Weird Food Allergies

That is really strange and would make it difficult in choosing products. Does she have an allergic response or is it just a sensitivity to products? Because once the body identifies something as foreign and produces a histamine response, you always have those antibodies in your immune memory. therefore you don't typically outgrow allergies. I believe it is the protein component in the allergen that produces the response. Sensitivities do tend to come and go. One thought about prunes or other dried fruits, some individuals find sulfates to cause a reaction, so depending on the dry fruit and sulfate content they might have a reaction to the dried fruit but are fine with the fresh version.

My son has some food and environmental allergies. This 8-year-old is only allergic to the chocolate and red? If so, have your kids bake together before the party. You can make cupcakes and send one with your daughter so she can have her own cake and eat it too. You can keep some in the freezer for upcomming parties so you don't have to bake every time.

It seems to me a person can be allergic to anything, so prunes don't sound weird. You asked how to know if it is outgrown, because there is no test for prunes or plums. How do you know she is allergic? What is her reaction to prunes? If it is not severe, you could try it again after being off of them for at least 6 months. If it is severe, just keep them out of her diet. That is a relatively easy one, since it isn't in everything, like sugar, grapes, etc... (some of my son's allergies)Good luck with that
J.

Edit:
NEAT is an allergy elimination technique that we used and it helped some of my sons allergies. We should have kept going, but didn't. It is a procedure done by an accupunturist, we went to Brian Rosenthal in Medford. He used accupressure, because I didn't want to use the needles on my son, and I think that he prefers it on children anyway. Any way, It did work great on some and I highly recomend it. My son's allergies caused asthma, so OHP covered it with a referal from my doctor.

Dr. Rosenthal used his technique to test for allergies and then treat for them.

Hi MB!

All I can offer is that my doc said that if I stayed off dairy solid for a year, then I might be able to work it back in. And that has worked to a degree. I can now enjoy butter and yogurt without consequence and cheese with lactose pills. My son was allergic to soy as an infant which he outgrew in six months. I sometimes have trouble with onions and avocados. Doc says that being sensitive or allergic to fruits and vegetables is a sign of a deeper problem. Have you already ruled out dust and mold allergies? Something environmental? I don't know, honestly. I am just throwing ideas out there.

K.

I am just wondering what you mean by allergy? There are many things that can happen with an allergy. Rash, mouth swelling, trouble digesting. Can you go into further detail about the youngest and her allergy to red40 and prunes.

Thanks.

Dear MB,
My husband and I are health practitioners and we special in allergies. We can probably eliminate your kids allergies without doing anything invasive and very reasonable. I am going to send you to a website and you can check it out. You are welcome to talk with some of our patients to see their results. We don't use needles or scratching but if you have any test results it will be interesting to match them up with our method. The prune allergy is interesting. Many allergies are emotionally based. The way that works is that something traumatic can happen while eating a prune and the brain misinterprets the trauma as the prune and so next time you eat the prune the body sees it as a threat and puts up a block against it in the form of a histamine. After three times the body may choose to overreact. We can figure that out and even discover what the emotional reason is if there is any. This is energy medicine at its finest. We are able to reverse autism and ADD and ADHD as well as infectious agents, etc.
Once we clear the allergies it is not a license to be able to eat anything even though one might be able to. It is a blessing that your child can not eat the cake and frosting. My daughter (when she was young) and my granddaughter are not allowed to eat sugar or coloring or any food additives just because why would we want to put that into our body? Not that we don't once in a while. I don't want to preach. I just want to help.
The website to look up is www.nmt.md then click patient, then click practitioner search, then click Oregon on the map. It will show all the practioners in Oregon. You will see me there as C. Engleman, ND in Lake Oswego. You may want to go to someone closer to you and possibly someone that can take insurance. I am not trying to solicitate your business. I want to give you choices that will give you an allergy free family. Please feel free to call me at ###-###-####.

Check with the parent hosting the birthday party, but you can always send her with her own piece of birthday cake/cupcake. Make a batch from scratch and freeze them, then decorate as needed and send it with her. then she can enjoy the cake when everyone else does.

