Question About Allergic Reaction my Son Had

[Spectra]

Okay, well, I thought I'd try Hudson with some pear today, he use to eat it all the time about 3 months ago, about once a day.  I never noticed any diarrhea or anything like that.  Well, about 1.5 hours after he had a bowl of jarred pears today he had nasty diarrhea, more nasty than when he had squash.  It went through his diaper.  It was FULL of mucus.   

My question is, why is it happening now as oppose to months ago when he use to eat it daily, sometimes even twice a day?  Granted I don't know if it helped to contribute to his eczema at the time as he was still on the regular formula, but it never gave him diarrhea before, I would have noticed that!  He didn't have anything else to eat either, nor have we left this house in the last few days.  So I know for sure it was the pears, but I don't know why now.  Is it possible for a reaction to get worse like that after not consuming the food for months??

[Mydreamcametrue]

Hey Melanie:

Gosh, I know this is so hard.  My only thought could be that he was reacting to it before, but in a different way and now since his body has healed, it is reacting with diaherra.

I doubt this, but thought I would throw it in.  It could be just his body getting used to fruit.  Fruit can be used as a laxative for some people.

Only 2 more days until you go to the allergist.  I would go ahead and take pear with the other foods.

I would also take a picture of his diaper (the poop) to take to the allergist and show them what you mean by a diaper full of mucus.

I would stop the pears and everything but the Neocate until you go to the allergist. 

Huge hugs to you, I know this is so hard.  I really hope you get some answers from the allergist. 

[Spectra]

I thought about that too, about the fruit just having more fiber and such, but I figured that would just make his stools all soft and not have tons of mucus in it.  Oh, and for the rest of the day he had such congestion!  So much snot! lol Sneezing constantly, mind you that could be a cold or seasonal.  Another way to tell will be tomorrow morning if he has red little bumps on his cheeks/face.  If he does that means for sure it was a bad reaction.  I would have taken a pic, but that diaper is loooong gone in the trash! 

[Mydreamcametrue]

LOL,I bet...

[Jimbob]

It is possible for reactions to get worse. James's reaction to dairy was severe eczema when he was a baby. James's last accidental exposure was hives, stomach pain, mucousy nappy and puffiness of the face plus eczema flare. That was over a year ago now but still remember it well.

Kelly

[Spectra]

Well my son's cheeks were red this morning, with a couple of little bumps, so I'm still not really sure.  I'm bringing a pear to the allergist so he can test for it at least.  I can see what you are saying though Wendy, I looked on the jar of pears and it has 13g of Fibre!  That's a lot of fibre for a little boy who wasn't getting nearly that much over the last few months.  So I can see that side too, but if it was just from eating high fibre fruit would that cause mucus?  Or is mucus only a reaction due to allergy?

[imaayafa]

apparantly sensitivity to food can happen right away or over a period of time i think, so he actually could have been reacting to something he had eaten previously or the night before... diarreah as i understand might be a sign of sensitivity but not of allergy. but you are great to check it out. good luck.

[Spectra]

Well, he's been on Neocate and Sweet potato for almost 2 weeks and nothing else.  I know for sure the pears caused his diarrhea, I just don't know if it was a true allergic reaction or something else.  From what I've read I thought diarrhea is a sign of an allergic reaction or an intolerance, especially when it contains mucus? 

[Mydreamcametrue]

You are right Melanie (or atleast what I have been told too).

Whenever I eat potato's, that is what happens to me and I am allergic to them.

BTW:  Our GI doctor told me when Tyler was on Elecare (which is just like Neocate) that some mucus was normal :-0
Tyler was having all diaherra/water poo's with mucus from that formula, but was happy otherwise.

My GI doctor told me that mucus is a sign that something is going right through your body and shedding the intestines.  Not good.

So I would think mucus is not a good thing, you know.

[Spectra]

Eww, wow, "shedding the intestines", that is so not a pretty picture.  I didn't realize it was so bad.

[imaayafa]

shedding the intenstines? that sounds odd. babies and kids frequently get mucous in their poo when they have colds and have swallowed too much gunk from their noses and their throats and from coughing. this alone can cause an upset stomach and diahrea(i've seen it in both my kids and taken them to the drs for this and this is the answer i got, which i doubled checked on the internet, etc).. i get severe stomach pains from eating melon and avocado but was told an allergic reaction means your lips swell or you have trouble breathing, so i was told it was a sensitivity. however sensitivity is often the precursor to allergy, so there goes that theory.

[Spectra]

I know there are many symptoms for an allergic reaction.  Some people may only get eczema, or diarrhea, or vomiting, while others may have trouble breathing or swelling of the lips, etc.  As well the severity of these symptoms may appear different in other people.

The difference between and allergy and a sensitivity (or what we term as Intolerances) is an allergy involves the immune system while intolerances do not.  A sensitivity, or Intolerance, will not lead to an allergy.  However it may indicate the person may be prone to having allergies.  Both can exhibit the same symptoms, but Intolerances cannot be tested through normal allergy testing.  However they can be tested by other means.  Both are serious conditions, but affect the body in different ways.  Allergy may or may not cause instant sever problems, while Intolerances can become sever if left untreated as it can affect the intestines as it does attack the lining.  Mucus in diarrhea can definitely be caused by an allergy, or an Intolerance, or as you say swallowing lots of mucus while experiencing a cold. 

For me, though, I usually also look for the eczema to start up the next day.  Usually that indicates either an allergy or Intolerance, I'm still unsure which one.  Oh, and of course he later becomes high congested which will last a couple of days.  If he continues to eat even something he is Sensitive/Intolerant to he will always be congested and will have eczema over most of his body, or as I term the suit of armour, which also opens and weeps, really gross.

[Mydreamcametrue]

What I mean by shedding the intestines is, shedding it of all the good bacteria in the intestines, also just going right through you causing the mucus.

Yes, you can have mucus with a cold, but in Melanie's case it deft. is an allergy or intolerance.