Food Allergies in 16 Month Old

I am allergic to dairy and wish my mother had known this when I was a child. Cow milk is the number one food allergy. The advice to keep giving the child a little is not wise. The body needs to be completely off dairy!! I ate one spoonful of creamed spinach and was sick for three days. I was always sick as a child and my growth was stunted. Ice cream was the worst offender! I discovered my allergy when an adult. I was getting repeated serious sinus infections that would cause me to pass out. I prayed and asked God what I should do. He told me to go off the dairy products. I did and my health improved dramatically. I have never had another sinus infection. I tell you the truth. For many people cow milk is poison. Af

I am allergic to dairy as well. I had skin tests which showed mold, ragweed, pollen etc. No real food allergies. Had shots for several yrs. All of my family had allergies. Some even to food.
When I dropped ALL dairy from my diet(including casein, whey, ghee etc,) my allergies went away. I can be around fresh cut grass, hay, almost anything and no prolem.
My son has no dairy in his diet; and it's not a problem. So easy to find things that are non dairy.
I'm telling you this, to let you know that a non dairy diet is easier than you might think.
Hope this helps
L. M

We have twins and one is allergic to dairy. We use unpasturized goat milk from a local farm. My Pediatrition kept telling us that it was reflux. My mother kept saying that it looked more like an allergy. (She's allergic to the sugar in milk)
When I finally insisted that they refer us to a pediatric allergist we got an appointment. It was a reg. allergist and he wanted to draw blood too. I did not feel good about it and decided not to do it.
A friend recommended a Ped. gastroenterologist at Childrens Hospital in Knoxville. She was awesome! Anyway, before I took her to the apppointment I did a little research on food allergies. They said to take away suspect foods for a week, then re-introduce them one at a time. One each week. It can take that long to have a reaction. Foods that are usually safe, that almost never have reactions are rice, cooked carrots(most veggies), applesauce.
The "Big 8" to watch for are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. (If it's gluten it's tough too. I know a fourth grader who cant have milk, soy or gluten. Her mom is the one who recommended the Dr. at Childrens Hosp.) These 8 account for 90% of food allergies.
Here are little known ingredients you may overlook:
• Milk: May also appear as “casein” a milk protein or “lactose” a milk sugar. Look out also for butter, cream, curds, ghee and whey. Milk and its derivatives can also be found in some toiletries.
• Eggs: May also appear as “albumin,” “lecithin,” and “vitellin,” among other things. Look out also for lysozyme, mayonnaise, meringue, marshmallows and nougat. Be careful, because egg can be present in meat and shampoo, which are not required to carry the new food labels.
• Peanuts: Arachis oil is a hand and body lotion ingredient derived from peanuts. Look out also for groundnuts, beer nuts, goobers, nut meat, mole and nougat.
• Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts): Tree nuts can be found in cosmetics and toiletries such as ground walnut shells in exfoliators or almond milk in shampoos and bubble baths. Look out also for lychee, marzipan, nougat, pesto and praline.
• Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder): May appear in Worcestershire sauce as anchovies.
• Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp): May be present in some medications. Look out also for abalone, cockle, flavoring, and surimi.
• Soy: May also appear as “MSG,” “vegetable oil,” vegetable starch,” and “natural flavoring," particularly in Asian cooking. Soy is also common in cosmetics and toiletries. Look out also for miso, shoyu sauce, tempeh, tofu, and natto.
• Wheat: May be found in imitation meats, hot dogs, imitation crab, ice cream and soy sauce. Look out also for bran, bulghur, couscous, durum, farina, gluten, matzoh, spelt and wheat grass and whole wheat berries.
Good Luck and fortunatly most kids who are allergic to milk outgrow it by age five.

My daughter is 23 months, had a dairy and soy sensitivity while I was breastfeeding, never confirmed by test, but painful crying, projectile vomiting, and green leafy looking diapers all resolved with elimination diet. Reintroduced around 10 months and thought we were over it. But my daughter has had a cough, wheezing, and runny clear nose for months now. Attributed to winter, teeth, seasonal allergies etc. Started allergy meds a month ago, and no help. Finally dawned on me, may still be dairy. Took her to dr. and she had a blood draw. I was really stressed about it, but tried not to let it show. She barely flinched and didn't cry. She told the tech, thank you after she got her band aid. My advice, don't convey to your daughter your worry and don't try to pre-warn her and she will be less likely to react with hysterics. say, ok, we have to go do one more thing, and then we will be done. Hold her on your lap, have a nurse hold her arm and make sure tech uses a very small butterfly needle. Tell her deep breath, and all done, praise her. Hopefully it goes well for you. I wanted to know for sure before I put myself through the whole elimination process with a 2 year old. I know how difficult the diet is having gone thru it myself.

We found out at 9 months that my son was allergic to dairy as well. We opted for a blood draw (which was done at 10-11 months) and discovered he was also allergic to eggs, peanuts, and several other nuts. A blood test the following year and a skin test this year confirmed all the same allergies.

I won't lie - the blood test was VERY difficult during the actual blood draw, and for maybe 5 minutes afterwards. My son screamed and thrashed and had to be held down. BUT, as soon as the draw was over, we scooped him and held him tight; he calmed down within a few minutes (no more than 5) and then was completely and totally fine. It didn't cause long-term drama or fear of doctors or any other negative side effects/reactions.

I recommend doing it. Knowing what she's allergic to in advance is a lot better than having to deal with the reactions when they happen. My son is MUCH more miserable when he has an outbreak than he was during the blood test.

If you want more info, please feel free to send me a private message!

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

MIne's highly allergic to dairy too ... He is 14 months old and we found out when he was 9 months too. I've completely eliminated dairy because the less you expose him to dairy, the better his chances of outgrowing it. Most allergic reactions are cumulative in nature. I was allergic to dairy when I was a baby too, and my mom eliminated my dairy sources --- and I utgrew it fast.

There is a whole new world out there that's dairy-free, and I've learned a lot about it. I am Asian anyway so it is easier to avoid dairy because our recipes rarely contain them. Unlike Western food that is heavy on butter, cream, etc. If you would like some suggestions (recipes, ingredients, substitutes, etc), send me a message on my inbox -- we'll chat.

Re: testing, I would wait ---- I think your purpose for the next testing is to find out if your child had outgrown the allergy. I am waiting to test 12 months after the allergy attack just to be safe.