My children are older now, 19 and 17. We discovered that my daughter had an eating disorder when she was 18 months old. She wanted seconds before she had eaten any of her firsts. We had to watch what she ate constantly to keep her weight in check. By kindergarten, her teacher was working on her not asking about snack. She was on the K1 soccer team, running cross country and in a dance class and not evening out in the weight department. My doctor kept telling me that she needed more excersice and less calories and asked him how. How do tell a 6 year old that in order where clothes like everyone else she can't have any goodies ever. It was rough. Then we discovered her allergies to practically everything that grows in the spring especially grass. This followed with Psoriasis which reared its ugly head when she hit puberty. She now takes weekly injections because it is so bad. At 13 she asked to go to weight watchers and cryed ever time she had to get on the scale. But she learned how to eat and is now at 17 looking great, but even better feeling great. It was a long haul and she kept asking why God gave her so much to deal with. Now she says that because of what she went through she can help others. She also realizes the incredible gifts she was given with hardships. She coaches a fifth grade basketball team and has done wonders for these girls on so many levels.

My son was diagnosed with fluid on the back of his brain in the 7th grade and a small brain annurism in his senior year of high school. He wanted to know why it was always his head. But the prognosis is good. The neurosurgeon believes that he was born with both of them and that they won't progress. He however was told that football and snow boarding were not the best sports for him. He was disappointed but found other activities that he was good at. He is now a freshman at WSU and loves his life.

I just started my own company which is giving the flexibility to visit my son and spend more time with my daughter and husband. Sometimes our plates feel to full but when it comes down to a dull roar we can feel good about how we handled our situations even if we were unable to make them go away.

C.

There is an acupuncture-based treatment you could consider, called NAET, that is supposed to eliminate allergies. I used to work for an acupuncturist who did it, she had about 70% success rate. She had a little girl as a patient who couldn't eat cake an ice cream at parties because of her allergies; she did NAET and her allergies disappeared so then she was able to, and your story reminded me of her, so I thought I'd mention it.

It's supposed to only take one treatment to rid the allergy, but it could potentially end up to be costly in that you have to treat any allergies you have to the "10 (or 12) Basics" first, which are common food allergies that can be the basis for other food allergies to piggyback on: corn, milk, wheat, etc. Supposedly, if you don't treat what allergies you have to those basic ones first, then any treatment you do on other ones (like red #40) is not likely to hold.

I personally saw many people rid their allergies, but also saw some others who didn't. If you're interested, you could google NAET, there's lots of info online.

Best of luck to you all!
Beth

Hi,

Resident naturopath here. I have heard of "stone fruit allergies" before, I've seen a patient with them. Stone fruits include cherries and plums and a few others. I believe you can get tested for them, but you'll probably want to work with an ND who is more familiar with the wide world of allergy testing. There are many types of tests. There is also a possibility that there is something that's going on environmentally or genetic that is causing this amount of allergy in your family. It might be worthwhile to investigate.

In wellness,
Dr. E. Mendenhall, ND

I have a friend with a daughter with dietary restrictions that prevent her from enjoying birthday things as well. She always makes sure to talk to the mom ahead of time and find out what will be offered to the kids so she can send her daughter with an alternative that she can be excited about. For example, if they are having a Barbie cake, the mom will send a homemade Barbie cupcake that she CAN eat. Same with candies and cookies. There are tons of recipies out there that are adjusted to eliminate many allergens.

Good luck

Wow, you do have a lot to deal with. Do you have an option for a good naturopath doctor in your area? I come from a family with lots of allergies and sensitivities and both my 2 kids have issues. When my daughter was born she went through allergy treatments with our ND and now at 2 is doing great with ALL whole foods (and the occational junk). She had problems with glutten, approcots, strawberries, and cow milk, I'm sure there was more.

It was the NEAT protocol, I'm not sure how it works but it seemed to work. We have also seen an ND and a Dentist who where able to do mussel testing to find allergies/sensitivities, so they can test for anything.

Me and both kids are still highly sensitive to all chemicals found in soaps, cleaning products, etc. We just use natural products w/o chemicles, sodium laurel and fluoride. And for me I just changed my view, that this is a good thing. Our bodies are naturally rejecting what doesn't come from the earth.

