Both another PA.com member and I contacted Anaphylaxis Canada recently, for different reasons, and we both received replies from Anaphylaxis Canada indicating that they are seeing a lot of PA children that are becoming allergic to soy.
However, they're not allergic to everything soy, but specific things.
Is anyone here dealing with soy allergy in addition to PA? If so, do you avoid ALL things that say soy on them or is your child (allergic to soy child) able to consume some products that have soy in them and not others?
Also, are there any people here whose children (or themselves) were PA only and went on to develop a soy allergy?
I'll find the thread where I posted the reply I received from Anaphylaxis Canada and the specific soy products that PA children are supposedly becoming sensitive to. I will also post part of the e-mail that the other PA.com member received, also from Anaphylaxis Canada, where it indicates the specific type of soy products that PA children are becoming sensitive to.
Quite frankly, I find it a bit confusing. To me, and this may be very ignorant thinking on my part, if you're allergic to something, you're allergic to it. So, how are children able to eat some soy products and not others? Is it a kinda grey allergy rather than a black and white one like PA?
I'm positive that Jesse is not allergic to soy because probably everything I purchase has soy in it in one form or another. But what about other people? Could this possibly explain any *mystery* reactions that have occurred?
Editing here to put in the portion of the e-mail I received from Anaphylaxis Canada (posted here under Main Discussion) re PA and soy allergy:-
Something that we are seeing more and more commonly amongst PA kids is a cross reactivity to certain soy products. Skin testing to soy is often negative, but skin testing to soy protein isolate is positive. The reactions are milder than the peanut reactions ...
Now, I do know that the e-mail the other PA.com member was more specific in the actual soy products that appear to be causing difficulties. I'll find it and post it later.
Many thanks and best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
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[This message has been edited by Cindy Spowart Cook (edited April 27, 2003).]
![http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]](http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]){kind=link}
my son has developped the soy allergy, and then outgrew it. ??? The soy allergy was very light, a small 1 on the skin scratch test.
We were told to avoid all things soy in order to "stop" the allergy. It's a harder thing to do than to avoid peanuts. In fact, because my son had a vomiting experience with chickpeas, we have to avoid all legumes.
On the latest skin test, there was a slight reaction to soy, but our new allergist has dismissed it. To my untrained eye, it was the same size as before, so maybe different allergists will class it differently. who knows. I wish I could go back to the doctor we had
When Kevin was younger and still allergic to milk, soy was a HUGE part of his diet - soy milk, soy cheese, tofu, etc. When he was tested at around 4 or 5 years of age, he came up positive to soy. When I told his allergist that he ate soy all the time with no problem, he dismissed the test as a false positive, but suggested that I reduce the soy in his diet. We did, and he has never shown any symptoms of a soy allergy.
I don't know if this gave you any constructive info Cindy, but thought I'd share it anyway. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img]
Amy
It is odd that you should bring this up because it is exactly what we are dealing with right now.
Flash back...Our PA DD was orginally diagnosed at 18 months and came up allergic to PN, TN, soy, eggs, wheat and milk. She quickly outgrew the eggs, milk, and wheat by the age of 2. At that point the tests showed that she was mildly allergic to soy, so they told me so stay away from soy flour, and other soy products BUT that soy lecithin and soybean oil in products were OK because the proteins were no longer present. They told me that by the age of 3 she should outgrow it.
Flash forward...she is now 4 1/2... we just had her retested. She is now a Class 4 (she used to be a Class 2) for SOY!! Her numbers have tripled!!! Her allergist says that obviously she cannot even handle the soybean oil and soy lecithin that I have been exposing her to for the past 1 1/2 years (present in Goldfish crackers, graham crackers, cereal, bread, etc etc) The motherly-guilt is just killing me! The food I have been giving her is making her MORE ALLERGIC!!! We have had to RE-invent her daily diet. No longer can she have 70% of the foods we used to give her because of the soybean oil and soy lecithin. She is depressed...I am depressed...I am angry at the allergists and most of all angry at myself for giving her the things that said "soy" on it even though the Dr. told me it is ok.
Anyway...sorry to go on and on. I just needed to vent. I dread mealtime with her, because we have had such a good food routine even with all of her allergies and now it is like I am starting all over again.
Sometimes I feel like the soy allergy is actually HARDER to deal with on a daily basis than the PN and TN.
My PA son is 5 and has been allergic to both peanuts and soy since he was about 1. He had a very bad reaction to soy protein one time, but from the results of his allergy tests he seems to be growing out of it. He does eat foods with soybean oil, as the protein is supposed to be processed out, and he has never reacted in the slightest from the oil. (OT-- I would never give him anything with peanut oil.)
My daughter tested as potentially anaphylactic to soy as well as peanuts at 2 1/2. (As well as some nuts and eggs). As she would only eat a handful of things anyway, and soy is in so many things, we just stuck with a diet of simple foods. No store bought cookies or bread, few snack products.
I'm so glad we did. When we found to our great surprise our second daughter was also PA/TNA, we didn't have to make any adjustments.
Kay
At 12 months of age, my dd was diognosed with PA,TNA,Sesame and eggs. She also tested positive for certain beans, so I was told to stay away from things in the legume family.
