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Allergies and intolerances

6 month old hives after porridge

15 replies

SpanielFace · 21/07/2016 21:33

DS2 is 6 months old, and we have been weaning for about a fortnight. We are doing a mixture of purées and finger foods, and started with fruit and veg. This week I tried him with baby porridge for breakfast - I bought a box of Heinz baby porridge, purely because it can be made up with water as it contains milk powder, and we are going camping next week, so I thought it would be easier than mixing with milk. The first three times he had it, be was fine. The 4th time he had it, he developed itchy hives all over his face, but I thought it was a reaction to the baby wipe. But the 5th time, he developed hives over his face, chest, back, arms and legs, he was very itchy and distressed. It happened almost instantly, and went away after about 30 mins, without any treatment.

I saw the GP the same day, and showed her the photos - we are being referred to the local allergy clinic. The porridge contained oats, milk powder and whey powder (from milk), and malt extract from barley.

The GP thinks oats would be the most likely problem, as although he is breastfed he has had formula on 3 occasions with no problem. She has suggested avoiding all cereals except rice, which I know he is ok with as he's had rice cakes, and being cautious over introducing dairy until I have been seen. Does that sound reasonable advice? Has anyone come across an oat allergy? Or is it possible he's developed a CMP allergy, despite being ok in the past?

Also, I think it will be several weeks before we are seen, and I'm keen to move forward with weaning beyond fruit and veg. he is so keen to try new things, he keeps trying to grab food off my plate - to be honest, he would have been great at BLW if we'd decided to go along that route! - but I'm scared to let him have anything in case of another reaction. Sad How would you move forward with weaning while waiting for the referral? Would you introduce eggs, meat, fish, pulses? Grains other than oats?

Thanks for any advice.

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lordsteatime · 21/07/2016 23:20

I think you can try new foods, would hesitate over eggs, personally, as that is a common allergen. I would go for meat, chicken for instance, and then move on.
What fruit and veg have you tried so far?

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SpanielFace · 21/07/2016 23:57

Thanks. He's had: sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, broccoli. spinach, peas, red pepper, Apple. pear, banana, melon, strawberries, raspberries, peach, and avocado. I think that's it! He's also had a few plain rice cakes, which he's mostly sucked. He's been ok with all of those. I have bought mango, plums, green beans and cauliflower to try next. But I'd like to try to increase the protein over the next few weeks. Maybe white fish or chicken, then? This is all new, my eldest has no allergies. Are they likely to allergy test him so young?

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Ottosaurus · 22/07/2016 00:01

The advice I had was go avoid the key allergens (gluten, soya, dairy, egg and nuts) until allergy testing was done (6mths old for us).... any weaning of non tested foods was to be done on three day cycles one new food at a time in order to check of other reactions. this allowed us to pinpoint every allergen easily

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SpanielFace · 22/07/2016 00:04

Thanks, that's really hekpful. The GP was a bit vague! I hope the referral doesn't take too long.

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Bagofmashings · 22/07/2016 00:08

Did he have the bottles of formula after having the reaction to porridge?
DS2 has multiple allergies. It's really hard to know what to do but you may be waiting some time for your appointment unfortunately. They will probably do a skin prick test and a blood test but they are often not very accurate if the baby has never eaten the food being tested for. we were recommended to introduce foods slowly, 1 at a time & a new food every 3 days and to keep a diary. The best way to introduce egg is by using the Egg Ladder (google it 😀)

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Kr1stina · 22/07/2016 00:16

I think 20 types of fruit and veg plus rice is plenty variety for a child who has only been eating solids for a few days !

And of course he will grab anything off your plate - if you put money in front of him he will grab that too but he's not ready to open his own bank account . He's grabbing things and putting them in his mouth because that's what babies do .

Also don't worry about protein , he's getting BM. He will be getting most of his nutrition from that for another 6 months at least .