My son (4 1/2) is more sensitive to foods and things in his environment. We did not go through the entire NEAT program with him, and I wonder if we should since we have seen such excellent results with our daughter. He also has a sever nut allergy, and he keeps telling me he can eat nuts now but I'm not ready to risk it.

FYI, we are making cupcakes this week for my daughters’ birthday and I'm using beet juice for the red Elmo frosting. For my son I volunteer to send the food/goodies when ever possible.

Good luck!!! T.

wow! That's tough. We have food allergies at our house too - me dairy and wheat, and my daughter wheat. I have had more food allergies, but some of them are slowly going away. I have learned to make my daughter and me bread in the bread machine, because the store-bought gluten tastes VILE! Also, you can make them their own cupcakes to take to birthday parties (I've seen moms do this) so the child doesn't have to be exposed to any of this, but can still enjoy the party. Red #40 is made from bugs (believe it or not) and a LOT of people are allergic to it. Yellow #5 is supposed to be really bad as well.

I found the best thing for me to do with our allergies (and we don't have nearly as many as you are dealing with) is for me to bake our own cakes, make our own bread, buy organic food. Do not buy processed stuff - you will have to spend hours reading labels like I did when I had even MORE food allergies. I make my own soup, and try to cook as simply as possible. 1-pot stuff, crock pot is great. Also I have recently found out that if you don't give the person the allergen for a while, they may get over the food allergy. It doesn't stay the same. So there is hope.

Why are you using baby food? I thought your kids are too old. It's better to mash up a bit of what you've made for dinner, than rely on the baby food manufacturers. Besides, it tastes awful.

You can even buy an ice creme maker so you control what's in the ice creme. I have a lot of kitchen gadgets because I don't have a lot of time to cook. Cuisinart, crock pot, Kitchenaid, an oven I can pre-time, dishwasher, essential.
I've picked up a lot of stuff in garage sales.
Good luck, hope this helps.

My daughter 9 has celiac disorder and is allergic to cow milk products, she has the same problem at birthday parties. We have taken to making cupcakes or some other treat that she can take with her so she can sit and partake in the cake part of the party. She enjoys being able to pick out a treat that she will get and no one else can have. Many times the kids at the parties would like to have what she has. It makes it easier for her. She feels less left out.

Juniper's idea to take a cupcake with her is a good idea. My granddaughter is allegic to peanuts. Parents of the kids to whose birthday parties she attends nearly always ask about allergies. Red # 40 may be difficult to identify in foods and that makes it more difficult for the parent to plan but most would be willing especially if you helped in the food department. If the parent plans to have candy you could offer to provide some that your daughter can eat and share with the others.

You mentioned not being able to have chocolate. Does it have red #40? Always? I don't think I've seen red in the ingredients lists.

I also wonder what her reaction is to red # 40 and how you tracked it down in foods. Same for prunes. Prunes have caused rashes around the mouth of some babies I know. It wasn't an allergy or a digestive sensitivity. It was a skin sensitivity which was solved by either immediately washing the face or applying vaseline or a lotion before the baby eats. Babies faces often break out because of smearing food.

I have many adult onset allergies and have found that if I don't eat some things for awhile that I can eat limited amounts on special occasions. Therefore, when there is chocolate cake I can have some if I want. But with other foods I immediately get hives and/or itchy throat and ears causing me to be less likely to try them.

Are your daughter's allergic reactions severe? What does the allergist advise. Has he prescribed an epi-pen? Perhaps your daughter could have a limited amount at party's. Most food allergies cause discomfort but are not life threatening. It's important to avoid the life threatening ones but it's possible to eat a small amount of the other's without undue consequences.

My granddaughter who is now 7 had several food allergies most of which she has now outgrown. The only allergy that the allergist is concerned about now is the peanut one because it can immediately cause anaphylactic shock even tho there has been no reaction before.

Until she was 5 we avoided milk and milk based formulas because it caused an upset stomach and regurgitating. Our family's philosophy is that we who have allergies (except for peanut) can eat all food once in awile unless we don't want to deal with our body's reaction to it. Monet was glad to not have milk. This takes the situation out of the realm of deprivation and into the realm of choices.

The school has been very co-operative about the allergies. In kindergarten the parents contributed $10 towards snacks and the teacher purchased them. She read labels and was sure to provide only those that did not have the kids known allergins.

