What Causes Multiple Allergies? My Daughter Is Allergic to So Many Foods!

My elder daughter - 2.5 years old - allergic to dairy, rice, soy, wheat, olive oil, eggs and ALL soaps, lotions and oils. My younger one, 3 months old - allergic to dairy, all nuts, soy, coffee - I am on a vegan decaf diet while I breast feed her.
I can empathise with you.
Allergies are the effects of an over-active mis-directed immune system - the immune system launches an exagerrated response to itself when triggered by "normal" every day foods or environmental agents.
Bad news, it is such a heartbreak when the kids are little (mine was 2 months when she started having severe eczema and hives - leading to years of sleep deprivation and food restriction) and such a pain when they are older.
Good news: these kids may not get as sick as often as their peers; homeopathy can help.

Good luck, I am sailing the same boat...

I am not a specialist or anything but if she has a reaction to a wide varieties of foods maybe she isn't allergic to the food (has she actually been tested?). I am wondering if it could a be reaction to chemicals/toxins in the food. Just a thought.

If you want to treat the eczema symptoms, the Renew product line has worked wonders for few people I know.

Don't be angry at yourself or your mother. As your doctor will tell you, very little is known about the ACTUAL causes of food allergies. There have been many theories since medicine became medicine. Forgive me for saying so, but I think you need to do a little research and have a more detailed discussion with your allergy specialist.

In your previous post, you mentioned you were 4-6 weeks pregnant at the time. Until the past 20 years or so, with home pregnancy tests become more readily available, most women wouldn't even KNOW they were pregnant at that stage of the game.

Think about how many women smoke, drink, and do all sorts of awful things before they know they are pregnant. I'm not saying that its okay to do this things if you are trying to get pregnant...or know you are pregnant...just that the human body is an amazing thing and there are many filters in place to protect a growing baby.

I've had multiple miscarriages while taking superb care of myself and doinge everything under the sun to ensure a healthy pregnancy. My only healthy pregnancy? I had several strong margaritas before I even knew I was pregnant and wasn't even trying. Completely healthy pregnancy...delivered with a midwife at 37.5 weeks.

Despite what the medical profession would like us to believe, many things about the human body are still a mystery.

DO NOT feel guilty. It is highly unlikely that the paint had anything at all to do with your daughter's allergies. The sad truth is, even the well-trained allergists have NO IDEA what causes allergies or why they are on the rise. They also don't know whether 100% avoidance or slowly introducing the foods a tiny bite at a time is the better way for kids to get over them.

If you read a book on how to help your kids avoid having allergies, it will tell you to exclusively breastfeed, wait to introduce solids till 6 months, introduce only 1-2 new foods a week, and wait for certain foods until after the child is one or two years old. Guess what - I did EVERY single one of those things and my son is highly allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts and most other nuts.

So please, do not be angry with yourself or your mom, and don't think the paint has anything at all to do with it. The doctors have no clue either.

It is sad, difficult, frustrating, angering and so much more. Trust me, I know. But no one knows what's causing it.

First off, let go of the resentment. It wasn't the paint. For one thing, the air outside in the street is FAR more toxic than an open can of paint. We're surrounded by chemicals. Just breathing the air in Seattle is equivilent to smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day (and we're a "clean" city as far as air goes... LA and NY = apx 4 packs per day, Mexico City 6-8, etc.). Equivalent, however, because there are far worse chemicals in the air than are in cigarettes. Or paint.

Allergies are genetic. Some we're born with full on, some get worse with repeated exposure, and some weaken with repeated exposure. We know HOW allergies work, but we don't know why.

That's a pretty hot topic right now. I know I just read an article today about it. http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/03/food.allergies.er.gu...

I doubt the paint had anything to do with it, especially if you had the window open as you said in your other post.

I will tell you my story. I have many food allergies, also. I only got tested, when my sister found out she had them. It turns out, A LOT of people in my family have them, but didn't know until now. Testing for food allergies routinely has been uncommon until recently. You might have a hidden food allergy, that you don't know about. I didn't even know I had a problem, until I got tested. Before I was tested, I thought I felt fine. I didn't realize how much I didn't feel fine, until I purged my system of everything! There could be a hereditary link in your family, that you simply aren't aware of. Please don't be angry at yourself, mama. You didn't do anything to your daughter purposefully, and the paint could very well have nothing to do with it!!

