Can allergies develop at 18 months old?

amother

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 10:41 pm

I’ve been feeding my son real food since 6 months. Bamba was one of the first. He loves pizza and dairy. But lately he keeps breaking out on his face and maybe getting itchy and it doesn’t make sense to me. He’s been eating these foods for a year and suddenly he gets a breakout from bamba or pizza? Tonight it was Mac n cheese. I think something in the tomato sauce/ketchup might be triggering it but he always ate and loved grape tomatoes without a reaction. What is going on? I have no allergy experience.

I did take him to an allergist but he wouldn’t do skin tests because he was sick (as usual). He sent me to do labs and the technician couldn’t get enough blood after he shrieked bloody murder for half hour so I can’t see myself trying again.

Please advise!!

amother

Indigo

Tue, Jan 28 2020, 10:44 pm

Ketchup and sauce are much more likely to cause a reaction than grape tomatoes, because they get all over the skin. I don't know if it would be a true allergy or just a sensitivity, for that you need to do testing. Just sharing my personal experience with tomato products. To answer your question in general, allergies can develop at any age. My mother developed an allergy out of the blue in middle age, something she had eaten her whole life without symptoms. My niece developed an allergy to pears at age 7. She had eaten pears with no problem until then.

amother

Gray

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 12:05 am

Did u recently stopped nursing the child? I had it w an 18 month old, he developed eczema on face n body once he was weaned

amother

Mauve

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 12:21 am

amother [ Gray ] wrote:

Did u recently stopped nursing the child? I had it w an 18 month old, he developed eczema on face n body once he was weaned

I had this too. Eczema and hives as I was weaning my 16 month old.

my mama

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 12:25 am

My son developed allergies at 19 months. One day the foods were fine, the next day he started getting hives. We found his allergens through the process of elimination, and later confirmed it with blood work.
A month later he mistakenly had one of his allergens and had difficulty breathing. He now has benadryl and an epi pen with him at all times.

Please be careful. Allergies are no joke

seeker

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 1:35 am

Try again for the bloodwork, see if the smart moms here have any tips to make it go better next time... because your only next option is a potentially infinite amount of trial and error elimination diets to identify a trigger.

amother

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 7:35 am

He hasn’t nursed since 4 months so it’s not that. If it’s just a few breakouts on his face right now that fades away fairly quickly is it still concerning?

And bloodwork can tell you what he’s allergic to? Don’t need skin tests for that?

amother

Sapphire

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 9:43 am

Try the allergist again and come prepared with videos, lollipops etc to keep him calm. The first few reactions can be mild and get progressively worse. It’s not worth playing around with allergies. They can get scary.

octopus

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 10:35 am

at 18 months I wouldn't waste time with blood tests. Take him again to the allergist for skin testing when he/she is not sick. Make sure you haven't given benadryl for a week (may be only 5 days - check with dr office) as any allergy meds taken recently can interfere with testing.

amother

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 10:39 am

octopus wrote:

Thank you for telling me that. I gave him Benadryl last night so I won’t schedule anything yet.

amother

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 10:42 am

amother [ Sapphire ] wrote:

He’s allergic to food coloring so no Lolly’s. We tried videos but he still screamed bloody murder.

I’m really getting nervous now. Allergies are so foreign to me. Nobody in my family has even the slightest allergy.

octopus

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 10:44 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thank you for telling me that. I gave him Benadryl last night so I won’t schedule anything yet.

I have unfortunately done this so many times, waited soooo long in waiting rooms only to be told they can't do the testing. It is so frustrating!

amother

Sapphire

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 12:06 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

The skin test should be easier than the blood test because they do it on the back and it’s tiny pricks as opposed to trying to get a needle in a baby vein. You can’t give any antihistamines for a week prior to testing. If he can’t have a lolly then bring some other treat, books, nursery rhymes...

amother

Sapphire

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 12:07 pm

Also, according to my allergist, blood tests are notoriously inaccurate. Skin tests are a lot more reliable.

bnm

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 3:20 pm

Allergy testing isn't an exact science. The only true way to test is to eat it and see how the person reacts. Reactions can change. They can get worse each time. You never know when its going to be the big one.

amother

Indigo

Wed, Jan 29 2020, 3:29 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Just FYI, yum Earth lollipops don't have artificial coloring. And they're really yummy too.