In first and second grade all students provide their own snacks but the teacher asked the parents of children with allergies to foods that might show up at a birthday party to bring packaged goodies to keep on hand when the birthday party included foods with allergens.

Ever since preschool my granddaughter has been quick to recognize the foods to which she is allergic and tells the person serving her that she can't eat that. She was allergic (not lactose intolerant) to milk. The school provided fruit juice. When someone would hand her milk she'd turn it down. She isn't emberrased by it but I don't know how she'll feel as she gets older. At 7 it's not a problem for her. She's been dealing with it for years and it's routine. Perhaps she doesn't feel deprived because someone has always seen that she has something similar to what the other kids are eating and drinking. Allergies are so common now that there have always been other kids who also had allergies to something. Her school nurse has epi-pens for 6 kids with peanut allergies and antihistamines for several others whose allergies are not life threatening.

In preschool we took rice milk and cashew butter to the school. The school was small and tried to not bring attention to the fact that Monet's was different. Monet proudly told everybody that she had cashew butter instead of peanut butter and rice milk too.

The way we learned that Monet was no longer allergic to food was to introduce it in her diet after she'd been off it for several months. You can "try" most foods this way. We then took her to an allergist to confirm our results. He gave her skin tests which did confirm that she could drink milk. Since skin tests are not always accurate we still had to pay attention to see if a reaction started once more. We involved my granddaughter in the decision about milk. She said she felt fine and has been drinking milk ever since.

You asked about outgrowing allergies. My aunt was allergic to several foods and never tested them until she was in her 70's and having memory problems. She ate everything and was not allergic to any of it. I wonder if her allergies had cleared up years before that but she was afraid to test for them. She was very fearful. Medicine knew very little about allergies back then. Perhaps she just had an intolerance rather than an allergy.

I don't know enough about your daughter's allergic reaction to red # 40 to say let her try eating what's served. But I can say from experience that providing something else similar for her to have at the same time will help.

I shortened my answer (it's still too long) and would like to respond to your latest comments. Sounds like you have the allergy part under control. You've received some good info that I will think about. My granddaughter also has asthma and her mother is considering taking her to a naturopath. I'll give her the web site listing practioners.

As to schools' cooperation, talk with the nurse. She will understand about food intolerances as well as allergies. Avoiding foods to which one's digestive system is intolerant is important too. If the school doesn't have a nurse, have the allergist list foods to which your daughter has a reaction. Ask him to state that she should avoid those foods. Then include this with the school's health questionaire. The school should respond to intolerances or unproved allergies as well as proven allergies.

Don't feel badly about your "mommy brain." Allergies are so complicated! And it seems that we've been delving into the allergy thing when your main question is how to make life better for your daughter. I suggest including her in the discussion of ways to provide alternatives for her.

Yes, mothers who are dealing with this issue certainly need support. I wish the best for you and your daughters.

