I Am Seeking Help on Food Allergies

My cousin's son and a friend's daughter are both allergic to almost everything. They have horribly restrictive diets. I have heard that this is a great site:
http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/

I understand what you are going through. When my son (who is now 18 mos old) was 3 mos old, he was diagnosed with severe ezcema that was thought to be due to food allergies. Since I was nursing him at the time, I was immediately put on an elimination diet to try to determine the allergy source. First was the elimination of dairy then egg then gluten. I never had food allergy issues (nor did anyone I knew) so suddenly I was thrust into a lifestyle that was completely foreign to me. Because of the new diet of fruits, vegetables and meats, I was not able to nurse to his demands so I too had to supplement. We used Enfamil's brand Nutramegen and fortunately, my son drank without issue. My son was also put on a very strict skin care regimen that we followed twice daily which included only bathing him once each week. After a few weeks, his skin started to clear up. By the time he was 4 mos old, we started solid foods which helped his skin, too. At 6 mos, we went through a battery of blood tests to flush out the allergen but no test was conclusive so we kept on with our daily skin care routine, solid foods (which was primarily orange veggies) and formula. Each month he got better and better and by the time he was 1 year old, his skin was pretty clear. There was an occasionaly breakout but nothing like the blistery, watery, crusty mess we had early on. I then decided to try to give him eggs which we found out pretty fast that he is highly allergic to them. I was afraid to try dairy group but after countless times of trying cheese, he now eats it without issues. He doesn't eat cottage cheese, yogurt or things like that more due to texture, I think than taste. However, he's not a fan of cow's milk so maybe it's a taste issue, too. In any case, having a diet without milk, eggs and peanuts (we have't tried this yet) hasn't been an issue. My son is growing like a weed and developing as he should for his age and his skin keeps getting better and better as he gets older. It's hard at first, I know, but you will become a master at reading all food labels and asking everyone when you go out to eat how food is prepared. And, there really is allot of good food out there for those with allergies. The Natural Food section at the grocery store has more variety than I ever thought so check it out if you haven't already. Good luck!

I go to Dr CHeryl too in Richfield. She is great. People travel from out of state just to see her. Talk to her about non-invasive treatments. She has helped me and my kids.

just wanted to say hello and let you know I sent an email to your yahoo address. I have dealt with the challenges of allergies with my own family.
contact www.fwfa.org . They will be helpful with the peanut allergy.
my website is : www.dianeshealthyalternatives.com
I have alternatives for getting calcium and protein when you can't have: dairy,eggs,soy.
I also feel very strongly about getting the chemicals out of the home and reducing our kids exposure to toxins. I sell a line of green cleaners : SEE MEMBER PERKS.

A friend of mine has a child with those same allergies (plus wheat). And I know lots of kids with milk + peanut. It's not the end of the world - those kids eat a big variety of foods. Indian cuisine is great but so is alot of typical American food. Rice milk can be substituted in place of cow's milk and soy milk. There are huge number of peanut butter alternatives - almond butter tastes great.

If call Whole Foods you can set up an appointment for a knowledgable employer to take you on a tour of the store. They will point out all the peanut-free, soy-free, milk-free, etc stuff and you can take notes. They also have lots of recipes available. There are lots of cookbooks (browse amazon.com) with kid-friendly recipes for allergy kids.

One tidbit that really helped my friend... make a list of foods your child CAN have and post it on your fridge. She also labeled stuff he could have with blue tape and put it in a separate pantry/cabinet from stuff he could not have. At first most the stuff in the house was off limits to him but after a few months most the stuff was OK and it was easier to just mark the stuff he couldn't have.

Don't know where you are located but you might want to call FULLER CHIROPRACTIC in Brownsburg, IN. She does a treatment (actually 2, I believe) that ELIMINATES allergies. As LONG as you know WHAT the allergy is.

Many ailmentts & allergies, including ECZEMA, are LARGELY related to either toxicity or nutritional deficiency. In the case of eczema, it's deficiency. Many who suffer with eczema often have low levels of hydrochloric acid. B vitamins are also ESSENTIAL in coping w/ this problem. Add brown rice and/or millet to the diet. AVOID eggs, peanuts, soy foods, wheat and dairy products. Also avoid sugar, strawberries, chocolate, white flour, fats, fried foods and PROCESSED foods. Try gluten free for 4-6 weeks and add them back in and see if the condition changes.

Make SURE not to use bubbles in the bath or anything that might irritate or bring on the eczema. Primrose oil and Vitamin B6 help infants and children w/ this. You didn't mention how old he is. Food allergies CAN CAUSE dermatitis or eczema. Take care of the allergies, and you'll most likely take care of the other. FOCUS on healing from the INSIDE OUT!

Just take a new perspective on this. Think of it as a learning experience and FIND OUT WHY these things occur. Find out about new foods that you've never experienced. There are LOTS of EXCELLENT HEALTHY (AND great tasting) foods that you may have never experienced. I always look at these kinds of things, not as a problem, but rather an opportunity to be healthier and more educated!

We took our daughter, who only had general allergies & mildly add, to Dr Cheryl Leuthaeuser at the integrative wellcare in Richfield, oh. The website is www.integrativewellcare.com. We are in the Wadsworth area and she mentioned that most of her clients are much farther than that. It may give you a good base for understanding. She loaned us a book to read on allergies. She is a holistic style doctor but she does prescribe medicine.

A.,
I understand where you are coming from. My daughter, now 19 yrs old, has food/medicine allergies.
What we have discovered is many times the body is lacking nutrients which then result in these allergies.
My girlfriend was allergic to just about everything including enviromental...her son too, since taking our products...they don't deal with these issues anymore and are off their medications now. Below is a link to articles/videos which may help you learn more about health and nutrition. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

http://hopeshared.com/library.aspx

Take care,
A.

get an indian food cookbook. they have lots of great recipes that fit your requirements.

we love goat milk and almond milk, you might have success with those. goat milk is much easier to digest, and the proteins and structure of it is more similar to human milk than cow milk. also be aware that milk becomes more easily digested when it is cultured-- so you may be able to get away with yogurt, kefir, and cheeses.

you are definitely not alone, do a google search and i'm sure you'll find not only recipes but probably some mothering forums where moms can discuss food issuses.

my brother and i had lots of allergies; wheat, corn, milk, eggs... as kids but WE GREW OUT OF THEM!!! so there is hope for normal diet in the future! :)

i'm going through the same thing with my daughter.but your lucky to find out her allergies so early i didn't find out untill after she turned 2.I was told that as long as the aleergic food wasn't in the top ten ingredents it was fine.your situation may be different.they make rice milk products that i buy for my daughter so no milk or soy.And i'd ask if shes allergic to cows protein because thats usually where the dairy and soy allergies come in.