Possible Food Allergy? - Upland,CA

Boys usally have this problem since their opening into the intenstine take longer to develop. They usually out grow this problem. No one wanted to hold my son because this happened to him all the time as long as he gains weight and you may have to feed him smaller amounts more often.

D.,
In response to the woman who gave advice on 2% milk: It's still actually recommended to give whole milk until age 2. Babies need the extra fat for brain development until age 2. After that, because of general concerns re: high dietary fat intake for all of us, the switch can be made to non-fat or low fat milk.

If you baby has a sensitivity or allergy to cow's milk, that is a separate issue.

Grandma S.

Some allergies don't show themselves at first. Have you tried taking Gluten/Wheat back out of his diet? Many children have issues digesting it, my son included. There are quite a few gluten-free items on the market now that people are becoming more aware of the difficulties it can cause, in children and adults. Dairy is another common allergen- I myself had to be given goat milk as a child. Soy milk is also a good substitute, but you have to be more diligent about tooth brushing. Good luck!

As a mom of a 2-year-old with food allergies, I would recommend taking your son to see an allergist. My son was first diagnosed with allergies to nuts, peanuts and eggs when he was 10-months old. He would break out into hives when he came into contact with these things. More recently, however, he began throwing up whenever he had fresh fruit (which he had eaten without any problems for over a year). We had him tested (blood test) and sure enough he's now allergic to a variety of fresh fruits as well. If you get your son tested, at least you'll know what to do one way or another. Depending on who you go to for testing, it can be a trauma-free experience - not nearly as bad as you would think. If you'd like a recommendation re: allergists in town, just write me back.

D., I would urge you to seek allergy testing. My daugher has a serious (anaphylactic--the stop-breathing kind)food allergy to eggs & nuts, and we only found out after she had a hard boiled egg at 3 yrs old (the first time--would not eat egg before that) and ended up in the ER. She then had the allergy testing ( a set of skin pricks applied all at once on her back--not as bad as one at a time), and we found out she reacted to nuts and chicken also. I know that most moms want to try to figure things out on their own and not rush to the doctor all the time, but this could be life threatening. Unfortunately, more & more children are being diagnosed with food allergies, and the reasons are not clear. The concern about a food allergy is that the first couple of exposures can be mild, and then the next one can cause the airway to close--it is how the immune system responds to the particular food. Better to be safe rather than sorry. Best wishes--I hope that it is just a phase for your child.

My son who is 9 months old was throwing up everytime I ate or drank dairy products, and then breastfed him. If I take it out of my diet, he doesn't throw up. So I decided to regulate my dairy intake. He still breastfeeds, but is ok when he eats yogurt. I will reintroduce dairy slowly into his diet and see if his body can process it.

It could be something like IBS or other sensitive tummy issue and not an actual allergy- I don't know how early these things show up, but I just know I have IBS, and probably had it most of my life- I just didn't know what it was! Read up on the different digestive disorders and see if anything clicks in your head as matching his symptoms.

Hi D.,

This isn't really "advice", but our 15 month-old throws up occasionally as well, and pretty randomly after food. We haven't found any pattern to it either, but the one little thing is that we have found that yogurt really seems to help settle his tummy, and he loves it.

We have been giving him Dannon all-natural (the little cups) and also danimals, those little drinkable yogurts.

So again, not really advice, but just wanted to share our trial-and-error with you as well. Good luck!

My best friend's son had the same problem. It turned out he as a milk allergy. He can eat some products with milk in them but can't handle a cup of milk. At 16mths he's on soy formula.

My friend took him to a specialist where they determined is allergies & sensitivities (through the advice of their pediatrician). I'd talk to your Dr. and see what he/she says.

It does not sound like a allergy but you never know. You should start keeping a food log and reading ingredient lists. Soy, Wheat, and Corn would be 3 items I look for a lot. Soy is in almost any processed food, even baby cereal, so they have a very early exposure to it. Things that say "natural fibers" or "natural flavors" or "vegetable fibers" means there is soy in it.

After you track it for a while you may find a small trigger. We found corn this way, even though all the allergy test came back ok. The allergy tests get a lot of false negs and positives till after age 3.

It could also be reflux, while there are meds for it, a once a week throw up might not be too serious. Check with your Dr to be sure and see what they think.

My daughter had a similar problem but it started a little earlier. She was diagnosed with reflux which apparently is very common in young kids since they have a weak digestive tract. I would check with your pediatrician. Vivian temporarily went back to formula and was prescribed Zantac. She did much better and went back to whole milk and stayed on the Zantac for about 4 months. Hope that helps.

Hi there,

Our son is 14 months old (on the 7th) and he was diagnosed with dairy, egg and peanut allergies last month through allergy testing. You should mention your suspicions to your pediatrician, really.

