Suddenly I'm feeling very overwhelmed by Logan's allergies. I just recieved a copy of Logan's latest RAST tests and there are sooo many things on there. Only one thing was neg and only two were moderate; all the others were high and up. The allergist has helped us as best she can, but I really need some practical advice from you guys. Do I try to keep him away from ALL the positives or do I assume that some of them are false? How do I decide which are real? He reacts so often and has so many allergies it's almost impossible to pinpoint what he's reacting to. And equally impossible to avoid all his allergens. What about the things he hasn't been tested for - do I assume he's allergic to as high a percentage of those as he is to what was tested? Here is the list I got - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
Bermuda grass - class III
Oak tree - class III (we have 3 in our yard)
Giant ragweed - class III
Cat epi/dander - class V
Dog epithelium - class III
Dog dander - class V
House dust - class IV
D farinae (mold?) - class II
Banana - neg (Logan says they make his throat itch)
Soybean - class II (causes hives)
Egg white - class III
Egg yolk - class III
Milk - class III
Corn - class IV (causes lots of problems)
Wheat - class IV
Peanut - class V (no known exposures)
Pecan - class III (no known exposures)
We also found out the hard way that he's anaphylactic to sesame seeds and pistacios. He was never tested for those and I'm terrified about what other anaphylactic allergies are lurking out there that he hasn't been tested for.
I usually don't get so worked up, but right now it's really getting to me. Sorry this was so long.
Thanks in advance,
Rebekah
Boy your son sounds like mine! We discovered my son's allergies at 11 months of age (he is now 9) It sounds like his allergies are similar to your son's, though he's not allergic to wheat and is allergic to milk, beef, pork, lamb and more. What worked for me was keeping him away from everything. I know that will be hard with a wheat allergy, but I think avoidance has really helped my son. He can now eat milk and eggs, though I haven't had him retested in awhile, he has no problems with them. I really think avoidance has let his immune system mature. I know how hard it is and how it consumes your life. I cooked everything from scratch for five years! It's tough, but I'm happy with the results I've seen. Keep your chin up!
Have you tried this link? [url="http://www.angelfire.com/mi/FAST/index.html"]http://www.angelfire.com/mi/FAST/index.html[/url]
They have a bulletin board and mailing lists etc...
The people on the board are dealing with multiple allergies.
My daughter has environmental allergies to,
grass, dust, molds, ragweed, trees, boy not even sure anymore if that includes it all!
Her environmental allergies really contributed to horrible asthma and rhinitis. We purchased an allergenic mattress cover and pillow cover. The bedroom is very important to make as environ allergen safe as possible because the child spends so much time in the room sleeping. All stuffed animals had to go, which was real hard for her. Central air conditioning was installed (big bucks $$) which made an amazing difference I can't tell you in coping with everything from grass to ragweed. We are the only family on the block who still has their central air conditioning on in October because her ragweed is so bad. Hepa air filters are amazingly helpful also.
My daughters food allergies at a year old included, rice, corn, peas, soybean, milk (anaphylactic), peanuts (4+, no exposure), eggs (anaphylactic)
She is now 5 and only allergic to milk, peanuts and eggs.
I think introducing small amounts into her diet is what helped us. Taking the allergies that were the least problem and trying by-products. ie. At 3 we began introducing soy lechithin into her diet as well as soy oils. Only doing one thing at a time and seeing how she did with it. Your corn is too bad to do this but we also did this with corn.
We haven't tried egg because my daughters allergy to eggs is so severe. ...but some find success with eggs that are baked into products.
I believe if the allergy is severe and rates a 3 or higher you shouldn't mess with it too much, you need to avoid it, but for the less severe ones I believe it's helpful to begin introducing it slowly into the diet.
My daughter also has medication allergies to penicillin, sulfa and suprax. Asthma, reflux and rhinitis. The asthma, reflux and rhinitis have become almost non-existent at 5 years of age. I forget how old your son is, but most severly allergic babies grow out of many of their allergies.
Rebekah - I'm in a super rush now, so this answer will probably be superficial. I'll try to post more thoughtfully later.
How old is Logan? My older one had a whole laundry list of allergens when he was younger, including wheat, milk, soy, etc. He outgrew all of them, except for the environmental ones, which remain. Re bananas, he may have oral allergy syndrome which means he is not technically allergic to that particular substance, but to something related to it. Many people who react to bananas also have difficulty with avocado and kiwi. These are all related to latex - it may be worth questioning your allergist about that. If it is oral allergy syndrome, most people can tolerate the related foods cooked, but not raw.
Hope this helps - I'll try to be more together later.
We all get very overwhelmed by this stuff at times - we're all pulling for you.
Amy
My friend ( an adult) was just diagnosed with several of the same food allergies. Her biggies are wheat, corn, dairy, soy, oats. Her allergies are not anaphylactic but seemed to be advancing a muscle disorder she has. Anyway the point I am trying to make is she was immediately referred to a nutritionist. This helped her quite a bit. She was losing weight from lack of food options (she is very thin to start with). Anyway she feels better than she has her whole life. She also found some snack bars at our local health food store she can have.
Good Luck!
Linda
Oh also have you checked out Fan's recipes?
rebekah, first of all, I'd like to say that I'm sorry to hear that you are dealing with SO many allergies with Logan.
