Red around mouth

[Tanners Mom]

Hi Ladies!
Tanner hasn't ever had a reaction to anything before (he's 9.5 months) and we have no food allergies in the family. However, today at lunch he got redness around his mouth after eating. He had whole milk yogurt with mango, carrots, whole wheat pita bread and hummus and kiwi. He has had all this before with no reaction. Any ideas what could be doing this? Also - no other reaction besides the redness and he doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. Should I just not worry and continue giving him these foods?

Thanks for your input!!
~Jaci

[linfran]

Does he have a paci?  Sometimes when ds has his and is teething he sucks and slobbers so much it causes a little red rash around his mouth.

Could you try testing the foods over a several days one at a time to see if the culprit lies there?

[Tanners Mom]

Tanner doesn't use a paci....so it's not from that.

Good idea to give him those foods individually for a few days and see. He's been eating yogurt for lunch every day since he was 7 months....so I doubt it's that. And he has been eating kiwi for awhile too but maybe this one was more acidic???

It was going away/almost gone by about 1 hour after it appeared. Maybe the natrual acids in the fruit just bothered his skin??

Thanks for the reply!!
~Jaci

[janelle]

My dd  and ds both get a rash like that around their mouths after eating mangoes and oranges      I'd try testing the food individually too and see what happens.  Good luck!!

[LORRIEc]

My son has always has a reaction to hummus (although not chickpeas or sesame seeds, we're thinking maybe its the stronger concentration of sesame oil in the tahini), and it always goes away within an hour or two. I agree that you should try the foods individually, but I would also reccomend having and anti-histamine (like benadryl) on hand just in case the reaction is more severe the second time, my sons was. Nothing life threatening but definitely disturbing to me.  Good luck.

[Ennypen]

William has the same reaction if he eats egg or potato - its a contact allergy occuring when the food touches the skin.

Regarding him having it before with no reaction.. usually allergies do not show up on the first time a LO eats something. When they eat it the first time the body becomes sensitised to it so when they have it again the allergic reaction occurs.

I agree - give him the foods he had the day he had the reaction one at a time on different days and isolate which it is causing the reaction. But when you know - don't panic.. if they show no other reactions to it other than the red around the mouth its still safe to eat it. Woo has potato and egg and enjoys it.. but we are careful not to let him get it round his mouth. If the rash does appear I give him some antihisthamine and he's fine again in 10 mins or so.


HTH

Helen x

[Tanners Mom]

Thanks so much ladies for your replies!

I tried the foods all separately and it's the hummus. I wonder if it's the lemon juice in it - I'm not sure that was in the other brand of hummus I had before this one. He didn't have an reaction to the previous one. But it is only a bit of red around his mouth - nothing more at this point. He really loves it though!

I appreciate all the input!
~Jaci

[LORRIEc]

Unfortunatley my son loves hummus too, hopefully your sons reaction to it doesn't get any worse.

[LLLena]

Hi!  Glad you figured out the issue.  I just wanted to add my 2 cents.... my ds also had a contact reaction as you described with hummus.  However, it was only with the pepper flavor.  I've not tried it since I figured out the cause of the reaction, but maybe it isn't just hummus only the flavor you've given if that makes sense. 

Hth in some way.

Lena