Help please I am new to this. I am scared to give dd food.

[mummytopebs]

DD 18 month has been having spots coming and going on her face for a few weeks. Last week she had a reaction to something her face swelled she got red blotches all round her mouth, across her nose and over her cheeks, go said it was an allergy to something. Since then she has had ezcema all round her mouth and round her eyes. Last night her face swelled again it was scary and she was coughing and rasping.

I am now afraid to give her food as we dont know what is causing it. She has had some kind of reaction to egg before but only when it touched her skin not when eaten, she came out in hives. She has also come out in a rash and swelled round the eyes from mushroom before. But this swelling of the face has scared me. Any advice please, I am new to this.

[shouldbeelswhere]

Totally sympathise, can be very scary - that feeling does get better. I found it helpful to keep a food diary at first, it helped me see patterns and I took it to the allergy clinician. I also kept food really simple, back to basics so you can try to isolate ingredients and therefore allergens. Have you got a referral to an allergy clinic? Hopefully someone like babybarrister and others will be along here to help - great help on stuff like this, much more experience than me...

[mummytopebs]

Yes the gp is referring to the allergy clinic but dont know how long it will take :(

[eragon]

It will take about 8-10 weeks for first appointment, possiby earlier, you could ask your GP to push this for you.

just feed your child the foods that you know dont cause problems , it wont hurt in the short term.

i would just cook the food yourself from scratch, and avoid any foods with a long ingrediant list.
when you get yr appointment date we can help give you some idea of what t expect at the clinic.

[youarekidding]

This is how my DS started to react, which led to swelling and rasping.

His is not food except ketchup that we know of. Apparently acidic foods are high in histamine.

I would get GP to do quick referral, I know mine took 8 weeks, and that was over xmas after DS bad reaction so hopefully you should get one quicker.

The only advice I would give is to avoid foods which are highly allergenic (eggs, nuts, celery etc) and stick with meat, spuds and veg. If she has another reaction I second the advice to record whats she's eaten.

Also keep puriton or similar with you all the time - I and many others here have been told it's OK to double the dose if the reaction is severe.

And stick here, theres lots of us and we support each other, understand each other, rant when we need to but most of all it has been a great support for me.

[mummytopebs]

Youarekidding that is interesting because last night she had pasta with a stir in sauce and when i think about it when she got the red blotches last week she had also had ketchup. I am going to go back to tthe gp tomorrow as i took some photos of her last night when she was rasping as her face is really swollen so hopefully they might make it a bit quicker. I showed the gp a picture I took last week and she said for me to carry piriton with me at all times.

[shouldbeelswhere]

It sounds like your GP is fairly on the ball re the advise with the piriton. We were treating my DD for eczema all round the mouth and chin before anyone seemed to think of an allergy! - I'm not even sure it looked particularly like eczema more like a really nasty excoriation, which started at weaning, easy to be wise after though :) Let us know how you get on with the GP etc, echo what youarekidding and eragon said re the great support on here.

[harverina]

When my dd first took a reaction at 6 months old I felt the same, its really scary. My dd was seen by the allergy consultants very fast...within two weeks of her having a reaction. The clinic waiting times were 6-8 weeks but the consultant saw us out with the clinic because of my dd's age.

My dd is allergic to milk and eggs. We found this out when we gave her yogurt when she was 6 months old and had just started weaning. We actually dialed 999 and I think that the fact that we were seen at the hospital fast tracked her with the clinic. I think if your dd was rasping you should seek emergency medical help if this happens again. Did your Gp give you piriton?

Agree with others...keep a food diary and record any reactions. Stick with home made foods and foods that you have tried before and know are safe. We didn't avoid obvious allergens but we did, and still do, carry piriton at all times. Avoid anything that you know has caused a reaction before.

[harverina]

Sorry just noticed you had said about the piriton already!

[mummytopebs]

Harverina I was very close to dialling 999 last night, I actually had the phone in my hand but then I think the piriton must have kicked in as she stopped coughing and fell asleep and then the breathing calmed down.

That is exactly where the ezcema is on dd all round her mouth and on her chin. The dd did originally think impetigo but when she blotched up last week she immediatly said allergy probably because of her history. I am going to go to the gp tomorrow and show the pic i took last night as I have been looking at it and it really is quite scary you cant even see her chin she is that swollen.

[harverina]

My dds eczema is all round her mouth and chin too. Steroid cream and lots of moisturiser help but she still scratches even if it looks clear. Was there egg in the pasta last night?

Hope you get on ok at Gp tomorrow.

[eragon]

I think you should go to the hosptial next time you see this, just to make sure the airways in her chest are clear. If your gut instinct was to pick up the phone, go with it. The doctors at hospital wont mind , but you will have greater peace of mind to make sure the reaction has completly passed.

[mummytopebs]

I really wish I had now. I phoned the gp this morning and she said I should of took her to a and e as that may have speeded up the referral. I am just going to keep her away from tomato type products for the time being and hopefully will not see the swelling she had the other night.

[youarekidding]

DS was tested for tomato allergy which came back negative and apparently tomato itself is a rare allergy. His is obviously something in the tomato sauces, he is fine though with normal plain tomato based products (puree, plum toms etc).

Hope you get it sorted soon.

[mummytopebs]

She has never had a problem with cherry tomatoes so I was wondering if it might be the olive oil in the sauce

[youarekidding]

DS consultan thas said it may be a combo of ingredients. MNers have suggested celery as in heinz ketchup but he doesn't eat it and its in other sauces so for him I don't think it's that. Maybe worth while you considering celery though atm.

[Whelk]

You poor thing. That sounds very tough.
Have you had a referral through the Choose and Book system. You can choose to go wherever is quicker. Once you are under a specialist and have had some testing you will feel more in control of things.
My dd suddenly started reacting to tomatoes having been fine with them. If I were you I'd keep her on bland non-acidic foods if possible until you have seen someone.
I would echo waht others have said about any future allergic reactions. I really would not hesitate in taking her straight into A and E.

[greenbananas]

mummytopebs, how scary for you. It is so hard when you're not sure what is causing the reaction. I'm really glad you've got good advice on this thread (particularly about taling your DD to A&E if you are at all concerned).

I remember how terrifying it was when I first became aware that my DS had allergies. I didn't want to give him any new foods, ever! and I felt very alone because I didn't get much support from family or health professionals. Over the last couple of years, I have found better support and got used to the situation so now I have calmed down a bit - these mumsnet allergy boards have helped me lots! There is plenty of useful information here, and it's good to know that other mums are coping with similar situations.

Have you thought of keeping a food diary? It's quite a lot of hassle but well worth the bother if it helps you to trace back the cause of any reaction that your DD has.

Good luck with all this.

[ChocaMum]

You poor thing, I know just how you feel. We are on a roller coaster with all the allergies and it's terrifying.

If you ever get concerned about the breathing then definitely call for an ambulance. Always keep orison on you includingbin your dd's changing bag for when you're out and about. And a syringe so you can judtvsquirt it in when in a panic.

Tomatoes commonly cause reactions just through the contact on their lips and face. If there was coughing and breathing symptoms then it may be something else in it.

I definitely agree that a food diary really helps, and sticking to what you know she's ok with. Try to do batch cooking so she's getting as much home cooked food where you don't have to worry about cross contamination, because that's quite tricky to pin point the allergen. Once you know what it is things will get a lot easier. Good luck!

[mummytopebs]

Been to see DD consultant today regarding a different health problem and he is speaking to the allergy clinic to hurry the referral and is ringing my gp for an epipen to be prescribed.

[ChocaMum]

That's great news. I hope you're feeling a lot better now too. :)