing and had no problems. However, there are other foods my son is allergic to that I would not consider ever giving him again because he's had severe reactions to them.

Our pediatric allergist says "the proof is in the eating." Just because a child has a positive skin test to an allergen does not mean they'll have a reaction. You need to discuss with your doctor what your comfort level is and understand your child's reaction (or lack thereof) to the foods.

Check out the web site for the food allergy and anaphylaxsis network (www.foodallergy.org)for information about food allergies, product recalls, recipes, and lists of ingredients to avoid in foods. As for snacks - you'll just have to read labels if you give him things like crackers or cereal. Fruit is always a good, healty snack. Pretzels shoud be okay, too (just read the label).

T.,
My thoughts are with you> Our 3 yr old has allergies to milk, eggs, and peanuts (maybe more, but he hasn't been tested for more yet). It is a very challenging, but manageable issue.
We use Soy Milk, Rice Milk, and soy cheese. You need to read the labels on Soy Cheese carefully though because some Soy products contain trace amounts of milk protein. HEalth Food stores, such as Vim and Vigor in Shelby Twp. carry turly milk free soy cheese. THere is an egg substitue called Ener-G that works okay for baking (not for trying to make scrambled/fried eggs, it's only for baking). You can use regular bisquick for pancakes if you use the substitues. There's a cake/cookie/muffin/pancake mix company called Cherrybrook Kitchen (google them) that's pretty good.
Fruits and veggies are always good snaks.
Going out to eat: We don't do it! IF we do, we take his own food and ask them to warm it up. You can't be too careful with cross-contamination.
Please feel free to email me direct if you have any questions. I'm working on putting together some more resources for a friend and I can share them w/ you if I get around to doing it.
Good luck! Be vigilant!
____@____.com

Start with the whole foods store, my twin 13 m onth girls have the same allergies and a few more and that is where I get stuff for them from...

HI T.
I know how hard that can be, eating differently and dining out. I'm vegan, and sensitive to wheat. My daughter drinks rice milk and likes it. I'd suggest pasta w/ red sauce, chicken (if you eat it), veggies. Have you tried earth balance vegan butter spread, not bad for you, and taste good (I do remember what real butter tastes like too). Tell the server at the restaurant, they want to take care of you and get a nice tip. Papa vinos is nice. Check out an allergy free cook book from your library. And fresh & dried fruit, veggies are a great snack.
Good luck, A. H

I also had a two year old that was alergic to eggs. It is really hard to find items that are in the stores without eggs. However, you may want to check with your doctor, because my doctor told me that if the eggs were cooked in a food item (like cake)there would be no issue. I just did not let my child eat raw cookie dough and those types of things. Once the eggs were cooked, he did not have any problems. We did keep him away from the develed eggs and scrambled eggs types of things, just more of a concentration of the egg.

He is now eight and no longer has an allergy to eggs. Thankfully eggs are an allergy that most kids will outgrow.

Did not have an issue with milk. That seems to be a tough one too.

Hello T., I can't help you alot with the milk allergy, but my middle child was severly allergic to eggs. Cookies, cakes, breads, noodles, and immunizations were the biggest problems for me. Just a little and she was sick. Shot scheduales had to be different than the norm, and some she could not have at all. If you replace 1tbs of oil and 1tbs of water for each large egg in a recipe it works most of the time. Our Allergist told me that one. Do you have an Epi-pen for him? They do make them for children also. Keep benadril in your purse at all times, just in case. Good luck.

We found out at age 1 1/2 that our daughter had milk, soy and egg protein allergies. When she would eat these, she would get itching fits along with excema patches. We all switched to rice milk. It is very watery, but it does make oatmeal. Whenever we make a casserole or something we use rice milk. You can buy egg free noodles. Luckily she was a meat eater, so she really mainly ate meat for 2 years. She also likes soup. Mainly beef barley and chicken soups with a broth base not a milk base. She gets tested yearly. The only allergy that remains after 3 years is a slight milk allergy. She will most likely grow out of that too. As far as eating out, chicken is somewhat safe. The breading can be iffy. Broth soups are usually ok. Stay away from McD's fries. They do have some milk in them. I guess that is what makes them so special.

Find out what components of the milk and eggs he's allergic to and READ LABELS! Get lists online of foods that contain these ingredients that you might not suspects.

That's really rough! So many allergies these days among our children...

Have you also considered that your child may also need an awesome multi-vitamin? I can help with one that they can drink if you are interested.

S.
____@____.com

Search the web for Vegan websites and Vegan recipe sites. Here is one that I know about:

http://www.veganlunchbox.com/
there is also a blog associated with this site that Mom's exchange ideas:

veganlunchbox.blogspot.com

Good Luck!

Hi T.~

Both my kids and my niece whom I watch full time have dairy allergies. They have all been on Soy milk, Silk or the Meijer brand soy is just as good. They love it and I substitute it in any recipe that calls for milk. We also buy the "veggie" cheese and cheese sticks that are in the veg section. We do alot of friuts, raisons etc for snacks. Good luck.

Tiffany,
The milk part is easy. Try Silk (soy), rice milk or almond milk. I use Almond milk on my cereal. You get the calcium and the pretty close taste to milk.

