question for those dealing with corn allergy

My 3 year old mfa was allergic to corn for a short time (about 9 months-1 year). It is a tough one. Sorry but I have to be honest. Corn is in everything and in lots of meds. You will have to have your meds made at a compounding pharmacy. There is a corn allergy site that is good but I have to search for it. Did you do a search?And yes, you do have to stay away from corn starch. Did you go to pofak (parents of food allergic children) on yahoo?

[This message has been edited by Danielle (edited May 09, 2006).]

DS is allergic to corn. He's on Xolair now, so we don't have to completely avoid corn any more, but we used to try and avoid as much as possible. Basically, if it comes in a package it has corn in it. Corn does not have to be labelled at all. The best site I found is the avoiding corn forum at Delphi. Lots of good info on where corn is hiding and some products that are safe. Many of the people there have intolerances rather than true allergies, but the avoidance is the same. The allergy is so overwhelming, it's hard to come up with specific things to tell you - I would be happy to answer any questions you might have though. We successfully (mostly) avoided corn for about 4 years.

Rebekah

Try [url="http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org"]www.kidswithfoodallergies.org[/url]

Cathy

When my DD was diagnosed with all her allergies at 12 months, corn was questionable. We cut it out completely for a couple months, and now have added it back in successfully. I am sorry. Corn is a tough one because it is in everything. We cut out cornstarch and corn syrup, although I would check with your allergist. I talked to someone else who was corn allergic who did not cut out those two things. A couple more things to watch out for - baking powder & powdered sugar. Good luck!

hi there

my son is 5 1/2 and was diagnosed with corn as well as soy,coconut, banana, apple, carrot, cantoloupe, strawberry, and dog, latex, and ragweed. we knew he was allergic to peanuts and treenuts since 2. he too had lots of excema and he just had a general irritability.

we stay way from all but corn oil -- so that includes corn syrup -- the biggie, cornstarch, corn flour, etc.

Miss robens allergy grocer (allergygrocer.com)has some great bake mixes that are free of corn -- there are little to no cereals -- we only have a few breads, we eat lots of eggos [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Back to Nature has quite a few crackers they are made by kraft and sold at our local Meijer. We also use some goldfish - not all, some cheeze its not all, and others -- feel free to email me its in my profile if you want more info

we did notice some sugar free stuff is okay -- like gum and lifesavers -- thats how I get cough syrup too - it is for diabetics.

so no fruit snacks, cereal bars, and even most yogurts and drinkable yogurts, etc. It is tough but doable -- we have been free from all of his allergens since January and are doing fine -- our whole family eats this way!

watch powdered sugar -- it contains cornstarch. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img] you can get special corn free powdered sugar at the web site i listed -- oh and baking powder too.

This is a topic of concern to me--Corn is one of those things I've started avoiding recently (it has been nearly two years). I was getting hives on a regular basis, so my respirologist sent me to a new allergist for immunological testing, etc.

My allergist isn't certain that all of the foods to which I react on skin tests are true allergies...he just doesn't know what to make of the skin tests. I kind of think that he might be ordering a RAST test for corn as soon as I finish this round of grass pollen and ragweed vaccination shots. (as a side note: has anyone had any experience with these shots?...perhaps I should ask about this in another thread though)

All this is just to say that while I believe I have a corn allergy I haven't been properly diagnosed....yet. I have had positive skin test results for corn, and I've had some mild trouble with corn all of my life. But it got to the point at which my throat would start itching if I ate a small amount of corn.

Most sugars in processed foods are made from corn. I don't find that things made with glucose-fructose actually bother me (although corn starch does) but I avoid anything made from corn based sugars anyways.

With all the allergies, I basically can't eat very much processed food. The best place to find corn-free stuff is at health food stores (people concerned with GMO foods hate corn) and alternative grocery stores like Whole Foods.

I do get some cornstarch in medications, I know. Also, any salt with iodine in it (including iodized sea salt) has dextrose which is from corn. Someone on another website mentioned that cornstarch is added to salt as well to keep it flowing. I wonder if I should be using pure sea salt or kosher salt or something but would want to check with a nutritionist first to ensure that I wouldn't have problems with iodine.

Also, vitamin A preparations (in milk) are made from corn oil. someone who posts occasionally on the allergic living website ([url]http://www.allergicliving.com/forum[/url]) has major reactions from milk for that reason. Milk is another source of corn for me that I haven't cut out of my diet.

It just struck me that I didn't really answer your questions---I don't know whether doctors tell their patients who are not severely allergic that some products are okay (given the difficulty with avoiding corn). I do know, however, that corn sugars contain corn protein.

Wow, I didn't think it was going to be this tough. I'm learning alot and thankful for all of your help. It makes it a little easier. I found a whole foods in my area and am going to try it out next week. Hopefully I'll be able to find what I need. I am trying to cook the same for everyone, but with the peanut, wheat and now corn it took me almost a half an hour in the grocery store to find something to season chicken with. Again thanks, you guys are really helpful.
Kathy

One of my closect friends has severe corn and shell fish allergies. She reads all ingredients, carries her epi everywhere, and does her best to avoid it. The shellfish is pretty easy to avoid, but corn and corn syrup is in so many things, even Coca Cola!...she's had several accidents. I THINK the big difference between corn allergy and peanut allergy is that with peanut allergy, someone else eating peanuts can badly affect you, but with corn allergy, you actually have to ingest it...(I would DEFINATLY check that with your son's doc, though, I'm not positive...and its always better to err on the side of caution, kwim?)

also wanted to ask how old is your son? Sometimes small children are able to outgrow food allergies...though that usually doesn't apply to PA...definately worth asking your doctor.

[This message has been edited by TJuliebeth (edited May 10, 2006).]

Please be careful of the sugar free stuff. Many of those contain maltodextrin which is made from corn. Also sorbitol, maltitol, dextrose - all from corn. Citric acid is grown on a corn base (it's not citrus - who knew??). Caramel color can be corn. Modified food starch (unless it's specified wheat, tapioca, etc.). Some packaging is dusted inside with corn starch (like all of Libby's canned fruits). All Kimberly Clark products contain corn (Huggies, Kleenex, etc.). Most gum is dusted with corn starch. Many times when a product is dusted with corn starch it will NOT be on the ingredient statement.

Rebekah