Hi M B,
My children have strange food intolerences, but the person I'm going to tell you about is me. I went through my childhood eating everything from milk to plums. I ate at every restaurant and fast food place in the city. In high school I became very ill. I was tested for diabetes and the results were hypoglycemia which is a form of diabetes. After changing my diet, things got better. Then as an adult I kept having congestion, seasonal allergies and feeling awful like I was walking around in a fog. My physician said I was probably sensitive to wheat and to avoid it. I ended up having X-Rays that proved that I was sensitive to wheat. Very traumatizing and a waste of money. Not understanding what to do, I turned to a Naturopathic physician who did some blood food allergy tests. I was amazed. Over the last thirteen years I have had three other tests to see if these sensitivities had changed from avoiding the foods. They hadn't. I can't eat eggs or any product with eggs in it. No soy, cow dairy including yogurt, red dyes, gelatin derived from cow, no sheep or lamb products, no rennet, no wheat, pineapple, bananas, asparagus and beef. I spent many days crying thinking I was going to die of starvation, so here's what I do. When I go to a party for my kids and they offer us cake, I say no. Since most people understand my food situation, they understand. I bring my own food where ever I go. I bring my own treats, snacks and main foods. My family is used to it and my two children ages 4 and 7 understand. What I would suggest for you is if you are taking your daughter to a party, bring your own cupcake or treat that she can have. The other kids probably won't even notice. My 7 year old has a friend who is allergic to peanuts. The school has an epy pen for him. Since they have been in school together for the past three years, my son isn't bothered by the fact that his friend can't eat the same treats. The boy's mom has brought to school a container of treats that he can eat for the parties and special occasions at school. This year there are two more children in my son's class with food allergies. Their parents do the same. For myself, I cook everything at home and everything is organic. I shop at New Seasons. I know they are expensive, but I'd rather pay that price then end up in the hospital or worse. We don't go out to dinner or eat at other people's houses. My children are used to it, and they don't know any better. When we have or go to birthday parties, since my boys are both dairy intolerent, we skip the ice cream, and I treat them to some soy or rice cream when we get home. As far as the dairy, I can tolerate goat cheese and goat yogurt. There is also a goat butter. I drink rice milk that we can get at Costco, New Seasons, Winco or any other major supermarket. I bake my own baked goods using rice flour and other wheat free grains. I even have to avoid oatmeal. So you see, your daughter is not alone. Me and my family have been dealing with this for years and I'm healthy and happy. Yes, I would love to go to Taco Bell or Stanfords restaurant again, but being sick and going to the hospital is not worth it. OH, by the way, when I take my own food to restaurants or places where they serve foods, the management doesn't have a problem with it; I always ask in advance. They don't want to get sued for someone having an allergic reaction. You can also order foods that are not seasoned and are not marinated. I can order grilled chicken or grilled fish without seasonings and steamed vegetables and a baked potato plain, as well as a green salad without dressing. I bring my own olive oil and vinegar mix. The restaurant would rather you do that than get sick. E-mail me back if you have more questions on how I avoid ingredients. Mostly I use fresh ingredients and cook at home. Also, I haven't had eggs or products with eggs in them for over 13 years and my most recent food allergy pannel still comes up with my intolerence off the scale. That is a huge reason why I don't re-introduce foods back into my diet. It's not worth it. Take care, A.

What a challenge for you and your daughter! I think many moms, if you let them know with enough advance notice, might be able to provide something that meets your daughter's (and others') dietary restrictions. After all, Red #40 is not good for ANYBODY. Even if they can't do that, maybe at least it would be possible to bring some foods of your own to add. In the best "world" there would be enough and it would be yummy enough that other kids would want to eat that, too, so your daughter wouldn't feel singled out.

Fiora

Hello MB,

There is food allergy testing that can be done using serum via Genova Labs (I believe they are in SC) There may be some heavy metal toxicities going on as well. Heavy metals include: Mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, etc. there is testing for that as well. Sometimes individuals may lack certain enzymes in the liver that help them clear toxins in the body. They are usally diagnosed as having 'multiple sensitivites' they are affected by smells like a freshly painted room, or if cleaners: bleach, ammonia are used. Even markers (writing) can effect the person with headaches nausea, hives, etc. If all your daughters are sensitive to things it may just run in the family. Again you can test for food allergies and evironmetal allergens.
Look up your local naturpathic doctor.
M.

Hello ~

My 7 yo son has Celiac Disease (can't have any wheat, rye, oats, barley or anything with gluten). This cuts out most kids' party foods foods ~ bread, pizza, pasta, burgers, cookies, burritos, mac 'n cheese, cake...you name it!
I know how tough the birthday/school lunch/slumber party thing can be! It is getting easier as we are getting more used to it.

These are probably things you have already tried, but if not, they help.

1. Whenever he needs to go to a birthday party, I send a cupcake for him that he can have. I make up a bunch and keep them in the freezer, individually wrapped, and just send one along.

2. I took a bag of treats he can have (non-perishable-ish like crackers, cookies, etc.) and asked his teacher if she would be willing to give him one of those on treat days at school. No problems so far. Sometimes I send enough for the whole class so he feels good about sharing and they think his treats are tasty and not weird.

3. I always volunteer to bring something to the the sleepovers. Of course, I make it something yummy that he can have and share.

4. I have a drawer full of treats he likes that are fairly healthy. I drop a few in his backpack anytime he is going to someone else's house, just in case.