Eggs.....does that allergy include organic eggs? Because I was wondering if non-organic eggs are more the problem due to altered feed the hens eat.

It may be a matter of take your own supplies when you go out. Be sure also to let the waiter know there's allergy issues.

T. - I feel your pain! I found out my son was allergic to milk products when he was about one. The good news is that he grew out of it around 3 1/2 or 4 years old!! But the best thing I found were the little juice-box things of soy milk for traveling! They don't need to be refrigerated and I could take them anywhere with us - even out to eat. My son was also able to eat yogurt, though we started with the soy yogurt for a while, for some reason though, the real yogurt didn't seem to bother him. BUT his reaction was to throw up, so if your son has a more severe reaction, I wouldn't just try things just to "try". He ate a lot of granola bars and nutri-grain bars those years. :) good luck!!
P.
Stay at home with 2 boys, ages 5 and 7

Hi T.,

Boy or boy do I have ideas for you. My daughter has a severe milk allergy and just recently has outgrown an egg allergy. What types of things are you looking for. This has been our life for the last 3 years.

When we go out to eat we always take our own food. She can have fries from Burger King, Wendy's and Red Robin so we get her those but I am not ready to risk a teenage cook in the back accidentally touching her food and her having have a reaction. You can email me back or email my email ____@____.com for specific food ideas.

C.

Hi

Sometimes they grow out of it. First of all at least mine did.I used Lactaid milk in all my cooking that called for milk, it tastes great a little sweeter. As far as eggs have you tried the artifical kind??

T., My husbands cousins boy had an egg/milk allergy also and I gave her this chocolate cake recipe we have been making in our family for years, she said he loved it. She also then did a search online under eggless, milkless, butterless cakes and found a spice variety that was good also.
The recipe is as follows.
Wacky Cake
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tblsp cocoa
combine ingredients in mixing bowl and make a hole in the center and add:
6 Tblsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cool water
1 Tbsp vinegar
mix well and pour into an 8 x 8 ungreased pan. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 min. (This recipe can also be doubled using a 9 x 13 pan) God Bless and good luck to you and your family.

My son just last summer outgrew his severe egg allergy. It was looking very bleak, but total avoidance over the years is the key. This is not easy, but in the long run this is probably what works to outgrow the allergy. Some tips for eggs replacement....there is a egg replacer sold in the health food store made by Energy that works well for making pancakes, waffles, cookies. We used yogurt for muffins and cupcakes, you would have to find a soy based yogurt?
Restaurants---this is difficult. Cross contaminaiton is the biggest problem, especially grills and breakfast. We would ask the server to read the label or show us the labels and make sure the utensils are not being used when cooking the food. Many people were very helpful and would go out of their way. If they did not seem thorough we didn't trust it. Fast food ingredients are available online or take home charts are available in the retaurants.
Birthday parties are the most difficult, find recipes online and bring something for your child that looks similar so they are not feeling left out.
Good luck many people do not understand the severity of food allergies and think are they just a little allergic or can they just have a little? Total avoidance is the key to outgrowning them.
It opened a whole new world to my son. The first place we went was Krispy Kreme for a donut, birthday cake, and working our way through hostess. It is a hard road for your child and you. My prayer are with you!

My son & niece both have severe milk, egg and peanut allergies. Both were diagnosed before they were 9 months old, so we've been living with this basically since they started eating (my son is now 2, my niece is 2-1/2). Red Robin is another restaurant that is great for food allergies. Most of the fast food restaurants have their nutritional info/allergens/ingredients online, so that makes it nice to check. Still mention the food allergy when you order and stress the importance of avoiding cross contamination! Pretzel places at the mall have made my son a safe pretzel, too. Divvies (online) is a good place to get safe treats and chocolate (cupcakes, frosting, cookies, etc). I saw them feature on Martha Stewart one day and ordered my son's birthday cupcakes from them - wonderful!! Bisquick is a good mix (safe) and just mix with soy milk or water for pancakes or to make bisquits or even pizza dough (I make my son pizza with no cheese, he LOVES it). Gerber makes a couple safe soups - one I haven't found at all lately (chicken and rice) then a turkey stew with rice. That makes a convenient take along dinner if I'm unsure on the restaurant food. Oreo's are a good choice for a treat. Tyson makes safe chicken nuggets. Frozen White Castle hamburgers are safe! (My son & niece love those - perfect size for their tiny hands...I just scrape off the onions.) Get used to reading labels and knowing the other names those allergens go by on ingredients lists. Also, always carry and EpiPen and Benadryl. You never know when you need it and don't want to be caught without them...there are now single serving Benadryl packets which are great for purses/diaper bags. (Keeps you from having to carry a big bottle or worry about it spilling...) If you respond to me with your email address, I can send you assorted links I have saved that may be worth checking out in your free time. :) It's an adjustment to make these changes, but you'll find that it gets easier once you get acquainted with safe products. My grocery trips used to take 3 hours (reading packages to find the 'safe' bread, etc)...now I tend to know what is safe and then quickly double check the label to be sure nothing has changed recently. Best wishes!!