My goodness! That's terrible. I'm struggling with wheat and dairy allergies in my household! What you have is even worse!

Actually, don't be mad at your mom. Painting is probably the least of the reasons why she has the allergies. It has more to do with getting shots or Genetically Modified Foods than it does paint. Paint is water based now, not lead based.

The immunization schedule that they tell us to give our kids is RIDICULOUS! There are too many shots, which damage a child's immune system. Hep B to a newborn int he Hospital? That is ridiculous. I never gave my children any shots before 6 mos of age. Back when the immunization schedule was more sane (20 years ago) they were much more concerned about a child's welfare. Now they want to see how many shots they can give them. They often either have aluminum or thimerosol (mercury) in them, which can greatly contribute to food allergies and all kinds of immune problems.

Also the people who don't have a vested interest in fooling the American public (in France and Scotland where there is still free press) have done studies that showed that Genetically modified foods can cause all kinds of digestive problems, including food allergies. They have even shown that GMO products can cause birth defects in the offspring of mice that ingested the stuff. Europe is now banning GMO foods because of the damage it causes. We need to stand up as American people and let Congress know that we won't stand for it.

Please forgive your mom. Like I said, paint at this point is not as problematic as amalgum fillings in the teeth and mercury and aluminum in our immunizations. Make sure you really back off on the immunizations. Give the bare MINIMUM. Even Dr. Sears has a modified immunization schedule. Check out Dr. Mercola's web site on immunzation advice and food allergies, then go to a good naturopath. Sometimes they can help you overcome allergies. Luckily, a lot of food allergies are eventually outgrown. However if I were you, I would really watch that your daughter only get NON-GMO produce, and that she get no more shots for at least a couple of years.

You might want to talk to an allergist so you better understand allergies and what causes them. Allergies are definitely a hot topic these days and as another poster stated, it may just be something in your and your husband's genes. In all likelihood it isn't due to something you did/didn't do while pregnant. The most important thing to learn now is how to handle the allergies going forward. Even though your daughter has not outgrown any yet, she may outgrow them in the future. Body chemistry changes every few years.

In regards to the paint, try not to beat yourself up over it. You really can't change the past at this time. Also, you might want to read up a little bit about paint exposure. Although exposure isn't recommended while pregnant, a lot of the more dangerous stuff has been removed from paints. In addition, I read some articles that stated if you weren't feeling sick from the paint, then your baby probably wasn't impacted either.

Enjoy your little girl and try to let the guilt and anger go. I know this is easier said than done, but you really can't change the one night of paint exposure.

No one knows what causes some children to have food allergies at this time, so no one is going to give you a satisfactory answer. However, I think it is unlikely it was the paint, since you didn't mention any environmental allergies, only food allergies. I would think the paint would be a lot more likely to contribute to breathing problems than food (although I have no expertise in the area, so I could be wrong - I have a lot of environmental allergies and I do know that they were caused by living in an apartment that was infested with mold). Plus, what do you hope to accomplish by being cross? Whatever caused the allergies has done the deed, and holding this against yourself and your mother doesn't get you anywhere.

Don't blame the paint or your Mom for your daughter's allergies. Some people are just genetically pre-disposed to being hyper sensitive to certain foods. They may or may not outgrow them or they may develop new allegies as they grow older. My middle child loved shellfish: shrimp, crab, clams... and all of a sudden he had a severe reaction to something after eating out one evening, so bad we were in the ER. Come to find out after testing he was allergic to shellfish. We also found out he had other environmental allegies to grasses, various tree pollens, dust, molds, dust mites... the air he breathed. He has become less allergic to the environmental things, but shellfish is still a big problem. He was 12 when this happened. My husband is allergic to shellfish, my Mom has a sensitivity to eggs, milk and chocolate, and I get all stuffed up during the spring when pollen from trees and certain flowers is in the air.

Let go of the anger, it won't do any of you any good, at all. Concentrate on damp mopping your floors and keeping the dust down. Nut allergies are frequent amongst a lot of people, especially kids, so get label conscious. Get her a medic alert bracelet and keep epi-pens handy when you go out to eat or visit with friends. If she's in pre-school, make sure the school has one for her in case of emergency, i.e. a severe allergic reaction. Talk with your pediatrician or allergist about preventive measures and emergency actions to be taken (epi pen, when and how to use).

