15 Mth Old W/ Milk & Egg Allergies

My son has a severe milk allergy. He gets immediate rash, vomitting, and difficulty breathing. His reaction is IgE mediated. It is life- threatening. And I believe that is why it shows up on blood tests. The blood tests won't show if the child is sensitive to the protein. His allergist told us that the blood test alone is not a good indication of a true allergy. But you consider the combination of blood test with the child's reaction to food. The blood test showed a slight allergy to eggs, but he eats eggs with no problems. There is a difference between an allergy and a sensitivity/ intolerance to food.

Please add kidswithfoodallergies.org to your roster of resources. You'll find a network of hundreds of parents trying to decipher what their kiddos bodies are doing and what the "tests" say. If there's any one lesson I've learned as the parent of a dairy allergic child, it's that the science behind allergy is so very fluid. Sometimes test results are correct, sometimes they're not. Sometimes a test can indicate an allergy, but no reaction occurs. It does not mean that the doctor is right or wrong--research is just working to catch up and each case is just so very different.

I would work on avoiding both of those foods, at least for a period of time. It's hard, but it can be done. Good luck--it's so hard when you feed your child and can see food so visibly impact their health.

Your doctor probably did an IgE test which tests for allergies but do consider and IgG test which tests for food sensitivies. My son's IgE results are different than his IgG results. His IgG shows gluten as a problem. I have him off all casein (milk products) and gluten as so many kids especially with autism do much, much better off these products. Eggs are a very common IgG sensitivity too. Some vaccines are made with eggs. Did she have a vaccine reaction? Alletess has a 90 food IgG test for $85.

There is no test on earth as accurate as a mother's observations. Doctor's are not gods nor are they infallible. Tests are not infallible either. Trust your gut, you have seen her reactions. I personally wouldn't put a young child through the torture of the back scratch test. There are healthy alternatives to cows milk and eggs, use them and wait a while. When she is older if you still think cows milk and eggs are vital to her well-being, do a tiny little taste test and watch closely for reactions. Watch what seasonings you may automatically put in eggs, they can be the culprit, not the eggs.
One question, however: many vaccines are grown in eggs and people allergic to eggs can have a reaction to any tiny amount of albumen that may be in a vaccine. Have you seen any exceptional reactions to her regular vaccinations? This would be an important thing to pursue if her reactions were severe to the vaccines. Otherwise, I would just be patient and work with alternatives to the possible allergens.

What test are you having done? The first time we tested my son the only thing that came back was dogs and cats; then because his eczema was so bad we had the IgE/IGg test done and be came back with over 37 allergens. Sometimes it's the testing that is done that determines the quality of results that you see; go with your gut on the issues you are experiencing.

Hi S.,

The test can be "off" sometimes. I have found with my patients that food allergies can be very complex. Sometimes allergies can vary by brand, manufacturer, how the item is prepared or if the item is in the purest form. I am a Chiropractor and I use Applied Kinesiology aka Muscle testing to determine allergies. One of the best things about doing it that way is it can be more specific. If you bring in the actual items that you believe caused the reaction, we can use it to get a more specific test. After determining the allergy, I can use cold laser therapy to help eliminate the allergy. If you are interested in more information you can call me at ###-###-#### or visit my website at www.sullivanchiropractic.com. Thanks!
Dr. Sandra S.

Your daughter would benefit from NAET. Dr. Steve Homoky works great with kids, and she wouldn't have to have any scratch tests. He's at Coit & Spring Creek. ###-###-####. go to www.naet.com to get more information on this. He actually does AAT (Advanced Allergy Technique), which works even better than NAET, but I don't remember that website as well as the NAET one! Good luck!

I have a son who has been affected by eczema, which we discovered when he was 2 weeks old because of the dryness of his skin. He also doesn't digest cow's milk very well which has contributed to major allergy/sneezing attacks. Unfortunately, we did not find a good doctor to help with the healing process until about 3 years ago when we were introduced to Dr. Larry Davis of Davis Wellness Center in Plano, TX. Dr. Davis advised us to take our son off of all dairy, especially milk and cheese. The results have been fantastic! I would advise you to contact his office for more info. His website is: http://www.daviswellnesscenter.com/.

Blessings,

K. A.

Yes, these tests can be wrong. There can be false positives and negatives. If your child is having reactions after eating, then she is allergic. My son's allergist actually said these tests can be wrong and that's why she doesn't recommmend testing young kids b/c they are wrong alot. Hope this helps! Also, our allergist - Dr. Sugerman's office at Medical City has a program to get kids tolerant towards milk. Your daughter may grow out of the allergies. Our son also gets ezcema break outs. He's been dairy free for about a year (he's 20 months) I've already noticed that when he accidently gets dairy, he doesn't get as big of a flair up.

Hope this hels!
M.

Too young for the back scratch test, but they have others for kiddos that age. Our pedi allergist is the best in Dallas and can lead you in the right direction. My hubby and son both use them. They are the Dallas Allergy and Asthma Center by Presby Dallas. They are always in the D mag top docs. Anyway, Dr. Ruff is the one that does Pedi (although my hubby uses him also) and Dr. Gary Gross does the adult immunology. They really are the best of the best...they are always on the news when segments about allergies come up, etc. I know for our son what we thought was one thing ended up being an allergy to something else and they were able to lock it all down. Good luck!!!

