Food Allergy or Sensitivity!

MyLuvBugs wrote: So, Lorelei has had skin probs ever since she was born. And the Dr's keep telling us..."Oh it's just a little eczema. Here give her this...." Well, none of the "this" stuf is working, so I went to DrSears.com (a fave site of mine) and started looking up stuff.....and it's possible that she has a food allergy or a sensitivity to some foods. The only reason I even found this out was b/c I needed to look up Food allergies for Lexi (she barfed up all my breast milk this morning. Projectile and even out her nose ). And I'm sitting here reading this article on food allergy symptoms....OMG!!! Lorelei had almost every single one of them. I feel like a horrible parent for not even noticing. I mean really! I have a couple food allergies myself and I didn't even notice that they were the same or similar in her.

UGH. So, now DH and I are going to switch from Whole Wheat bread to Oat grain bread, to see if it's the wheat she's sensitive to. And we're going to cut back on the milk/dairy she gets (which I HATE doing b/c she likes milk so much). Just makes me want to cry if I'm the one that's been doing this to her.

luvbug00 replied: Yikes. Mya is allergic to apples. maybe you should take her to see a doctor. I know if mya were to eat an apple she would go into shock and need to recieve an epi pen and get to an emergancy room IMMIDATELY. I don't want to scare you but oral allergies are very serious. I hope you can find out what's wrong

MyLuvBugs replied: She's seen 3 Dr.'s (all PEDS) so far and they all have said it's just a little eczema But apparently this rash on her face can also be a sign of a Food Sensitivity or food allergy. Since she doesn't wheeze or have hives, vomitting, and other major issues I'm sure it's not a full on allergy like mine with Shellfish, but more of a sensitivity to certain foods. But she's got the trouble sleeping, gas, constipation, rash on her tummy and face, dark circles under her eyes, etc....all signs of a food prob. Makes me so sad. We're going to try cutting out certain foods or cut back on them, and see if that helps. Otherwise we will end up at the PED yet again and have some allergy testing done.

Jamison'smama replied: Jamison was tested a year ago for food allergies--well allergies in general. She was having excema, more facial than anything. We were treating her daily and nothing would help. The allergy testing showed she is allergic to eggs. We had been giving her eggs every couple of days --she loved them and cookie dough was her favorite treat when potty training Once we stopped the raw eggs and the cooked eggs (we still have them in recipes), her excema went away. She had it for 2 years solid.

Get tested, can't hurt. Removing things from your diet may not pinpoint the actual problem for a while.

A&A'smommy replied: oh honey you didn't know, sometimes those things are that "noticeable" I hope you find out what it is!!

Jamison'smama replied: Oh yes, the circles under their eyes---Jama had that too. I think sometimes we have to push the pediatrician to refer to the allergist. In my opinion, it is the next step since you also have food allergies.

luvmykids replied: Don't beat yourself up. Kylie had terrible eczema for years also, we only recently found out that the eczema itself was because of an allergy. I always took the drs word for it that eczema was it's own little thing and never looked further.

Hope you get it cleared up

MyLuvBugs replied: Thanks ladies. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that this has happened to. Definately at her 2 year check up, I'm going to "demand" or "highly suggest" that the ped recommend allergy testing. I don't want her to have to suffer with this crap like I did for years, ya know. But right now...we'll try what the website suggested, and just remove parts from her diet for a week and see if it helps.

We've been putting Eucerin's Aquaphor on her face and tummy. If we put it on 4 times a day her skin shows improvement, but the second we stop or if we miss a "dose"....it flares like none other. It's so hard not to beat myself up over it b/c I'm the one that cooks the meals and is around her 24/7 KWIM? Hopefully, we'll get this figured out here soon. Her tummy look like she's got road rash from a motorcycle accident all over it I'll definately keep you all posted though. Thanks again for your support.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: I'm glad that you found out that it could be possible food allergies. DH and I just had Claudia refered to an alergist, because she has had constant cold like symptoms, watery eyes, runny nose. I hope you find out what is causing the problem!

noahsmommy replied: Noah has eczema really bad on his arms, it is not going away either. How do they test them for a food alergy? Noah has his two year appt. today, maybe I should mention it to his doctor? It sounds like it is a pretty common issue.

Jamison'smama replied:
For Jamison they did a back scratch test (not a lot of fun) then when she reacted to eggs, we had to do a blood draw to confirm the allergy and find out the severity.

PrairieMom replied: Don't beat your self up. You can't blame your self for listening to your Dr. esp. if more than one gave you the same advice. I would push to see an allergist.

kit_kats_mom replied: I never had any allergies that I knew of but both of my girls have had mild exzema since right after birth and Katherine especially has the "allergy shiners" or dark circles under her eyes. it didn't even occur to me that skin problems could indicate allergies. Her dermatoligist asked right away if she had allergies and noted her dark cirlces too. He told me that kids with exzema often have allergies and/or asthma. They just all seem to go togher somehow.

I talked to my ped at K's 4 year appointment and she's going in for a blood draw (when I work up the nerve to make her go ) to see if there are any allergies.

redchief replied: I suggest seeing an allergist and having her tested. Hit or miss food elimination could adversely affect her diet, not to mention extend the amount of time it takes you to narrow down the food field.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: Aww poor girl! Don't feel bad - I would have taken my ped's word for it too... I'd never even think of food allergies if my child was having skin problems.

I hope you find out what's causing it soon.