Each and every one of us has a level of sensitivity to a variety of things we eat, wear, and breathe. No one is to blame, it's what makes us unique. In our house, it just means that there's more crab or shrimp for my other two kids and me to eat! :o)

If you figure it out let me know.... LOL... The paint had nothing to do with it though. I do know genetics have a lot to do with it. I also persoanlly thin out food does too. I PERSOANLLY feel the food these days have so much sprayed on them, injected into them and fed to them that it is causing our bodies to go waaaay out of wack... We also have an highly allergic family and I want to tell you that we have AWESOME immune systems.... "Knock on wood" we never get colds. My kids have NEVER missed a day of school and neither of us have missed a day of work; except for an injury to me. Yet then again we are food allergy off the charts. Actually one of my kids are so bad we found out at 6 months of age... A few anaphylaxis accidents later, we still have great immune systems but still food allergies.

You should really talk to your doctor about the course of action, how to prevent an allergic reaction, and what to do in case a bad one occurs. Your allergist should definitely prescribe you an epi in case she has a bad reaction to something. Avoid all the foods she is allergic to, she will be more likely to outgrow the allergy that way.
I can tell you for sure that the paint didn't cause her allergies. Paint is pretty harmless now days anyway, I think you can forgive your mother, and stop being angry at yourself.

Someone just sent me a really great article about food allergies and bad bacteria in a child's stomach. Here's the link: http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-diseases/digestive-dis...

Sleeping in a room with paint in it will not give your child allergies so you can stop being angry at your mom!

its not your fault or your mums, My son has the same allergies and is also 4 and it didn't come from paint fumes. its their system. their bodies cannot have these foods, so it responds to this threat by producing proteins called antibodies against the food taken, thus producing your childs excema, hives, flu, cough, breathing difficulties,,,whatever the symptom they develop thereafter. She may or may not outgrow it. she needs to be on anti-allergy medication if she has not been tested for what foods she must eliminate. My son is, until he gets his tests, on medicine. But dont blame your mum or yourself. You both played no part in it. It often happens naturally or is genetic

Please don't be angry at yourself or your mother. Neither one of you is to blame. I also have multiple food allergies. I have found that it's more a reaction to the chemicals and genetic modifications. If she eats too many things that are non-organic, it can be an issue. Try a good herbal cleanse (I use Nature's Sunshine herbs) and then make sure she is eating a very healthy diet. It may simply be that all the toxins and chemicals in manufactured foods are causing stomach damage and that makes her sensitive to or allergic to foods.

I've never heard of paint causing food allergies. I do know that allergies can be inherited from parents/family, and they don't have to be the same food allergies. Feeding a baby certain foods too early can also cause food allergies.

That's about the extent of my knowledge on food allergies! We have several people in my family with multiple food allergies. I have not noticed any food allergies myself, but then I haven't been tested yet either... I'm kinda scared since my mom recently got tested & came home with a list!!

Any body with allergies, asthma, etc is usually a compromised immune system. I believe it would be advisable to get your daughter on a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement and some immune boosters. Be careful! Most of vitamins and minerals have been tested and have found out they have lead in them. Write or e-mail the manufacturer and find out if they test for raw materials any contaminants and if they check for any contaminants like lead throughout the manufacturing process. So far I have only found one company that does this and that is Shaklee.

Also, the eczema will probably go away if you use non-toxic cleaning products. The ones you buy at the store will cause alleriges, asthma, cancer, reproductive problems, brain problems and the list goes on and on. I only know of one product that works, is so economical that you would be able to buy vitamins with the savings and is safe for children and animals. Of course, it is Shaklee.

And Shaklee is guaranteed! Try it and if you don't like it you get your money back. Every hear of a company that does that? Well, Shaklee does because they guarantee that the product will work.

N.
http://nutritionproducts.myshaklee.com
http://nontoxiccleaners.myshaklee.com

It can sometimes be caused by over growth of yeast and heavy metal poisoning. Consider having her tested..

I highly doubt the paint has anything to do with it. Even if that could be possible, just sleeping in a newly painted room would have been just as bad as the wet paint tray.

It's possible that the allergies run in the family, but symptoms are not obvious. For example, I test positive for legumes and peanuts. I eat them all the time, but there are no obvious symptoms. Both of my boys also test positive, and the older one gets hives from them and tree nuts. Younger one has not eaten the offenders yet.

There are some that say that GMO foods are the cause for the rise in food allergies.

If I were you, I'd take your daughter to a naturopathic doctor.