His friends have started thinking about him (so sweet) and the last b-day party we went to had ice cream sundaes instead of birthday cake so Neil could have it too. :-)

Hi MB,

Our family also has lots of weird allergies due to my sensitivity to heavy metals and what I can only assume is GI permeability issues that I passed on to our kids. This can co-related to connective tissue issues and hormonal metabolism as well as other immune issues. Thankfully my husband is an ND and we have those issues covered though we rotate and avoid most of the triggers. Often treating the reason for the allergies is the way to go and while it may seem weird you can test for prunes with a test that is not typical. It isn't for everyone but I compared mine with blood and a Vega or MORA and it was right on for me and our kids especially for sensitivities which are different then IGE and IG G4 mediated allergies.

New Seasons has natural food dyes although they are not dark they work and we make our own cupcakes...for parties. They also have chocolate for baking...w/o additives. It isn't the same I know but our son has taken it in stride as long as he has something that looks fun and taste good.

Good luck if you want more information on testing that we did send me an e-mail, I don't like to globaly give out his site or number unless people are interested. Some folks don't buy the non blood testing, but I have seen it again and again work. I work with a lot of doctors as a physical therapist and I am convinced from my and our family experience it is right on. Best of luck!

K.

Hello MB
I totally understand the hardships you are having with allergies. I have a daughter who had a milder version of this. We used a company called Biotech they did a blood test to show us what foods she was allergic to. So we avoided those foods (wheat, rye, pineapple and soy) then the next test said (dairy egg beans peanuts). So its seems the body as its growing changes its allergic reactions.
I decided to just do a test every year and keep her off the foods she is allergic to at that time and then retest. She is almost 4 years, has rashes on her back and behind her knees sometimes they flare up other times not. I used oatmeal baths and eczema cream, natural ingredients. It relieves it. Use cotton clothing and keep house very fragrance free too as she seems to be all round sensitive.
I empathise with you and know it will get better. Get a good naturopathic doctor and perhaps try the blood test Biotech.
Hope this helps.
Best,
C.

its a complete drag, i know. my daughter has food sensitivites and our shopping and mealtimes are also plagued with "but why cant i" (even though she knows why) as for allergy tests, we did a vega test with a doctor named rita bettenburg and i'll bet she could test for prunes/plums.

how to help? i guess we just talk about it. and then we challenge it. we take close look at how we're feeling and then eat a certain food (try to keep it to one of the food items so it's clear) and then see what happens. just did it today in fact. daughter has a runny nose and i said let's experiment. i know what will happen - atleast i think i do, that she'll get more boogery. but she wont die and so i feel like she can have this experience and see for herself.

i feel frustrated too. sometimes i just want to eat something out of a box and to hell with it. i wish food companies catered to health instead of fillers.

we eat very healthfully and just try our best to go with it.

good luck.

Both of my kids have allergies to a number of foods with varying degrees of sensitivity. My son is sensitive to plums also. I actually don't mind that one too much because they're relatively easy to avoid compared to other foods. Have you explored food families? For instance, plums are also related to peaches, nectarines, apricots, etc. Avoiding only plums might not be enough to remove the sensitivity. Our allergist recommended avoiding the foods with true IgE allergies for one year. When I do add a new food, I make sure his diet for those few days is very simple and consisting of only foods I am positive are okay. Then, I can better judge the response his body has, whether it is going to be anaphylaxis, hives, or temper tantrums.

As far as parties go, I always call the hostess ahead of time and ask what foods will be served. Then, I prepare similar foods for my son with ingredients that are safe for him. Most parties serve about the same kinds of foods, so I like to make sure I stick a few things in the freezer for the next shindig. (I have also found that the foods don't necessarily have to be the same as long as they are special to him.) I give them to the hostess and when she hands out cupcakes to all the kids, Seth gets one of his own. The other kids never even pay attention because we never make a big deal out of it. Plus my son doesn't feel left out. (I have found the juice squeezed from a few raspberries makes a beautiful red color, and have also found some natural food colorings at a health food store. They're not as vibrant, but do the trick.) For holidays like Halloween and Valentine's, etc. we just trade out the unsafe treats he's given with his favorite safe treats.

