Author Topic: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance  (Read 1755 times)

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Offline *Becky*

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need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« on: October 18, 2010, 11:24:35 am »
Hi ladies,
Henry is approaching two. For most of his life he has had a lot of cold/runny noses. I have been putting it down to teeth a lot of the time as it def seems to be worse when he is teething but now the teeth are through I think it must be something more.
On many occasions I have taken him to the doctor but they check his chest and ears and say he is fine. He has never had an ear infection or anything that requires antibiotics but he seems congested almost all the time. He also gets dark circles, not very bad but noticeable.
I think the time has come to really try and get to the bottom of it.

I spoke to the health visitor today and she said it does sound like an allergy but she said that it is very hard to know what it is causing it. I asked whether it would be worth removing dairy for a week or two to see if it was that and she just said that at this time of year he would quite likely get a cold anyway so it would be hard to tell if it was dairy or not.
She said not to go to an allergy tester as childrens' allergies change so much at this age that what he is allergic to now may change very quickly.

Kind of left me nowhere really. The doctor will not be interested as it is not severe enough for them to take it that seriously but I feel I need to do something.

So...thinking through my options.

1. See a naturopath/allergy tester
2. Cut out dairy for 2 weeks and see if it helps at all.

Anything else?

Thanks very much for any insight.

Becky x




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Offline Mashi

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2010, 11:51:11 am »
I would not bother with allergy testing - HV is right that allergies change, but also because intolerance is just as common (prob MORE common) with dairy, and intolerances can not be identified in allergy tests.  (Allergies are reactions by the immune system, you can draw blood, test in other ways, etc to see if there is a reaction. Intolerances are an inability of the digestive system (bowel) to break down the food (usually proteins) and the only way to test for certain is a bowel biopsy, which just will not happen, not that you would want to!)

The way that food issues are most commonly "diagnosed" in kids is clinical - which means that you remove the suspected food, and watch for symptoms to change. If symptoms disappear then that is enough confirmation that there is an issue with that food.  Sometimes there are reasons to do a "challenge" which would be to then add the item back into the diet and see if the symptoms return as a further "proof" that the questioned food was in fact the problem, but usually it's not done right away...the thought is that if it is an allergy the reaction can be more severe and if it is an intolerance you are just adding more pain/discomfort/damage to the bowel.  

At Henry's age I would not cut dairy for just 2 weeks and expect drastic improvements - it can take at least 14 days for any remnants of the milk proteins in his body to disappear completely and then time after that for the body to heal from the exposure to milk and symptoms to disappear.  It could happen much sooner, but if he still has symptoms after 2 weeks I would not take that to mean it's not dairy iyswim.  I would personally aim 4 weeks minimum at that age before you could know for sure - the longer he has been having the milk the more damage potentially done to the intestines. And, remember it would not just be milk, cheese, yogurt, but also cut out all hidden milk as well, or you just will not get an accurate picture - so no skim milk powder which is commonly in breads or biscuits, whey, etc etc. There are lists posted of all ingredients to avoid (I used to have one and am sure I have posted it here in the past but not sure where) and it is quite a long list when you start reading it - milk crops up in different forms in many places!

When your HV says that he will get colds and things and make it harder to notice, I can see where she is coming from but if he does have an intolerance then it's more than just a runny nose that you will notice...ie/ you say he has circles under his eyes, but he wouldn't have those with a cold. And when you have a cold, you know he will feel run down, coughing, and so on, and it's more likely that he caught it from somewhere, rather than just a constant runny nose, right? So saying that it's cold season might mean you don't notice the difference is a bit silly to me....a cold lasts 7-10 days not much longer!

HTH?

Offline *Becky*

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2010, 12:02:29 pm »
Thanks Mashi - wow that sounds really hard! I guess for milk I can use rice milk...do you think? So we could also use that for any cooking which needs milk?
What do I do about the calcium he will be lacking for a month?
I guess I can use soy products too.

My niece has an allergy to milk which is really severe. she has excema and has an epi-pen as it is so dangerous to even get a drop on her. If anything this is more of an intolerance I think and I guess it could be anything, not necessarily dairy but it is a good place to start.