Davey, our son, wasn't throwing up when we tried giving him dairy, eggs or peanut butter. Instead, his skin would get really red around his mouth, neck and down his chin, or wherever the food touched, and then little water blisters would appear. This would happen within minutes of exposure to the foods and would disappear within 20-30 minutes. When we described this to the pediatrician at the 1-year well-baby visit, he said he wanted us to avoid those foods and set up an appointment for testing with an allergist.

Anyway... You can test for sensitivities pretty easily by putting a little of the suspect foods on your baby's skin and monitoring his reaction. Kind of a do-it-yourself allergy test. Just put a dab of the food (i.e. milk or yogurt) on your baby's cheek or back and see if he develops a rash.

As a side note: babies need full-fat, not low-fat dairy (or non-dairy substitutes). You should avoid using low-fat.

Good luck!
J.

Do you think he may have a milk intolerance?? So if he gets too much dairy or milk he throws up. Then after he throws up, it is out of his system and he starts all over again building up until his system can't take any more milk and then he throws up again? Milk and dairy are in so many foods. You could get him tested for that. I am not sure how they test. I know my son has a nut allergy and he had to have blood drawn to test him, but they do them all differently. I hope you figure it out soon. Good luck to you!!

Hi D. - the best is to take Jack to the doctor to see if he has reflux. I have experience the same thing with my son when my son was still a baby and I tried to experiment different things at home. After awhile I gave up but it was too late. My son had reflux and the mucus from the throw up got into his lung and he has to go through the whole procedure of bronchosophy. Good luck

Hi D.,

If you haven't done so already, I would consult with your son's pediatrician about what is going on, particularly with the specific foods that you are describing. The other thing that I would suggest that you do, is to keep a journal of what you are feeding him with times, dates, foods given, and reaction. This way your doctor, or anyone whom he may refer you to, had an excellent history from you. Just as an aside, when you are sitting down to dinner yourself, and this is what I did with my daughter, I would offer her vegetables and fruits. A basic variety of foods that would mimick what we were eating (appropriate to what we had already introduced, of course). I would also give her the ground up baby food meats. You may want to offer less carbs as I have spoken with parents whose kids became hooked on only "bread-like" things and milk. Hope that these suggestions help. I would consult with your healthcare provider asap. ~T.

My 15 month old will do this too with "random" foods. In her case I don't think it's an allergy but more of a gag reflex issue as she usually gags and vomits when it's time for the food to actually get swallowed. And it’s not all the time. Maybe twice a week or so.

I never experiment with new textured foods or foods high on the gag-o-meter if she's had a decent amount to eat already because I never know if this new food's texture is going to gag her on the way down.

Also, when she is getting tired it's almost like she forgets how to eat. Foods that she has no problem with will gag her if she's not at her perkiest.

It's really bizarre.

It sounds like your son may have developed milk and wheat or even gluten allergies. These things can and usually do come on unexpectedly after a time (sometimes years) of ingestion. I am 31 and only found out 2 years ago that I am allergic to gluten. I was healthy up till I started getting sick and narrowed down the reason why. You don't have to take him to a drs to find out. You can do an elimination test by removing all suspected allergens for 2 weeks and then slowly, 1 food at a time, re-introduce them to him 1 week at a time. To test for gluten allergies, google gluten allergies and then eliminate everything the food list for 2 weeks and reintroduce as above.
Its also important to note that cow's milk is made for baby cows, not humans. We are naturally intolerant of it to a point. The way our bodies react to this "intruder" is to create mucous, excessive stomach acid, gas, diarreah(sp) etc. If our bodies do not create the neccessary antibodies to the lactose and other harmful agents in milk we eventually develop an allergy. Try giving him one of the many varieties of alternative milks you can find at your local health food store and many mainstream grocers are starting to carry them as well.
Best Wishes
J.

Hi D.,

My suggestion would be to take all dairy and wheat out of Jack's diet for a couple weeks and see what happens. I'm not a doctor, but based on tons of reading and my own and my 10 year-old son's dealings with lactose and wheat issues, it sure sounds like Jack is, if not allergic, highly sensitive.

Rice milk might be a good option. Rice Dream makes a good-tasting one that is easy to find and is enriched with all the same vitamins and minerals as cow's milk. My son has been drinking it since he stopped nursing at a year old. As for wheat, there are quite a few alternatives there as well, probably the most "normal tasting" being spelt.

If you have any questions, send them on. Otherwise, good luck! :)

L. K

Get the allergy testing! It's not that hard and then you'll know for sure. The worst part is having the kid sit still for 15 minutes waiting for the test results.

My 6yo son has multiple food allergies. Some affect his skin (rashes, hives), but some only affect his digestive system (diarrhea and stomach aches/cramps). Although I think it is worth a try, allergy tests are not as reliable for foods that cause GI symptoms only. And it is hard to do skin testing on a toddler. (Besides getting their skin pricked for each food being tested, they have to sit for 15 minutes without anything touching their back.) I found blood testing (called RAST) easier at that age. Some ped offices can even do it themselves, so you may not even have to go to an allergist.