Sorry for being long-winded here! One other huge help at our house, is that I bought a package of sticky colored circles (the kind that you can write a price on at garage sales). My son's color is orange. Every single food in our house that is safe for him gets an orange sticker. He knows, as well as the rest of the family, that if it doesn't have an orange sticker, he DOESN'T eat it. Ever. When I send his foods to the party I make sure they have a sticker, and have taught him to double check that whatever food he is given has that sticker. If your kids have different allergies, they sell those stickers in packages with several colors. Each girl could have her own color maybe...Good luck!

My 4 year old son has life threatening peanut allergies. I found out about a fabulous list serve that has been very helpful. It's a Yahoo group called WA_FEAST. I'd suggest you join there. It seems there is always someone who has similar experiences. I remember a recent string about the red dye. As for prunes, I've not heard of that specific allergy, but I have heard of stone fruit allergies. It seems that prunes would fall in that category as they come from plums which are stone fruits.

Once quick suggestion for parties, etc. - bring your own food. We have cupcakes in the freezer that we pull out and frost and sprinkle for all birthday parties David goes to so I know he is not getting any peanut products or cross contamination. He loves having his special treat. With food allergies, it is much easier to bring your own so you know your child is safe and can be included. Although with your history, I'm sure you know that.

Good luck!

I am not too familiar with food allergies but I do know that red 40 is really bad and children's Tylenol and also motrin come dye free. also when she gets older if she ever decides to get a tattoo it will be very important that she does not get any red purple or orange ink because she will also be allergic to these and that is a very common allergy she may never want a tattoo but in case it comes up she does need to be informed many artist I have run into know about the allergy but many do not

I have a son who was multiple food allergies including Peanut, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, cow's milk, oats, rye, barley, seasame seeds, & garlic! So yes, I know how stressful it is. My two points would be, make sure you have an allergist who knows what they are doing and uses the testing approved by the FDA. We found out the hard way. We were told by one allergist that our son had more allergies than he actually did, and when they have so many, it's hard to track what he's reacting to. Have you been able to determine for sure she is reating to prunes and red dye? What types of reactions is she having? We endind up going to a hosipital (that specialized in food allergies)to have our son re-tested. They said the best way is to scratch test first (they could use real prunes for this in your case), then blood test. Compare the two, then food challenge if neither come up possitive. If they both ARE positive, obviously it confirms the allergy. Secondly, as far as treats. I always make sure my son has a "special" treat with me that is comparable to what other kids ar getting. White frosting can be equally exciting on a homemade cupcake you know if safe. My son doesn't feel left out, he feels special. He always thanks me for making him special treats. I try to keep is allergies as positive as possible. This helps my attitude also! I hope this helps. Food allergies are really hard to deal with, and most people who don't deal with them just don't understand. Remember, there are those out there that do!

J. D

Dear Mb........Sounds like you are a great mom, but it is tough. I had one daughter with all of those food allergies and like you, I had to read every lable at the store. Plus we had to give up our kitty. Now she is a mom and eats every thing and has 3 cats.

About the cakes etc at parties.....tell her how luckey she is not consuming all of that bad stuff. Gramma Barb

I wonder if it's the prunes or if it's the sulfites used to preserve them?

And as an allergy sufferer myself, don't be too sure that the outgrown allergies are truly outgrown. I find that old allergens are irritants and will cause a cumulative effect (fatigue, fuzzy head, aches) rather than the old initial reactions. Best of success, and I commend you for going whole foods! Not easy to say the least.

Since prunes are dried plums, I am wondering if it is possible that they were treated with some type of sulphites which are often used in dried fruits. Have you tried feeding plain plums? If there is no allergy to plums, then I would look at the possibility of sulphites as the cause of the allergy.

Need to buy the Book, Breaking the Vicious cycle diet by Elaine Gottschall. It is a grain free, sugar free, starch free diet. They have allergies because their gut is inflamed and need to heal. First make them big pot of chicken soup with carrots and onions,. After the chicken is done cooking, de-bone it and take out the onion. Take a little broth and carrots and blend. Only eat cooked foods, nothing raw, no raw fruit. No dairy. Get them on a good digestive enzyme & probiotic (www.GlutenFreeEugene.org) When you get to my web page, click on lifestyles and scroll down to SCD (Specific carb diet)Their you will find all about the book and diet and get recipes as well along with food list. No nitrites, no sugar, no dairy.