I'm so scared for my baby's Allergy Appt. today

amother

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 11:37 am

Little ds is almost 8 months old and since he was born, has had issues. He had really terrible cradle cap and has continued to scratch his head even 8 months later when it's all gone. He has eczema on the back of his knees, armpits, elbows and neck. He has had hives, vomitted about 4-5 times from different foods, and raw, red rashes on his face.

Until now, the ped. kept saying, no, no, no, let's try something different. Different rash creams (we have 5), different foods (he's gaining very very slowly), and just waiting. I got to the point that I said, "enoug, we're making an allergy appointment."

All of this by the way, knowing that my dh has terrible allergies, that were even worse as a child. Now it's just nuts, seeds, and a few other random foods. But as a child, it was also wheat, dairy, soy and eggs (in addition to the nuts, seeds, etc.).

I'm just so scared that he'll have allergies. I guess I always knew it could happen, as I have 2 other kids who don't have allergies B"H, B"H. But I'm just so sad and scared.

I'm glad to finally get ds tested so I can know what to do (I made the appointment a few weeks ago and have been WAITING) in addition to the fact that I'm nursing full-time, in addition to his food.

Any chizuk, please?

anonymrs

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 11:49 am

Allergies are a real challenge, I'll be the first one to tell you that it's not easy at all. It is manageable though, it really is. It sounds like you know deep down inside that your dc does have allergies.

Hopefully, your allergist will be an amazing, helpful, kind, sensitive, and understanding doctor. We took dd to 2 bec the first was a real @$$****!! The second was amazing. He helped us figure out what foods she could eat, that she would like and what we can do to help her gain weight, how many calories she should be getting daily. Also, if you would like to continue nursing (and there is nothing wrong with that, I'm still nursing allergic 1.5 yr old dd, per my allergist's recommendation) you will probably have to go off certain foods, the dr will tell you which ones are the worst. My dd's allergist told me that even if I do stop nursing, she will probably still have eczema because she is just a very allergic kid and there are airborne allergens everywhere.

Please let us know how it goes! I'm rooting for you! Good luck!

Floridamom

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 12:01 pm

I have a dd who has allergies. And like your doc, mine pushed it off and saying wait till a year. I finally went to an allergist when she was about a year old and it was the biggest relief! It was such a relief to know exactly what she was allergic to. She is my first so I was going nuts trying to figure out what was going on Smile

.
Her eczema improved greatly, her breakouts stopped all because I knew what foods to cut out. It is tough, and she's still allergic to a few things, but she has grown out of some of the allergies as well!

Going to an allergist will only give you more clarity on whats going on in your little boy! It will (hopefully) be a big help to you! (and if your worried about pain to your baby, my doc first put a prick on my hand, to show me its not painful, And I barely felt it, and let him do it on my daughter Smile

)

Good Luck today!

MinnieMa

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 12:04 pm

First of all huge hugs, you are doing the right thing! My child had allergies and I went to an allergist when he was only few months old. I am so happy I did, because my child was miserable from all the eczema, reflux and issues. Each allergist is different. Mine did skin testing, on the back. It's good you are going now before he starts eating all foods. It's hard, but worth it for his health. I stopped nursing and put my son on special formula bec I couldn't eat anything that he was allergic to and he was miserable. See if that's an option for u. Feel free to pm me. I know how hard it is.

allrgymama

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 12:14 pm

Whilean allergy diagnoses can be scary, I'll echo what others have said: it's a relief to have a name and a plan of action. DD's doctor guaranteed me she didn't have a milk allergy and 2+ years later, it's the only one she hasn't outgrown yet.

Good luck!

TSmom

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 2:09 pm

I have been now nursing for 10 years food allergy kids. All of mine had/have food allergies. You will survive this. The key is to breath and get support. Educate those around you once you have educated yourself. The more support, the easier the transition will be. The most important thing to remember, you will find a new normal. It will be a different normal but a normal will come. Things will settle down. I highly recommend kids with food allergies foundation. They have loads of starter information, recipes, and education information for food allergy parents.

ElTam

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 2:21 pm

I have a highly allergic kid. It's so much better to know than not know. Then you can get started helping your baby feel better.

My doctor told me that the younger the allergies start, the more likely they are to outgrow them. B'ezrat HaShem that will be true for you. (My little one has outgrown one allergy and his reactions to others are subsiding as his IgE numbers drop.)

I also really try to remind myself, in the scheme of things, this is just an annoyance. My baby's allergist is part of a prediatric specialists office. Neurologists, etc. So I see kids who are never going to walk, who can't see or hear, etc. when we go in for our appointments, rachmana litzlan. When I compare what I am dealing with with the challenges those parents and their children are facing, not being able to eat a few foods doesn't seem like a big deal.

And B"H, most schools are really supportive and helpful when they get a little older.

Hatzlacha.

amother

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 6:37 pm

OP here - thank you for all of your support - little ds is allergic to dairy and eggs Sad

I was really upset at first and crying, but now I'm getting into, "what do I do about it?" mode. Currently all he eats is oatmeal and the millions of soups that I make him. He's really picky and likes food warm - doesn't he know he's a third child? LOL

Anyway, any suggestions are very welcome and thanks again for all the support and comments.

They only tested him for dairy, eggs, wheat, soy and peanuts. B"H he's *only* allergic to eggs and dairy, which IYH he'll outgrow one day, like dh. Maybe he won't. They want to see him again in a year. When do they test for the other things, like fruits or veggies or fish, etc.?

