two interesting articles

Thankyou for posting this very important research study.My son with severe multiple allergies(peanuts,dairy,egg,wheat,rice,beef,lamb,pork,peas,greenbeans,corn,potatoes,neocate,,soy and more) was put on antibiotic Keflex 3 times !!!!!The second time they doubled the dose to 1 tsp 3 times a day, which is like an adult dose for an infant that was 5 months old!!!He started bleeding in his stool when he was first put on the antibiotic and the ped. said not to worry and thought it was not related.This happened again when the allergist prescribed it the second time and he said maybe the baby was constipated.I followed the doctors advice and not my own instincts which had major alarm bells going off at the time. I have read so many times about antibiotics wiping out the good as well as bad gut flora and causing leaky gut syndrome.I believe this along with the fact he had a severe reaction to his vaccinations is the major cause of why my son is allergic.Also on top of this they had him on oral steroids (Orapred-Prednisolone))to try and control his eczema which furthur suppressed his developing immune system. Are there any other moms out there with similar histories with your allergic children??

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[This message has been edited by deegann (edited March 15, 2004).]

Well, I ate peanut butter like crazy when pregnant and nursing. The only antibiotics my son was exposed to was during labour, when I contracted a fever. Oh, he was born by CSection, and I have a history of food allergies myself.

Gee, and I was surprised when he was diagnosed??? Just shows you how much I knew then...

Interesting!! Not only did I eat PB like crazy also. :-( My son was born 13 weeks premature and he was on antibiotics for weeks and weeks because we had gotten listeria!!

I don't think my son had antibiotics as a baby, but I also ate peanut butter like crazy while I was pregnant and nursing. Which, in hindsight, probably explains why he was so cranky as a baby and gave up nursing on his own when he was 7 months old. And here I thought I was being good by exclusively breastfeeding for the first 4 1/2 months!

Interesting articles! Megan never had any antibiotics. She has always been healthy despite her food allergies. I would love to see the US initiate a better food labeling system for allergens! Imagine how much time that would save us! It would take the question out of what is safe or not! I absolutey HATE 'natural flavoring'!! If it says it, we don't eat it!!(Megan has other food allergies than PA, so we don't even chance it!)

I also ate lots of peanut butter while pregnant and nursing, but also did with my first child (who has no allergies!). I figured out the reaction to peanuts through breastmilk at 6 months and eliminated them from my diet and never gave Megan any (thank goodness).

We should listen to that inner voice!! I did research trying to find out why Megan was throwing up/cranky/always stiffened up/never happy/never sleeping as an infant.....I knew something was wrong!! I read a LeLeche League article about allergies and breastfeeding and immediately told my husband..this is her!!!! We did not know about any family history of food allergies (we have found out different since all this happened). It was the farthest thing from our mind! Her pediatrician said there was NO WAY this was a reaction to food/peanuts. Probably reflux--and gave me no help.

I read an article later after her diagnosis about treating reflux in babies with zantac, etc. (acid reducers or blockers) possibly contributing to the increased number of food allergies in children. Think about it....you reduce the acid or block it completely...bigger 'chunks' of food get into the intestines...your body does not recognize them and begins to attack...voila, allergies!! (Kind of a similar thing to leaky gut syndrome, I am assuming). I never thought about it before, but it makes sense!! Megan was on zantac for a few months, but I am sure she already had her allergies by then. I stopped because it didn't help her symptoms any.