Wheat, Milk and Egg Free Diets, Advice needed please......

[MetalMummy]

This may be a bit long so I'll apologise now.

DS1(4yrs)has pretty bad excema and has had since he was a baby. In February he had his tonsils out and for a week after the op he didn't eat anything at all. His excema totally cleared, within a couple of days of his eating again the excema came back with a vengeance. We took him to the doctors and he was sent for blood tests, the results are back and he is allergic to wheat, milk, eggs and very mildly allergic to peanuts. The doctor said we then had to eliminate each food from his diet one at a time to see which one is effecting his excema, so we eliminated eggs (in the blood tests this got the strongest result) but his excema didn't improve at all. We were going to start with wheat today but after doing a bit of research I've found that 2 of the proteins in eggs are also in wheat which means that if he is allergic to one of these proteins then it doesn't matter if we eliminate wheat because he will still be getting the protein from the eggs.
We have decided that the best thing to do is to eliminate all of them for a couple of weeks and then (if his excema does clear up) reintroduce them one by one.
I'm a bit stuck as to what to put in his luchbox though so any advice would be greatly apprecciated.

[lillochum]

Hi MetalMummy - good luck it is quite a tough business cutting out so much, and you soon find that wheat and milk products are in every processed food going. To properly test for wheat you need it 100% clear from the diet for AT LEAST 2 weeks, because it takes that long to clear from the body! However, as to ideas for lunchboxes - try rice cakes, flapjacks, (on the assumption that you are not talking gluten-free or dairy-free needs, as against wheat or milk), also dried fruit, chicken drumsticks, maybe a baked potato? If crisps are a bit of a no-no on general health grounds you could try making your own (thinly sliced potato cooked on a special gadget you can get for a microwave). I am more familiar with wheat-free needs so you would need to check labels re-milk especially, but rye bread may be OK as an alternative to rice cakes. A vegan cookbook might be useful! I kept my babes wheat and dairy-free under a year old, to fend off allergies. I seem to remember making quite a lot of lentil casserole! As a thickener for sauces, gravy etc McDougalls do granules based on potato starch which are useful, (I'm not certain about milk or egg there though). Best of luck!

[catesmum]

try Nairn's oat cakes. They come in different sizes and flavours but a lots are wheat dairy and egg free (they contain oats which isn't suitable for gluten-free, but okay for wheat free).
We've found that gltuen-free bread doesn't store very well for packed lunches - it needs to be eaten as soon as it's refreshed

[MetalMummy]

We haven't tried the gluten free breed yet, it looks awful and is so expensive. We have found some crispbreads that are wheat, milk and egg free and he really likes them so he's taking them for his lunch with dairy free spread and ham on them. Discovey do gluten free tortillas so if they are egg and milk free too I'll try him with them.
Does anybody know if his excema will get worse before it gets better? today it seems worse than a couple of days ago.

The one good thing to come out of this is that the whole family is no longer eating any processed food. Hopefully we'll all end up a lot healthier.

[BaffledByBabyTights]

I dno't have any exp of eczema, but my mum is coeliac so I know a bit about wheat free etc - does your ds like pasta? Gluten Free pasta is yum - we eat it a lot when mum comes to stay and I wondered if he would eat it in a pasta salad for lunch? Also, Gluten Free pastry mix is really nice if you wanted to go down the flan road (but I would make it in a food processor rather than by hand as life is too short!) HTH - good luck.

[Hilllary]

Orgran products

Take a look at this link, I use most of their products, can be found in sainsburys

[iris66]

metalmummy - watch the glutenfree breads - a surprising number contain egg. Spelt bread is a good alternative and Doves Farm make a lot of wheat/gluten free flours if you want to make your own bread.
DS is wheat/dairy/egg free and I use EnerG egg replacer (available from healthfood shops) for baking. Soya cheese is mostly grim but tofutti is a good cream cheese but do be aware that soya is a common allergen too (DS developed this one after I went too mad on the soya products - PITA) Good luck

[ShrinkingViolet]

Lakeland do a breadmix which is gluten free (and i think dairy free as well) - it looks and smells like glue while you're mixing it, but bakes up quite tastily, and lasts well.
Also tescos "Free From" stuff is not bad.
Not all the Nairns oatcakes range is g. and d. free - yellow packet is, but not red (I think) so check labels.

[MetalMummy]

Iris - when the doctor gave us the test results he started by telling us that ds wasn't allergic to soya or fish and then told us what he was allergic to. If he has too much soya could he become allergic to that too?

[iris66]

Metalmummy - I'm not that experienced in this so I really couldn't say. I gave soya to DS for 3 or 4 months before he showed any symptoms (hummous was a favourite too then he swelled up as he'd developed an allergy to sesame ).
It could be an age thing though. DS was under 12mths (so gut still developing)and the whole family is atopic so with hindsight (a wonderful science) I shouldn't have given him anything that is a common allergen.
There are lots of others around who have far more knowledge than I who may be able to help. Hope they come along soon for you

[MetalMummy]

Thanks for your help Iris. DS1 is (as far as we know) the only one in the family who is atopic. He has excema, Asthma and hayfever, is allergic to wheat, milk, eggs and peanuts and also has skin reactions (usually round his mouth and on his cheeks) to fresh tomatoes, strawberries and beetroot. He also catches anything that is going round and always has a stuffy nose.