Hi S., yes, there is another test that's something like 95% accurate. My doctor want's me to have it done on my daughter. I cannot recall the name of it, but if you call him I'm sure he'll be able to tell you. Dr. Rodney Russell at ###-###-####. I also did a blood test for Gluten intolerance (Celiac) awhile back when I had all the symptoms. It was negative. Later I did a stool test that was much more reliable and sure enough, I had it. I'm feeling SOOO much better not eating gluten (wheat).

Best of luck! i know it's a challenge. I would warn you against traditional doctors. I have found so much more relief with alternative/holistic medicine.

S.

Cavet: My son has a medical condition connected to his food allergies so this information may or may not relate to most cases.
My son has multiple severe allergies (12 foods on complete avoidance). We initially did a screening blood test. Those tests aren't very accurate. They are simply are meant to due just as the name says "screen". He was then sent to a very knowledgeable allergist who gave us a bunch of information. First of all, the CAP blood test for allergies is more reliable than the RAST test and you can only get the CAP test done at Quest labs (not LabCorp). LabCorp will only do the RAST test. (Go figure!) In our case, that didn't matter. Our insurance had recently switched from LabCorp to Quest for blood work. Then once we had the blood results back, she did a back patch test (safer for little ones than the scratch test) on anything that came back with an IgE respond on the blood work, but with levels at weren't so high that they were in the anaphylaxis range. For my son, this meant he was patched for 15 foods and excluded from testing on two foods due to anaphylaxis. They had to get creative about where to put the patches on his small body. When the patch testing came back, the foods that he had showed a response to were added to his allergy list. Once he has completely avoided these foods for one year (next month will be our one year), then he will be allowed to try an in-office food challenge on his lowest level foods. I don't what exactly that will involve.
I hope some of our experience is helpful to you.

No...not too young for the scratch test. My son had his first scratch test at 10 months. It is actually considered to be a more sensitive test.

I noticed that someone mentioned that most food allergies don't show up until age 2...that is old data. Nowadays most children seem to be born with food allergies and the onset can even be seen in infants who are being nursed and are allergic to what the Mother is eating (my son was so allergic he would throw my milk up even in the NICU...they told me he was too young but when I removed dairy he stopped throwing up and at 10 months presented with a level 5 allergy to dairy).

That being said, however, there are some problems with food allergy testing in general. The main one is that the samples used in these tests are heavily diluted and don't always show that an allergy is present.

The new gold-standard is a food allergy challenge which should be done IN the office. However, 15 months is too young for a challenge since your daughter would be unable to assist verbally in letting anyone know a reaction was imminent and many doctors don't offer to do this in the office.

We see Jon Van Wagoner (http://www.swallergy.com/index.htm) and have since my son was 10 months old. We have been very happy with his care. Find someone that you are comfortable with.

As far as her reactions go the dairy reaction COULD (and I'm not saying it is, just one more possible piece to the puzzle)be more of an intolerance or a lactose thing. Her egg reactions sound very much like an allergy, though.

Also, there are different types of allergy testing. Did your pediatrician order the tests or did an allergist? Some of the tests are less reliable then others.

As far as whether or not the testing could be wrong... absolutely. If you can see her reaction it doesn't really matter what the test says. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

If it were my child I would remove all dairy and egg products from her diet and see if her symptoms improve. And I would make an appt with an allergist. By the way, children who are allergic to dairy should also avoid goat's milk.

As a Mother of a HIGHLY dairy allergic child I can tell you it really does get much easier. Hang in there! If I can help please feel free to email me.

I highly recommend Dr. Shisgari in Carrollton !!! I personally don't think the back test is too soon. Take a portable DVD player with you, it helps little ones keep their minds busy. I also personally think blood allergy test are a waste of money and time. Myself and children have done both and all blood work has been inacurate!
Since we've gone to Dr. Shisgari and eliminated our allergic foods we've all been happier & healthier.
Good Luck,
S.

If you've seen the results, then you're probably right. A friend of mine just graduated med school, and I was talking with her about my daughter's allergy blood test (she has asthma, so we had her checked for allergies too), and she said most allergies don't turn up until about age 2, so the test may not be entirely accurate. If you're concerned, don't give her milk or eggs, and wait until she's older to have her tested again. Also, if she hadn't had those foods close to the blood test time, the "antibodies" may not have been in her bloodstream. You could always have her tested again shortly after giving her milk and/or eggs. Good luck!

IT is very possible for your child to be sensitive to milk and eggs without having a allergy that would show up positive on a test. My nutritionist/ naturalpath informed me that milk has 7 different allergies that enable children to have some kind of negative reaction. The only reason doctors advise milk for children is because of the calcium and protein that is provides. Try cutting our milk and eggs and see if your childs reaction goes away. I know children can get these nutrients from alternative sources. Hope this helps.