Where do I go from here?!!

[KaM]

After an incident with peanut butter in March we finally went in to see the Allergy Specialist today. They tested for 20 different things. They dropped them all on her arm then pricked them all. She was such a trooper!!

The test showed that she has an allergy to peanuts. In fact it was twice the size of the other reactions! Its not anaphylactic bad thankfully but its still there! She also showed as having reactions to soybean, milk, egg and dust mites.

The Dr said that I need to cut down a lot of these if not completely out of my diet as I still breastfeed her and if she continued to ingest them via the breastmilk it could make her even more sensitive.

So Im not sure what I need to do. I mean, I had no idea about any of the other ones. It was a shock! He said that they can be also contributing to her dermatitis/eczema. Andupon thinking I think it could also contribute to her constipation problems as well. And could it be the reason she doesnt sleep well?

So the question is. What do I do now? Im totally lost!!

I honestly feel incompetent right now .. more then usual. . .I want to cry!!

[m0nal1sa]

You are right in thinking that the allergies are contributing to the excema. My little one is the same - dustmite, anaphylactic to egg and nut. Once we knew, we started the following regime and his excema improved dramatically, he slept better, he stopped throwing up once/twice a week and he was generally much happier bub. Although the list seems long, it is really not difficult at all.

1. only dress her in 100% cotton, and use 100% cotton bed linen.
2. never use singlets, even cotton, as they can irritate the skin.
3. wash all clothing and bedding in Amolin or some other sensitive skin washing liquid, and on hot water to kill off any dustmite. if you can't use hot water, a couple drops of eucalyptus or tea tree oil in the wash is also good.
4. get rid of all plush toys. if she has a plush toy that she must keep, put it in the freezer overnight.
5. get a mattress cover http://www.miteyfresh.com.au/page/al...e_bedding.html
6. short lukewarm baths or showers, then pat dry and cover in qv dry skin lotion or similar low allergenic skin lotion
7. read labels of food - look for egg, milk, nut and soy free products where possible. it is not impossible to find lots of great foods.
8. if possible, buy a vacuum that has a hepa filter, like a dyson. it filters the air for dust mite and other allergens.

DS' excema only flares up now when he is unwell or if the weather is too hot, or he has foods with trace of egg or nut (unfortunately some overseas products don't have as strict labelling laws as Aust).

Most children outgrow these allergies and excema by the time they reach school age.

Best of luck.
m0na

[Kizmet]

[Tam-I-Am]

Hugs! We've just found out that Claire has an intolerance to milk proteins so we're having to make a lot of the same changes you are ATM.

Matilda will be able to have rice or oat milk - both are readily available from the supermarket - there is a brand of rice milk called Vitasoy (no, its not soy milk!) with added calcium and protein (although its still half the amount of protein as most cow's milks...)

It obviously means you can't feed her cheese or yoghurt, and be really careful of pre-packaged foods.

Be aware that MOST commercial breads have some soy flour in them, so you'll either need to make your own, or source a soy-free bread (most health food shops will stock some!)

remember, it seems completely overwhelming now - but it'll soon become just what you do

For milk, product ingredients to look out for are (really extensive, sorry!)

-ammonium caseinate, calcium caseinate, potassium caseinate, sodium caseinate, casein hydrolysate, casein, and caseinates
-butter and butter fat and buttermilk and cultured buttermilk
-Cheese (all types)
-Condensed milk, dry milk, evaportated milk, lactose free milk, low lactose milk, malted milk, milk powder, milk protein, milk solids, non-fat milk solids, skim milk powder.
-cream, creme freiche (as in Fruche), sour cream
-curds
-ghee
-hydroliysed casein, hydrolysed milk protein, partially hydrolysed casein, partially hydrolysed whey, hydrolised whey, whey, whey powder, whey protein concentrate, whey protein hydrolysate, whey solids, sweet whey
-ice cream
-imitation milk
-lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate,
-lactoacidophilus
-lactoglobulin
-lactose
-laculose
-Rennet, rennet caseinate
-skim milk powder
-soy cheese
-Whitener
-Yoghurt

Food that's likely to contain milk and milk products:

Any type of dairy food
Cereal and grain products: Some processed breakfast cereals, muesli.
Meat, fish and poultry alternatives - most processed meats, including meat loaf, schnitzel, chicken loaf, chicken nuggets, crumbed meats, meat pies, sausages, sausage rolls, some canned fish
Egg products and dishes - custards, eggnog
beverages - Drinking chocolate, eggnog, calcium enriched fruit juices, chocolate beverages, milkshakes, flavoured milks, beverage whitener (ie coffee whitener)
Confectionery and sweet dishes - Some types including butterscotch, caramel, toffee, carob, chocolate, noygat, sherbet, ice cream, milky ice blocks, puddings, custards, mousse and diet mousse, pancakes
Sauces, soups and dressings - anything creamy
Baked goods - cakes, biscuits, pastry, croissants, crumpets, muffins, sausage rolls, shortening, cheese biscuits and cheese flavoured snacks
Miscellaneous - battered foods, cutneys, mashed potato (including instant), pickles, relishes, spreads, pastes, stock cubes and powders, natural flavourings.

For eggs, you're looking out for:
-albumen
-apovitellin
-avidin
-dried eggs, whole eggs, egg albumen, egg lecithin (which is also sometimes labelled as additive E322), egg solids, egg white and solids, egg yolk, imitation egg products, powdered egg
-flavoproteins
-glaze (ie in baked goods, pies, buns etc)
-globulin
-livetin
-lysozyme
-meringue mix
-ovalbumin
-ovglycoprotein
-ovumucin, ovumucoid, ovomuxoid

Common foods egg is found in:
Egg products - all raw and cooked eggs regardless of method used, frozen eggs, powdered egg, omelettes, quiche, frittatas, mayonnaise
Cereal and grain products: egg pasta, egg noodles
meat fish and poultry alternatives - meat loaf, meat balls, hamburgers
Beverages: Eggnog, malted drinks, some milk drink mixes
Confectionery and sweet dishes - All types of confectionery, custards, puddings, certain ice blocks, macaroons, meringue, mousse, pavlova, ice cream, doughnuts, royal icing (ie on traditional wedding cakes and christmas cakes)
Sauces and Dressings: Sauces in general, including bearnaise, hollandaise, tartare, mayonnaise, salad dressings
Baked goods: Cakes, pastries, biscuits, commercial icing on cakes, quiches, doughnuts, glazed rolls/pastries/buns, marzipan, souffles, glazed fruits
Miscellaneous: battered foods, fritters

Empty egg boxes and egg shells should not be touched by those with an egg allergy.

[KaM]

Thanks for all that guys! Its very daunting!! Esp as a lot of the foods she does eat (she isvery fussy) included yoghurt and cheese. So Im kinda of at a loss. Will haev to work harder to get her to eat other foods.

The doctor said she doesnt have a big allergy, I had no clue about any of them as she never showed a reaction that I had known of. So Im not sure if I should just try and limit it or completely cut it out. Its all so confusing!!!

[Tam-I-Am]

Its possible that she's been fussy because things were upsetting her tummy.

[KaM]

Its possible that she's been fussy because things were upsetting her tummy.

thats very true!!

At least Im right on the eczema front as Ive had that all my life. Thats the easy bit!!

For now Im gonna stick to fresh stuff and plain. Its simple. We do our shopping tomrow morning so will check out the aisle with all the non-allergy stuff in it and see whats happening.