Floridamom

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 7:26 pm

Yay that you know!!! But very stressful and I'm sure your freaking out! My daughter is allergic to dairy (amongst other things) and used to be allergic to eggs but grew out of it thank g-d!

A few things that worked for me for the Dairy part; my daughter is super picky, wont touch any toffuti stuff, cheese, cream cheese. I also happen to think its pretty gross so I dont blame her. But we found this great cheese, The company is daiya. It melts almost like regular cheese and tastes pretty good. I use that in a lot of stuff! pizza, lasagna, etc.. Thats been a great substitute!

Hit up trader joes and whole foods, they have great soy & coconut yogurts. Trader joes has by far the cheapest non dairy milks, I tried to stay away from soy, so I give her almond, coconut, and sometimes rice milk.

Eggs you sorta just need to cut out. All the "substitute eggs" have a little eggs in them. There are recipes I got from my doc to imitate the egg, but it seemed gross to me, so I never tried it. But feel free to try it if your up to it Smile

(I think it consists of baking soda, water and vinegar.)

Just read read read ingredients. It gets easier, the beginning was super hard, now it just became the normal!

simchatomid

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 8:02 pm

I also cried when I found out about my son's allergies (milk, dairy, peanuts) - I kept thinking "what in the world will he eat?!? Will he always feel deprived??" But 7 months later and B"H, while he's picky, he definitely has a nice varied diet - we've found plenty for him (and so healthy! - meat, vegetables, soy, whole grain plain breads... if only I kept this diet Wink

)

Also funny story - when my we first found out about my son's allergies ("officially" - at 12 months) I was so nervous that I ran to trader joe's thinking it was literally the only possibility of ds having a semblance of a normal diet. I go through the whole store, reading ingredients religiously, stocking up my cart really high. I get to the check-out and realized - I hadn't checked hechsherim! Half the food wasn't kosher! LOL

B"H I've been able to calm down since LOL

But, so you know, it did take a while to swallow. Even knowing in the back of our minds that IYH - eggs and dairy allergies have a high rate of children growing out of them - it's still hard. Ans when my son gets upset seeing another child eating something he can't have now I do still get a drop sad - but now I have a HUGE bag of goodies that he CAN have always on hand Smile

Hatzlacha!

forever21

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 8:23 pm

My DS had allergies since he was born. He had terrible eczema just from what I ate bec I was exclusively nursing. when he was abt 6 months old I found out he was allergic to milk. I stopped eating dairy and he was fine. A few months later he started breaking our again and I found out he developed an allergy to egg whites. He was allergic to some nuts as well. He is now 3 and a half and has outgrown his egg, milk and peanut allergy. He doesnt get eczema anymore aside from having dry skin in the wintertime.

MaBelleVie

Thu, Jul 05 2012, 9:22 pm

When I was nursing my baby with multiple allergies I was very strict about sticking to a safe diet. The plus side was that I lost a whole lot of weight Smile

I also tended to eat a healthier diet overall because I couldn't rely much on store bought or otherwise processed foods. And because I was so conscious of everything I fed him, I was BH able to establish very healthy eating habits (he was allergic to lots of junky stuff).

My ds's symptoms cleared up significantly once he and I were off those foods for a few weeks. Since your allergist only tested for a few things, here's what I'd recommend: be careful about sticking to a safe diet for both you and him for the next month. Don't introduce any new foods to him during that time. If the eczema is still bothering him, take him back for more extensive testing. There's no reason to wait if you suspect he has additonal allergies. If he clears up, start introducing new foods very slowly. Not more than one new food a week, so you can see what he reacts to.

You'll see, this is really more manageable than you think! You'll get in the groove and it will become natural.

ElTam

Fri, Jul 06 2012, 11:53 am

There is a great product called Ener-G egg replacer. It has a reliable hechsher. You can't use it for scrambled eggs, but you can use it in baked goods and you won't be able to tell the difference. You can get it at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, probably on the Internet.

ilovestrollers

Fri, Jul 06 2012, 1:55 pm

My 12 month old has also had severe eczema and reflux basically since birth. I just took her to the lab today for some allergy testing, so I know what you are going thru. I'm thinking she has a wheat allergy, and I am not happy about it. Hoping its not milk as well.

Seraph

Sat, Jul 07 2012, 3:45 pm

Ground flax seed and ground chia seeds work great as an egg replacer in recipes. (I think 1 tablespoon flax seed plus 2 tablespoons water=1 flax egg, but google it to make sure.) I have a great chocolate cake recipe that uses no eggs or dairy or chemicals...

bigprincess

Sat, Jul 07 2012, 11:37 pm

Seraph wrote:

Does it have soy?

Mimisinger

Sun, Jul 08 2012, 1:37 am

OP here (I've outed myself Surprised

l: )
Thank you everyone for all of your support and help.

We he and I are completely off eggs and dairy and still today he had another outbreak. Rash all over his face and torso and legs. I thought it might be an allergy to the environment, because he didn't really eat anything allergenic!

We already know he's not allergic to wheat or soy, so today he had cereal, rice and sweet potatoes (from the chicken that had soy sauce in it), and rice cereal with vegetables from the chicken soup and cholent and kishke. What could've caused the rash?

Seraph - I'd love your choc cake recipe - this shabbos was a sad dessert day (for me anyway).