I'd avoid common allergens such as egg, fish , tomatoes , strawberries, kiwi. Just stick to what you know is oK, safe fruit and veg and rice .

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Kr1stina · 22/07/2016 00:28

BTW some baby porridge ( like organix ) contain a lot of wheat flour

Oats are gluten free but are often contaminated in the factory. They contain a protein called avenin which a small proportion of coeliacs are intolerant of , I think it's 5%.

But most people who are gluten intolerant don't get hives - that's why it's hard to diagnose because there's no instant reaction, the problems happen hours and days later . Babies can become quite ill before anyone works out what it is .

So I can see why the doctor thought of CMP allergy

Disclaimer - I'm not a HCP, just a mum with intolerances and a family history of aetopic disease

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SpanielFace · 22/07/2016 00:39

bagofmashings no, he had it twice as a newborn (when we were in the crazy cluster feeding stage) and once at about 3 months. He's not had it since, purely because he won't take a bottle. I had planned on introducing the occasional bottle of formula from around 6 months, just so I can have a little more freedom, but also because I will be returning to work when he is 10 months and am not very good at expressing (I tend to only get 2-3oz per session) so he will need to be having formula by then, for daytime feeds at least. Could it take that long to become sensitive? Ie three bottles of formula plus three servings of the porridge?

kr1stina I've just been doing what I did with my eldest - making some purées out of whatever veg or fruit the rest of the family are eating, plus giving extra bits as finger foods, usually the same things as I've cooked for everyone else. I've not previously worried about how quickly I introduced new foods to either child, with the exception that I try not to give two new foods together at the same time. We eat a pretty varied diet as a family, especially at this time of year when there is so much nice fruit in the shops. I will be more careful now I know he has had a reaction, but as we have no family history of allergies I had no reason to expect a problem. Hence the list! He has had strawberries and raspberries with no problems, strawberries he's had on several occasions both in purées and as finger food, so I guess that is ok?

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Bagofmashings · 22/07/2016 00:42

It could be the dairy then.
If he had a few bottles, then reacted to the porridge the 3rd time I would say it could either be the oats or the milk...

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SpanielFace · 22/07/2016 00:43

Thanks, that makes sense. I've been obsessively reading packets tonight! I wondered about cross contamination in factories as well - is that an issue? I guess anything not home made is best avoided for now, just in case.

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Bagofmashings · 22/07/2016 00:50

There are lots of different views on cross contamination warnings. Personally, I usually don't worry about them much as I think it is a low risk. They are not a legal requirement and I don't think that a lot of manufacturers put them on for dairy/ oats. The only way to be sure a product is guaranteed completely allergen free is to email manufacturers regarding each individual product (bearing in mind manufacturing methods can change at any point without warning!)

I would recommend signing up to the Foid standards agency warnings & you get emails if a product has been wrongly labelled/ recalled

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Kr1stina · 22/07/2016 07:02

Oops I forgot tomatoes

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user1467273391 · 22/07/2016 08:20

I think it's more likely to be the milk. Our son is allergic to milk and eggs, he was bf but had a bottle on 2 occations before he was 3 and he did not have any reaction. I'd say he was about 4 months old when it all started (got eczema, refused to feed etc). When we came to weening he had a bad reaction when we gave him some cereal that contained formula in it.
Although it's possible to be allergic to oats, it is far more common for babies to be allergic to cows milk. I'd avoid cows milk until you see the dietician or allergy specialist.

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Bluebell18 · 16/11/2016 09:47

Did you find out if it was the Heinz?

I've bought that and tried it on my baby today and within half hour she developed rash over her mouth and hives on her hands and she keeps rubbing her eyes. I've made an appointment with the gp but it's not until next week.

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whatsinaname1 · 18/11/2016 16:11

I tried the Heinz Oat and Apple Porridge yesterday with my 7 month old and she kept rubbing her mouth and cheeks after trying it. Her lips swelled up and she vomited about 30 mins later.

Interesting that it's Heinz again.

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