My suggestion is only in regard to the environmental allergens. I would speak with your doctor and see if it was appropriate for Logan to be on a daily antihistamine. This would control reactions to all of the trees, grass, mould, mildew, animal hair, etc. That mostly encompasses my list of allergies and I also believe Jesse's list of environmental allergies. Jesse also has asthma and I found that once he was given a daily antihistamine to control his environmental allergies that it helped "control" his asthma a bit better.
However, it also depends on whether you feel okay about giving your child a daily medication. I do, as I have been taking a daily antihistamine for as long as I can remember. The other thing, of course, with the environmental allergies, is immunization therapy. You may even want to go that route although I chose not to.
If MKRuby has listed her e-mail address anywhere on this board, I would suggest e-mailing her. She is absolutely wonderful and has great advice when it comes to dealing with multiple allergies. I know I posted a link to her website a few months back under Links but I'm not clear if it is current. I do know that she has posted under What Do You Like to Read lately and gave another website address. Just not clear if there is an e-mail to go with them. I really found her advice about a lot of things helpful.
Also, under links, I posted some Asthma links, one of which included Asthma and Allergy Information Association. I would contact them to get some information re the specific environmental allergies Logan has.
Actually, in dealing with asthma, it is much the same as dealing with an allergy to dust mites. That particular allergen, which is the one I have the highest reaction to, is also the most difficult to control. I actually can't believe how much dust accumulates and I don't even know where it comes from.
Someone above posted about protective covers for Logan's mattress and pillow. Definitely.
Also, a Hepa filter if you can afford one.
For dust mite allergy, you make sure you wash his bedding at least once a week (twice is better) in HOT water. Also, you should vacuum his actual mattress. Oh, I could go on forever about this particular allergy and that's not what you need. I would definitely check out the AAIA link I posted under Asthma links for dealing with the environmental allergies.
I, myself, have found that I had great success with Jesse on a daily antihistamine.
He takes Claritin.
If you are able to "control" Logan's environmental allergies in some way, either a daily antihistamine or immunization therapy, then you have the food allergies to mostly be concerned about.
The only help I can give you in that area is to definitely become a member of FAAN if you aren't already. I just recently joined (remember I had to ask someone on the board here what FAN was! LOL!) and I have been receiving wonderful literature in the mail.
Their newsletter also has wonderful recipes in it.
I hope this helps in some small way, Rebekah.
I know the environmental ones I think are easily controlled. It's the food ones and someone else above also posted a really good link for you.
Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
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I don't have a bit of advice to offer, since we only recently discovered we are dealing with multiple allergies ourselves (though Matt's were all 2s...), but I wanted to say that we're here for ya. You have my # if you ever need to just talk, I'm always home since Mike takes the one and only car to work. lol I do know that with each meal that passes over here the thought of all these new food allergies is really starting to get to me, and it's only been 3 days! I can only imagine how rough it must be for you, and with the enviromentals on top of it! =(
Thank you all so much!! If nothing else, just knowing that you all are here for me really helps!
Logan is 4 years old and has been taking allergy shots for almost a year now. He takes 2 daily antihistamines as well as flonase for his rhinitis and flovent, singulair, and serevent for his asthma. I hate giving him all those, but he is so much healthier now than before.
We have taken some measures to help his environmental allergies - we replaced much of the carpet with wood floors and covered his pillow and mattress. I try to launder his sheets often, but sometimes get behind. We do have central air, but haven't purchased a HEPA filter yet - any suggestions on brand? I haven't been able to bring myself to get rid of his stuffed animals. They are on a shelf on the opposite side of his room from the bed.
As far as the food allergies go, I have been cooking most of his things from scratch just to avoid the corn. We haven't been avoiding milk or wheat, but I really want to try and see if he doesn't start to get better. I will definitely join FAAN (didn't want to shell out the $$ at first) and try using some of their recipes. If we do cut out all of his allergens we will definitely need to see a nutritionist.
The links, suggestions and support you guys have offerd me are so great! Thank you so much!
Rebekah
P.S. At least I have hope Logan will outgrow some of his allergies like some of your children already have.
I just wanted to reiterate what most people have said about avoidance.
Our allergist said that it is best to avoid the allergenic food completely and then reintroduce at a later date, one item per session. I would think this would be something you would do under the supervision of an allergist.
I have also been told that with avoidance children do outgrow some of their allergens, even Peanuts/nuts(outgrowing the nut allergy is rare tho').
My son is only allergic to peanuts and penicillin but my neice has multiple allergies. She has severe excema which they say is related to her food allergens, she is also allergic to all nuts,penicillin and sulfur drugs. She also has environmental allergies and asthma.
There definately seems to be a link between PA and asthma.
Rebekah, another good site that I found by someone posting it under Links on this board is [url="http://www.allergicchild.com"]www.allergicchild.com[/url] They deal with multiple food allergies there too and it seems like a really good site.
Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
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Rebekahc, so sorry to hear of all Logan's allergies. I can definately sympathize with you, I recently tested positive to sooo many things but the one that takes the cake is, of all things... mustard (lol). It's frustrating and can sometimes feel like multiple allergies are a slow death (lol) but you're definately not alone.
There's a great website where everyone e-mails each other w/ recipes, concerns etc... Most of these parents are dealing with just as many if not more allergies. [url="http://www.egroups.com/"]http://www.egroups.com/[/url]
Sign up under POFAK (parents of food allergic kids) Hope this helps.
Connie [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
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