I would suggest keeping a food diary and recording how often he vomits. You (or your ped) might find a pattern. Also, speak to your doctor before switching to rice milk. It has very little protein or fat, so it is not at all comparable to whole milk nutritionally. It’s basically only good as a source of calcium. If he did not start vomiting regularly until going off the formula, I would switch back to using formula rather than trying dairy alternatives.

Hello D.,
My first daughter(now 36)threw up very easily as a baby and toddler. Apparently, some kids have an overactive reflux capacity and can throw up easily. She gradually outgrew it and by two years of age, it stopped altogether. She does have food allergies as an adult. She is glutin intolerant and has some immune system supression because of it. You might check for spru, which is an inability of the digestive tract to absorb some nutrients. Good luck on your search. C.

you should have your son tested for a dairy allergy. any kind of milk not just the whole milk will cause him to throw up. i've even had patients who had dairy allergies that had to watch every ingredient in foods they ate, one had to eat special bread which had no dairy of any kind in it or she would throw up. my son also has a dairy allergy, which is different than lactose intolerance which will cause gas and diarrhea. the dairy allergy will make them throw up, talk to your pediatrician. good luck,
T.

D.,
My niece had a similar issue and she was breast fed. We couldn't figure it out until she was almost 2. The doctor said that her Sfinker muscle that is between the stomach and esophugas were under developed and it can cause suprratic throwing up. Most children eventually grow out of it but occassinally they need to do surgery to tighten that muscle. Hope this info can be of help some where to start looking for answers.

Sincerly,
A. Schmidt

We knew my son was allergic to egg whites, but the doctor recommended that we take him in for allergy tests just in case he was allergic to anything else. At the time, we were also experiencing the same problems as you, but thought we were overfeeding or he was just a picky eater. We found out that he was allergic to dairy, but at a very low level. The doctor said he can eat cheese, yogurt, etc but when drinking straight milk, switch to soy. We did and now he eats everything! He has a good appetite and no throwing up. Hope this helps.

My husband and I were just talking about how many occasions with our kids seemed to be highlighted by vomiting. Kids throw up alot and it doesn't necessarily mean a thing. My kids threw up if they cried too much, threw-up if something tasted weird, and on and on. My daughter threw up at Taco Bell and the local Italian restaurant, both times she was under 4. I remember other times throwing up while in her high chair. My 5 yo just threw-up the other night after eating at Fuddruckers. If your son seems in distress, in pain or can't keep anything down then definitely see a doctor. But I think kids vomit easily and isn't usually a cause for concern. Good-luck. Michele

It sounds like a food allergy to me.. A girl at my day care had the same problem she is 12 months. They found out she is allergic to soy and wheat... My suggestion is to try to use only organic products. Remove soy and other weird chemicals from his diet. If you read the labels you will find the food for our children is not what you think it is... It is full of other stuff.. When looking at the contents of a product the first ingredient is what is abundant in the product... I have my child (8 months) on almost only organic, it is hard to be completely but I try, he has not had any problems.. I just read an article about food allergies that was very interesting: http://www.newsweek.com/id/62296

Hi D.,
It sounds like your little ones stomach is cold. If the digestive system is cold, the baby vomits, say milk, it has just eated, and the vomit looks like milk and doesn't have a bad smell. Hands and feet may be cold and the face is pale, the vomit is without force. Try warming the food a little. You can also try a hot water bottle wrapped in blankets on his tummy and around his upper shin, especially toward the outer portion, also on his upper back to try and send gentle warmth to the digestive system.
Check Bob Flaws book; keeping your child healthy with chinese medicine, for ways to rub your baby's tummy and massage/pinch the flesh along the spine to strengthen the internal warming function of the digestive system.
Of course at 13 months food allergy is possible, but this too can be due to the immature nature of the digestive system of little ones.

I had twins 7 years ago and my son would throw up immediately after drinking any kind of milk..after a lot of tears, and advise from everyone and the doctor didn't even tell us, we switched to Lactaid Milk for him...immediately he stopped throwing up..he can eat cheese, yogurt and it doesn't bother him..if he eats ice cream, he starts coughing..try the Lactaid...or the stores lactose free milk..it can be whole, 2 percent or non fat and my son can tolerate all of it...hope this helps..V. (Mother of 5)

D.,

Please don't give your son garlic bread. His digestive system can't handle it. It is too rich for him at his young age. Also, 2% milk is fine, he doesn't need whole milk. Nobody does. Just introduce the foods your pediatrican recommends for Jack. Nothing more, I am a grandma of 4 and raised my own 3 children.

Congratulations on the new baby girl!

J.

Hi D.,
Does it have to be an allergy? As you say it is rather random what he reacts too. I'm not sure what the word is in English but some children/babies vomit their food/milk because of a reflection in their throat not related to the food in it self. I would contact a doctor though.
Good luck!
Cath