She is now 5 and a half and has always eaten soybean oil, soy lecthin, soy flour. She has also has soy butter, all with no problems. About 4 months ago I bought soybutter for the first time in a very long time and she developed several hives around her mouth. Now feeling like a bad mom, I finally realize that soy is in fact a legume and so should she be avoiding it? I spoke with someone in the allergists office and they said to continue letting her have products with soybean oils etc, but not to give her a " straight" soy product like soy sauce, soy butter or tofu. ( she has already had soy sauce, no problems)
So, thatis what we have been doing. I always wonder if we are doing the right thing. It can be very difficult to know what to believe. I feel like 10 different experts will give me 10 different opinions. We have an appointment in four weeks. I want them to do a cap rast for all those thins. At three years of age she had one for peanuts and it was a 5. That is the only one she ever had.
She starts eating lunch in school in September and they serve only sesame bread. Of course, she will only eat what I pack her, but do I need to obcess over someone touching her who just ate a sandwich with sesame seeds on the bread? THere is always something to worry about?
Denise
I have an anaphylactic soy allergy and avoid *anything* that is derived from soy.
My PA arose after my soy allergy was diagnosed. I started eating a handful of peanuts every night for protein and sensitized myself. Ooops. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img]
Also, there was a study awhile back that showed that some soy allergic individuals do react to soy lecithin and that soy lecithin still contains allergenic substances.
ygg
[This message has been edited by krasota (edited April 27, 2003).]
Thank-you everyone for your responses. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] I do agree with dealing with a food allergy other than PA/TNA would be more difficult. Since Jesse is only PA (right now, touch wood), I find that pretty easy to deal with, even with our avoidance of tree nuts (for cross-contamination reasons).
I do believe other food allergies are a lot harder to deal with. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img]
Here is the part of the e-mail from Anaphylaxis Canada that the other PA.com member received that says more specifically what soy products are *supposed* to be okay and which ones aren't:-
There are peanut-allergic individuals who have gone on to develop a sensitivity to some soy products. Many can tolerate soy oil, but not other soy products such as soy protein isolate, soy (e.g. tofu, soy milk, etc.), hydrolyzed plant protein (from soy). It would be best for an allergist to diagnose the individual.
Personally, I still find this very confusing. I think probably that if Jesse did ever test positive to soy, I'd simply avoid all soy products, but then who knows until you're actually faced with the situation?
But again, I do find other food allergies, and this is coming from a Mom that isn't dealing with anything except PA, more difficult, especially if in combination with PA. I find peanuts and tree nuts pretty easy to avoid and don't miss them, but my soul, if your child is anaphylactic to milk, for example, you have to learn all of the different names that milk is called and deal with that. It must be very difficult and my heart goes out to anyone who is dealing with more than PA. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img]
Many thanks and best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
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After 5 years of being reaction-free, my 7 year old PA son may have recently had a reaction to a soy product.
I'm still not certain what caused the reaction but I will tell this story in case it helps someone else. I know that things I have read on this site helped me through it.
I'll start at the place where there possibly could be a connection to a cause.
It started when I took my children to look at a home that we were considering buying. The woman was burning a lot of incense, (I guess she read in a magazine that that was necessary to selling a house.) My son complained about the smell, and I usually take his complaints seriously as he seems to have that "allergic blood hound" sense of smell. We hurried through the house, but he didn't appear to have any visible reaction.
When we got home, I had them wash their hands then I decided to make banana muffins, which I have done many times before. The only different ingredient I used was Crisco shortening, (I usually use butter.) My kids insisted on licking the spoons and bowls which they always do. My son dribbled batter all over his shirt and went upstairs to change it. After putting the muffins in the oven I, for some reason I can't remember, went up to my bedroom. My son was curled on his side and laying on the bed without a shirt. I asked him what was wrong and he told me three things that made me know that he was having a reaction:
"I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"My throat hurts."
"Mommy I think I'm going to die."
I thought of using the epi-pen, then decided that he was alert enough to try benedryl first. (THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING I WOULD RECOMMEND TO OTHERS and IF I KNEW IT TO BE CAUSED BY PEANUT I WOULD ALWAYS USE THE EPI-PEN FIRST.) I watched him carefully and was fully prepared to use the epi-pen if I didn't see improvement in 1 minute. Almost immediately after taking the medication he said that his throat had stopped hurting. I continued to watch him closely and only saw signs of him continuing to return to normal. About 5 minutes after he had the benedryl, he just seemed to snap right back and exclaimed, "Those muffins smell good."
He never relapsed at all but had a normal evening which included eating many soy containing foods.
I can only guess that it was either the uncooked soy vegetable shortening, (he does eat cookies and crackers with vegetable shortening all the time), or it was a combination of things, the incense, the shortening, raw egg, raw banana, perhaps some mild seasonaly allergies that caused some sort of toxic allergen stew.
There were a few good things to come out of this experience:
-my son can better recognize when his body has a reaction and knows now not to go off by himself but to get help right away.
-I feel better able to recognize and handle a reaction should he have one again.
-I know for sure that there is no way you can be over-prepared as a reaction can happen when you least expect.
My daughter who is PA, egg and dairy allergic also used to have a soy allergy. It was only a mild allergy, in that she could tolerate small amounts but if she had too much she would over the course of a few days get more and more eczema. Our Doc said we could continue with giving her soy as her reaction was not likely to worsen and removing soy from her diet would be worse for her nutrition wise considering her other severe food allergies (she was and still is very thin and at that time getting sick very often because of low iron etc) . Anyhow, soy is in everything it is so hard to eliminate. Well, despite only avoiding large quantities and straight soy she has now completely outgrown this allergy and consumes soy all the time no problems. (Thank goodness!!) Go figure though, as this is not is what I would have expected considering we didnt practice total avoidance.
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