DS2 also has excema but it is very mild and he hasn't shown any signs of having asthma or hayfever. DD never gets anything!!

[blueamema]

Try this website for some help/info...
have a look at feedmeallergyfree

Hope that helps
x

[MetalMummy]

We're now on Day 7 of DS2s wheat, milk and egg free diet and there has been a definite improvement in his excema
It's almost completely gone from his back, just the scabs and deep scratches left really. The backs of his legs have still got some really big scratches and scabs and quite a few scars but the dryness is gone.

We're going to carry on with this diet for at least another week and then it'll be time to start reintroducing foods. Do I start with milk because I don't think that's what sets his excema off because he was drinking milk after he had his tonsils out and the excema still cleared up, or do I start with wheat which I think is going to be the one?
knowing our luck it will be all 3 that sets it off!!

[MetalMummy]

Actually it's DS1 not DS2, my brain no longer works.

[CantSleepWontSleep]

I think I'd start with wheat if you think that's going to be the one. Then if it is you can exclude it again and once the eczema is better try dairy again (which is a very common aggravator of eczema).

Has he minded the change in his diet?

[MetalMummy]

He has been really good about it, especially because he's only 4 so doesn't really understand why he can't have things.
I think what has helped is there is a little boy at nursery who is severely allergic to eggs and DS knows that this boy can't have certain foods.His teacher has both of them sitting next to her at lunch time just to make sure that they don't get any other food from other children. He has always been really good at trying new foods which I think helps a lot, the only problems we have had are with milk. He is OK having soya milk on cereal but can't stand it as a drink and the kids have always had milk with their breakfast and before they go to bed. He likes it in tea though so that's what he's been having instead.
The difference in his excema afer just one week is amazing, He only woke up once last night. Last Sunday he was up at 12, 2, 3.30, 4.15, 5, and finally got up at 6.15 all because he was itching that much. His teacher said she noticed a difference in his behaviour today, I think it's because he's usually really tired because he's not sleeping properly and last night he had a good nights sleep.

[CantSleepWontSleep]

That's great that it's made such a difference to his (and your!) life. Have you tried offering him rice milk with added calcium instead of soya? He may like it more. Also, what brand of soya milk are you using? I find (dd is milk intolerant and breastfed, so we've both been dairy free for a long while) that the Alpro fresh stuff is ok, but I bought the So Good stuff once, and it was disgusting - won't ever buy it again. Was amazed that 2 brands of the same thing could taste so different.

[Heathcliffscathy]

avocado.

rice cakes

hummous

loads of fruit

carrot sticks

oat cakes

goat products (ds gets eczema with cows milk, not goats...waitrose do the lot, goats milk, yoghurt, cheese)

ham

[MetalMummy]

We tried Tesco Soya milk first and he hated it! We have Alpro Soya now but he won't try it on it's own because he thinks it will taste the same as the Tesco stuff.

I'm just glad that we haven't had to do this with DD, she is a fussy eater anyway.

[MetalMummy]

I am now tucking into one of DSs Granola Bars, they are Nature Valley Oats n Honey, YUM YUM. Don't tell him, he calls them is special biscuits

[MetalMummy]

DS excema has now completely gone and last night he slept right through for the first time in 4 yrs!

It will soon be time to reintroduce some of the foods which to be honest I'm not looking forward to because I know at least one of them is going to set his excema off.

[Daisybump]

Sorry to hear about your poor DS...I was diagnosed with coeliac disease only two years ago at the age of 36 and I've found it really hard, so heaven knows how a toddler is coping....Try the coeliac UK website for suppliers of freedom foods....there are a surprising amount out there. The breads are generally not great for sarnies but are OK toasted. I tend to eat now a lot of rice salads/pasta salads and baked potatoes for lunch...can you have a word with the school so that he can maybe re-heat something at school lunches. Do you know that he will also be entitled to get foods on prescription...Glutafin bread is supposed to be great (not tried it myself)

If you want to give the poor mite a treat though, as I'm sure he's been really brave through all of this, Swedish Glace ice-cream (from Sainsburys and Tesco) is dairy and egg free

If there are local support groups I would suggest joining one as they are great sources of help and advice. Your local branch of coeliac UK would be delighted to help, I'm sure.

Good Luck

[Daisybump]

PS...have they ruled out coeliac disease?....you mentioned wheat allergy..if wheat proteins are in his blood, he should be tested for coeliac disease as well...

[luckylady74]

terence stamp's bread[i got it from ocado/waitrose] is lovely and we found things like sunflower seeds good for lunch box

[MetalMummy]

We got him some of the swedish glace chocolate ice cream and I have to admit it is yummy!!
I didn't know he could get things on prescription, I feel like we've been thrown in at the deep end, the doctor basically said come back when you've figured out which one (or ones)are causing the problems.
We've had no advice at all and what I'm worried about is making sure he gets all the vitamins and minerals he needs.
Thank goodness for the internet!!!!

[Daisybump]

Were the bloods done by the doctor or at the hospital Metalmummy...sounds like he needs to be referred to the allergy clinic, if he hasn't already been there.

I love the swedish glace ice-cream...we have a friend who is allergic to all things bovine so always have a supply in the freezer.