It feels very daunting....but I think it probably needs to be done.




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Offline MasynSpencerElliotte

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2010, 12:20:53 pm »
Totally agree with Mashi on this. 

I've never used rice milk in cooking, but soy milk works okay as long as you don't burn it! In fact I've used it in things and fed the whole family without them knowing the difference.

It gets easier reading labels and knowing what is and isn't milk in things!
Heidi




Offline firsttimemummy

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2010, 12:30:27 pm »
DS also had a constant runny nose when he was younger and it was only when he had 2 ear infections that I stopped the cows milk as he was having breast milk and his nose cleared up, until the day we reintroduced the cows milk.

DS has issues with milk and other foods (red bottom and constant loose stools) and we got our doctor to refer us to paediatrician and dietician; I would recommend that you ask/push for this too as they can give good advice on the next steps.  DS was at dietician today and she wants to ask paed to do complete milk elimination diet and will help with this if we are to do it. 

Dietician told us not to use rice milk due to levels of inorganic arsenic in it!!  We are using oat milk but it is hard to find the calcium-enhanced one. 
L x Having a bw break from 1 Feb 2012 - if you want to get in touch please send me a pm.  I may not be here but you are all in my thoughts xxxx (probably be back some time)

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Offline *Becky*

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2010, 12:34:36 pm »
Dietician told us not to use rice milk due to levels of inorganic arsenic in it!!  W
see this is the kind of thing that really stresses me out. I have also heard stuff about soy milk and you just don't know what to think.
So...oat milk? Ok, will have a look.
I know they will not refer me, they are not interested because apart form a runny nose he is fine. I think it is something to worry about when a lo has a constantly runny nose and because of that a cough which wakes him up but they don't.
thanks for the suggestions xx

bx

we have recently switched to goats as that is what we drink as a family but it has made no difference.




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Offline Mashi

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2010, 13:15:55 pm »
I don't think you will get a referral - at this stage they won't see it as necessary as milk is not a necessary part of the diet the way it is when an infant, iyswim.  Calcium is needed, yes, but not milk/dairy. 

My thoughts on the issues with rice milk is that you can/will find this about most other milks you look at - ie/ the level of hormone in non-organic cow's milk is pretty disgusting, too, iyswim.  I would look for either calcium fortified orange juice to give him a portion of his calcium needs per day and a non-dairy supplement if you can find one from your chemist.  As well perhaps a mix of rice milk, soy milk, hemp milk, almond milk, etc - not all mixed together but rather one week use one, then another and rotate if he will take them all.  He needs 500mg of calcium a day.

Ugh have to run, back later!

Offline KathrynK

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2010, 15:07:37 pm »
Hi becky, you can get oat milk in sainsburys, it's with the long- life UHT stuff near the cereals. It's called Oatly and there is one 'normal' one and one with added calcium, which I used to get. It's really quite nice, I used to have it on my cereal and in tea no probs when I was dairy free for a while
Hth and hope you see some results xxxxx
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Offline Mashi

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2010, 15:20:37 pm »
Some good non-dairy sources of calcium as well...

http://nutrition.about.com/od/vitaminssupplements/qt/gettingenoughca.htm


Offline firsttimemummy

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Re: need advice about possible allergy/intolerance
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2010, 06:53:20 am »
I forgot to say that I also have problems with milk (I did a food intolerence test at a health food shop and milk was the only thing it showed, cheese etc was fine) - I never liked milk even as a young child (was breastfed!) and only took it in my breakfast cereal really ... anyway, I cut out the milk and really quickly my skin stopped being spotty and I stopped having a constant "cold".  If milk is heated above 72c I am fine with it ... hopefully your little one is the same.  I think this means it is the whey proteins I am intolerent to as they are broken down at that temperature, whereas other people have problems with the other proteins/lactose (you can buy lactose free milk in most supermarkets now, by the Uht milks) ....
L x Having a bw break from 1 Feb 2012 - if you want to get in touch please send me a pm.  I may not be here but you are all in my thoughts xxxx (probably be back some time)

still happily married, just not counting!