Is there a sure way to determine intolerances?

[Jiinx]

Hi there,

 I know there's many moms on here that talk about intolerances to certain food with their lo. How did you know?

 Besides knowing she is intolerant to bananas (severe crying after an hour upon eating this..with stomach pangs), and maybe mangoes, I'm still unsure about milk products.

 Her poos, I think, are okay. I've never seen green or mucous.

 It's mostly her behaviour. She's crying/fussy/whiny BUT that could be teeth. Goodness, all her behaviour to this day could be teeth.

I gave her yogurt made with skim milk this morning and she had a bad nap that ended with only 1 and half hours...now the rest of the day is just 

Sorry for the redundancy of this post..I couldn't find the other post that talks about this. I think Martina rae asked this question a couple of weeks ago..

[~inbalance~]

Ok, so I think the only way to know for sure if your LO is intolerant to something would be to eliminate it, then challenge the suspected offender.  It's tricky, because first you have to figure out what you *think* the problem food is, then you have to eliminate it, then you have to wait until it's all out of her system, then reintroduce it and watch very carefully.  The doctor can test her stool for blood which would tell you that she is intolerant to something, but it can't tell you exactly what.  If you think dairy might be an issue for her then the only way to know would be to eliminate it then challenge it.  Dairy is such a tough one, because it's in everything.    I'm not too experienced with this stuff at the moment, so I think some more mamas can help a bit more.  Good luck hon. 

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

With Spencer having milk results in constipation.  DH went and fed her goldfish crackers at the IL's, third ingredient is cheese, and she is so crabby, has lots of gas, bloating, snotty nose and quite wheezy.  It's for sure not teeth, she has her full set now.

He fed it to her because I had remarked that the chicken nuggets at McDonald's actually have milk ingredients in them (whey powder, like the 20th ingredient) so he figured it was a free for all with dairy.

Martina's right...dairy is in everything it seems! We don't avoid things that say "may contain" or where it is casein or whey as the zillionith ingredient, but pretty much everything else.

[Jiinx]

I forgot to respond to this yesterday.

Thanks ladies. It's so iffy, these intolerances hey? There's such a range from a runny nose to constipation. I wish there was just a way to tell.

I'll have to eliminate and re-introduce or maybe just go crazy with the milk products.

[EloysH]

Hi 

Yep martina is right.  I am currently in throws of and ED for LO myself.

She's crying/fussy/whiny

Above is a food intolerance symptom, but so is basically anything different from from ranging from behavioural to physical -headaches, rash, pain, sore tummy.

Mangoes are very high in salicylates  - it would be worth looking up high salicylate foods and checking whether they cause a reaction when introduced  eg strawberries & avocados.

Bannanas are moderate in salicylates and amines, would cause a reaction in sensitive bubs, or else a reaction if you have previously been eating salicylate foods and your tolerance threshold has been reached.  That's why it would be good to familiarise with foods in the very high and high amines and saliclayes categories - so you can be aware when introducing.

Look here for some info:

http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsalicylates2.htm


The "fed up with food network" above is very good

[Jiinx]

Eloise thank you for the links!

May I ask you - do intolerance symptoms show up soon after? A few hours after? Do all babies exhibit a certain sign of intolerance such as constipation/diarrhea?

Do they outgrow it?

What makes it more complicated is the threshold..how little bits over a week can cause a reaction. That makes it that much harder.

I've noticed a consistency with bananas. She had mangoes yesterday but she was happy up until bedtime and slept through the night no problems. So not sure about mangoes now.

Thank you all for your knowledgeable answers.  

[~inbalance~]

I think Eloise is probably the most knowledgeable BWer when it comes to food intolerances!    Definitely full of helpful info. 

[First Time Mom]

I know with my dd her reaction was immediate. As a baby, if I had any milk product (byproduct, 20 items down on the label even) she would have blood in her diaper by the end of the day. When we introduced oatmeal baby cereal at 8 mths she broke out into a full body rash within 2 hours. Her milk protein allergy she grew out of at 18 months and the oatmeal- around a year.

I get where you're coming from! I can now give cow's milk to Graydon as he's a year old today but I'm nervous to. With dd's past with cow's milk and his reflux (which he still has and is still on meds) I'm nervous about it. Not sure when I'm going to try.

[EloysH]

Intolerance is quite hard to gauge esp if the intolerance is mild.  For milk protein intolerance symtpoms can show straight away or build up over days, depenmding on how much ndairy thety are epxosed to and how sensitive they are.  My first born had a milder milk protein intoelrance, but still if I drsnk a glas of milk he would be spitting up and unsettled within hours, but yet I could eat lesser dairy items with no symptoms like butter and some cheeses. 

Some babies show various stools from constipation to diarrhea, Ds1's were always yellow and mucusy.  Ds2, goes green and mucus with strings about 24 hours after I have eatne the offending foods and lasts for a few days.


I find that I can eat a bananna a day if stay away from other problem foods, but yet, I can't just go and eat corn, avocadoes, bannana all in one day as all these items are very high in salicylates and Ds2 would be sure to suffer.

If you want to test dairy try and just do the same dairy item for 3-4 days whilst holding everything else constant  - nothing else new. Same for the mangoes.

They do outgrow the intolerances, of course not set time. The more sensitive the longer it takes. Alot out grow them by 1 yr old, some takes till 2, a few till school age, and some have them more life, (but usually build up more tolerance as time goes on ) eg my DH can eat a square or two of mangoes as an adult but as a kid broke out in rashes.

