Baby Allergy | Imamother

amother

Lilac

Mon, May 01 2017, 1:09 pm

My 12 month old was just tested for allergies (because of slow weight gain over the last few months,resistance to starting solids, and eczema)
Blood test showed up 3-4 (out of 4) for wheat, eggs, peanut, and soybean!
Food ideas or other general advice please? I will also need to start this diet as presently my baby gets the majority of his calories thru nursing.

amother

Beige

Mon, May 01 2017, 4:11 pm

I had those allergies and more as a baby.

Dairy products are a great source of protein - cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese.

Oats are also great for carbs and protein - oatmeal is easy. Oat based cereals are sometimes ok (don't remember if cheerios is ok, but look around).

Lots of chicken, turkey and ground meat.

Make sure to give lots of fruits and veggies.

Rice is a great carb.

As a wheat flour substitute, you can use oat flour, corn starch or corn meal..

In baking, many recipes can use bananas or applesauce as a substitute for eggs.

Soups are a great thing to eat for you and baby, especially chicken soups with vegetables.

Oat muffins (made with oatmeal and bananas or applesauce) are also a great food for you and baby.

For you, fish is great to eat. Not sure if it's the greatest food to five directly for an allergic 1 year old, so ask the doctor.

amother

Peach

Tue, May 02 2017, 1:11 am

Just want to mention that it's very important not to eliminate foods based on testing alone. At least 50% of positives are false positives, so unless you know for sure that a specific food is causing your child's symptoms, it's important to consult your allergist regarding whether or not to eliminate it. Unnecessarily eliminating a food for an extended period of time can lead to developing an allergy to it, especially if there's already a positive skin test or RAST to it.

In a child with eczema, there will be even more false positives due to the excessive presence of IgE.

(Also, the classes in RAST testing go up to 6, not 4.)

cuties' mom

Tue, May 02 2017, 7:33 am

Back when I had to make eggless oat challah, I used to use a water challah recipe and substitute the flour with oat flour, but the dough wasn't easy to work with. I saw this recipe online but never tried it http://www.myjewishlearning.co.....ipe/.

amother

Fuchsia

Tue, May 02 2017, 9:39 am

I know that Rorie Weisberg of Full N Free has an oat dough mix that is supposed to be amazing.

You can probably find it in any heimishe health food store. I've seen the awesome things you can make with it. Looks very tasty, and very similar to regular flour-based goods.

Just curious: Does your baby also have eczema?

amother

Lilac

Tue, May 02 2017, 9:54 am

Yes, definitely has eczema since very early on! Hard to tell if certain foods (thru nursing) I have been eating have been making it better or worse. That in addition to not being interested in solids and slow weight gain is why we tested him at this point. I have another child allergic to tree nuts as well (also eczema)

amother

Fuchsia

Tue, May 02 2017, 11:37 am

I ask because there is real eczema and a worse condition that begins with eczema but converts into a different condition called Red Skin Syndrome with steroid use. The kids that get RSS are the ones that are really covered in rashes and go through flare cycles.

RSS also causes increased allergic reactions, and a bunch of other symptoms.

Unfortunately, many doctors do not know how to diagnose the condition, and kids just get worse and worse and worse.

RSS was discovered by a board-certified dermatologist from UCLA in the 1970s, but the information didn't reach the public until recently.

If you've used steroids or even "natural" creams, your child might have RSS.

There is someone with a gemach to share this information. You can reach her at TSWfighter@gmail.com

Refuah shelimiah!

amother

Peach

Tue, May 02 2017, 12:57 pm

amother wrote:

Thank you all for your responses.
Interesting info, amother peach. I am having a follow up with an allergist, but pediatrician said to eliminate those things for now.

Yes, most pediatricians will give that advice, but just yesterday I heard a lecture from a top allergist (president of Israel's allergy and immunology association), and he spoke about how detrimental it is that pediatricians tell parents to remove foods from their children's diet due to testing. He said that by the time they come to him, they've usually already been off the food for some time, and by then many will have developed an allergy to the food. I would suggest holding off on eliminating foods until you speak to your allergist.

amother

Lilac

Tue, May 02 2017, 4:28 pm

Thanks peach! I appreicate your sharing your knowledge! At this point, most of what he's eaten has only been GF Cheerios, and I wasn't planning on introducing any of the things he tested postive for until after the appointment (a few weeks away) . It'd be me eliminating the things from my diet.. Do you think I should wait to eliminate the "allergens" from my diet?

amother

Peach

Wed, May 03 2017, 5:10 am

amother wrote:

If you have a way to consult with your allergist now by phone and ask him that, that's what I would do. Eczema is tricky since it's not an immediate reaction, which makes it harder to pinpoint the triggers, and exposure through your milk complicates the situation. Exposure to potential allergens through breast milk has actually proven to be effective in preventing an allergy to that specific food, but sometimes, especially with eczema, it could actually be causing the reaction. In such a case, your allergist might recommend doing a temporary elimination of the foods he tested positive to to see if it makes a change. If his eczema clears up, he might have you reintroduce those foods one at a time to see which ones are triggering his eczema.

Hopefully you'll get some answers soon.

amother

Wine

Wed, May 03 2017, 11:22 am

While I understand that you don't want to remove foods from your diet if he is not actually allergic to them, I want to point out that continuing to consume foods that his body is allergic to can be seriously affecting him. I know that my babies suffered until we figured out exactly what caused various reactions. And the allergic response can develop into autoimmune diseases if ignored for too long.

amother

Lilac

Mon, May 08 2017, 9:02 pm

OP - Followup:
Allergist was able to fit me in for an appointment:
IgE results came back elevated for peanuts 58.30 kU/L , wheat 16.90, soybean 57.80, and egg white 7.65. Total Ige was 380.00 kU/L
Allergist asked if baby had already eaten these allergens (esp. the wheat) but we can't say definitively he has. At most, he has had small nibbles of foods containing wheat (dissolved pretzel mostly on his face and noodles in his mouth but minimally. Based on this, allergist said we should avoid all these allergens, and I have filled epi-pen prescription. I know false positives are pretty common with these blood tests. Based on his numbers and limited direct exposure to these allergens, does eliminating all of these allergens seem like a reasonable plan? Also, allergist didn't seem to think my avoidance is important, even though it seems like many other docs disagree - including my pediatrician! I will do that if it's necessary, but I don't want to become overly restrictive, if it doesn't seem warranted. Thanks!

cuties' mom

Tue, May 09 2017, 6:47 am

It definitely makes sense to avoid what your kid is allergic to. The peanut and soy results are a class 5 which is severe. Wheat and egg are class 3 which is nothing to ignore either. Whether or not you should avoid for yourself has to do if your kid reacts through your milk. I had to avoid everything ds was allergic to, since he started reacting at a week old, long before he started solids. Is your ds reacting through eating on his own, or your eating?

amother

Lilac

Tue, May 09 2017, 7:01 am

He's still not eating very much -- mostly Rice Chex and GF Cheerios. That's why we can't point to a "reaction" to definitively diagnose allergy and only looking at numbers.
Hard to tell how my intake is affecting him since other environmental factors could also cause his itchiness. For example, now I cut out those allergens for a few days and his skin looks like it's getting worse?!

amother

Lilac

Tue, May 09 2017, 8:35 am

Aquaphor ointment for dryness which seemed to help a bunch..
Hydrocortisone cream sometimes.. (wasn't so bad recently so not always putting on and don't want to have that on/near his face if I can avoid)
But dr. recommended to not "treat" with hydrocortisone now if I am testing out what happens if I eliminate these allergens...