Martina: - thanks for the vote of confidence    I have learned heaps from the ladies on this site, I guess having two intolerant kids speeds up the learning curve!

[~inbalance~]

It is tricky when the intolerances are mild.  I know F's are mild but it makes it hard to gauge how much of what could set him off, so I end up avoiding everything dairy right now, which sucks.  The paed said with MPI there would be obvious blood in the stool, but I don't believe it has to be obvious to be a problem, kwim?  F doesn't even get mucous poops anymore but sometimes I still slip up and it bothers him. 

Eloise, it sucks that you know so much about this stuff because you have to go through it first hand, but you're an invaluable help to other mamas who are going through it too!  This is off topic (sorry Sarah!) but since I've got you on this thread, I saw this other one about avocados and remembered you mentioned that they can be a problem food so was hoping you could take a peek, when you get a chance.   
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=176829.0

[Mashi]

Yep, clinical diagnosis is usually the best way to determine intolerance.  But, you don't necessarily need to eliminate, and then re-introduce. Usually just the elimination is enough -- LO has horrible symptoms, so eliminate the suspects and the symptoms clearing up is enough to confirm.  In the case of dairy I know doctors would probably prefer you didn't challenge it just to see, because if the LO has cleared up enough, then the exposure to the dairy again can be so painful to them that there's really no point...just cut the food out and things are better, so assume intolerance.  Its best for this reason though to only do one food at a time. Some intolerances can be checked through stool but not all....lactose is a common one to appear in a stool sample but others are not - for instance a gluten intolerance will not show up in a stool sample and dairy intolerances will often not, either. Usually the only 100% way to confirm there is an intolerance is with a biopsy of the intestine (which they wouldn't really do to confirm in an LO unless things are crazy bad and they really really really HAVE to!)

We had lots of issues with fruits for a long time (I think we have chatted about this before, Sarah, but maybe it was someone else...forgive me if I've already told you!) and our paed GI just said that sometimes the sugars in the fruits give LOs an upset tummy the first exposures and it takes a while to get used to it - I know that I could never eat raw apples in my life, they gave me a tummy ache.  (I used to complain every day but still take an apple to school and eat it until one day my dad said to me "then stop eating apples you dummy!!"  ) but then a few years ago started eating them again and they are fine. It wasn't an allergy (no immune system reaction) and was not an intolerance...my intestines were actually breaking down the apples fine, and properly, just the pectins in them gave me a tummy ache.  I noticed the first times I gave DS apples he cried shortly after and cried all morning, so I just stopped. A few months later tried again and he was fine - this was when the paed told me it was most likely the sugars and/or pectin.  I know magoes are high in pectin (which is actually just soluble dietary fibre) and they are one of the highest fruits in sugar as well....so it could be one of those things, not so much an "intolerance" iyswim?

[Jiinx]

thanks ladies. I had to read through each post carefully just to digest all the information.

Eloise - thanks hun. Your help is invaluable, as Martina has mentioned. I read through the link yesterday and was wondering about fruits. My lo loves her fruits and doesn't really touch veggies..maybe that can change as she gets older. I always though that it was okay as fruits have some vitamins and minerals, but now I'm not so sure.  I do believe my lo has a mild intolerance, like reflux though, she has good days and bad days and that's with dairy or without dairy. That link makes me wonder if her tummy just aches from the fruits she eats all day too.

Mashi - yup, I had that question about Bananas - friend or foe? Thanks so much for helping me. I know I've nagged you about gluten and dairy products since I've met you It must get easier as your son is older though, as he can tell you that something is giving him a tummy ache.
Makes sense to just do elimination...it's so on and off with her. there's just no consistency with her. If we're out and about, she's fine with the distraction and may or may not become fussy when she gets home. Hence my wondering all these months..
Marian - same. Not sure when I'll give her milk. Who knows if she'll even like it...it's got that ooey saliva taste and leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Good luck with Graydon though...hopefully he'll be fine

Thanks ladies

[Jiinx]

just a small update.
The last week or so, she's been having a mess of a diaper. In one day she had 5 dirty diapers..and then from then she was just having one or two explosive ones that weren't diarrhea (maybe) but just liquid (so sorry for TMI!).
Anyways, I stopped giving her dairy (cheese, yogurt mainly) for the last two days and her mood significantly got better. Yesterday she slept right through her nap without waking up (which she usually has been.) and she had a diaper today that was just normal.

She's still teething..so not sure if all this is a big coincidence.

I think I have my answer. Sad about it though...she loves yogurt and cheese and it's so easy to make and give to her.

[Tina (mum to 4)]

hi, you may have sorted yourself out by now, but just thought i'd share my experiences.  I've had a lot of trouble with dd (now 5 months) since birth with reflux etc.  Anyway, I suspected dairy intolerance, but the only real symptom she had was poor day naps. I just felt something wasn't right with her.   Anyway, had a heel prick blood test done that tests up to 97 foods.  Sure enough, she had intolerance to dairy (obviously no other foods were detected as she hadn't started solids).  It cost me about $350, but well worth it.  She is now on goats formula.  She will need to be retested in a few months.  I am waiting for test results for my 2yo ds.  I suspect dairy for him too.  Its hard to pinpoint just by watching diet as some intolerances can take weeks to show.  Hope this helps!