The new mums and allergies support club, please sign up :-)

[Chandra]

During the past three years Mumsneters's knowledge and experience has been a priceless source of advice that has helped me to cope with DS's allergies. While trying to help DS, I have also accumulated some knowledge that I believe some Mumsneters may benefit off.

However, as it seems that allergic crisis hit us all at different times, sometimes it's very difficult to remember whose child had that specific allergy or the details about it. So...

I thought of initiating a list that we all could check to find posible sources of advice, would you like to offer your specific knowledge here? if you do, please add your name and list of allergies you/your family have below


Ok, I go first:

Chandra: DS's allergies include eczema, asthma, nuts, fish, soya, milk, egg and a good number of food intolerances. DS has had ELISA and RAST tests (just in case somebody wants to hear an opinion about them). Oh, and I have recently developed an allergy to calamari/squid (not that I know many people in this country that would dare to eat them ).

[kcemum]

kcemum: I suffer from excema and hayfever. Dd3 has a cat allergy, an "environmental"(according to gp)allergy, allergy to suncreams and also excema. She has not yet been referred for allergy testing and takes a daily dose of Clarityn. My two older daughters are allergy free.

[Chandra]

Forgot to add... allergy to dogs, dust and mites

[yowlingmonster]

Hi, ds is almost 13mths. He has a dairy allergy and we are going through the process of a gluten elimination as although all his markers have come back negative he has been losing weight and has had constipation and now diarhoea. He has excema which is very mild now compared to what it was, asthma and as above food intolerances. He has had skin prick tests, blood tests, urine tests and stool tests. Awaiting news to see if he needs to go for biopsy for gluten.

[meggymoo]

Message withdrawn

[BlondeinLondon]

Hi all

BlondeinLondon: DS (7mths) - eczema, DH - eczema, asthma, nut allergy

[bobbybob]

Bob is 2.5 and allergic to nuts, eggs and latex. The latex allergy means he can't have bananas, avocado or kiwifruit. He is also very allergic to preservatives and food colourings, even "natural" ones. He has environmental allergies to rye and dust mite.

He has eczema though nowhere near as bad as it used to be, but no sign of asthma thank goodness.

He has had skin prick tests and a RAST test for latex.

my specialist subjects are probiotics, cooking without egg, flax seed oil, cetirizine (Zyrtec) in the under 2s, the precise method of bathing and creaming wriggly toddlers with itchy skin, taking on nurseries who want to serve peanut products, handling the media attention which follows a child with an unusual allergy, and extended breastfeeding.

[tatt]

I'm not a new mum but I'll join in anyway. Main problem is nut. One has anaphylactic reaction to peanut and tree nuts, one is just intolerant. Also lactose intolerance, kiwi intolerance and allergy to raw but not cooked tomato. Suspect nut allergic child may also have a problem with soya but have not had her tested. We all seem to be getting hay fever type symptoms - maybe dust mite problems because I spend too long making different meals to dust (my excuse anyway ). However those who have had tests (we haven't all, just found the intolerances by exclusion and retry) don't test positive for dust mite. Had some problems with eczema in the past but mostly OK now.

[onlypumpking]

i am not a new mum either, but have a few allergies, to, fur, protiens in freshly cut hair, latex,balloons kiwi, nickel, plaster, shake and vac, windowlene, and loads of other cleaning stuff, milk was the worst thing but i can tolerate some milk just not extreme temperatures of milk,i also have asthma, my son has asthma and i think is affected by milk cos he gets swollen red ears if he has much milk.

[Chandra]

Ooops, the thread was meant to be named the new "mums and allergies support club". You are more than welcome to join, actually we NEED you, you are the ones that can provide advice about how these things evolve and I'm sure you have seen a lot!

[tatt]

not to worry, chandra, parents of kids with allergies soon learn to be pushy or as I prefer to call it quietly persistant.

[mymama]

DS's 2 allergies include fish, egg and nuts. Was allergic to wheat and dairy but is now slightly intolerant. He has very mild eczema when eats too much wheat or dairy. He has had skin prick testing and is due again November.

[mygirllolipop]

Message withdrawn

[Laura032004]

DS has an intolerance to gluten & dairy products.

Now waiting for hospital appointment for tests, as currently diagnosed by exclusion. He gets excema (mildly) when he has dairy products, but is clear within about three weeks of stopping them.

Suspect something else is bothering him as he has had constant diahorrea for about 6 wks.

Love the 'quietly persistant' tatt!

[Judessis]

Hi there - DS age 15 months has had ezcema from 3 months - sadly latching on probs prevented breastfeeding, but swapped him to goats milk and goats milk formula at 7 months- ezcema MUCH better! Was wheat intolerant and sometimes is fnnny with eggs if scrambled/omeletter (vomiting) but now seems OK onwheat and is fine on things with egg in them - waiting for coeliac tests, and have been promised patch testing for nuts. However, now have a twice daily fight to get the cream on him - bath every night is OK (except for enviro-nutters going on about the water shortages) but keeping still long enough for the cream is interesting. Any tips from you lot out there? Nursery was absolutely fine with all of this - no nut policy anyway and happy to cream him when his ezcema flared up a while ago, have a pot of aqueous for soap after "art" sessions as well!

[Girly]

HI can I join?

dd2 (7months) is allergic to egg and wheat, comes out in hives and vomits, she has had skin prick testing and will be seeing a dietician soon.

ds has quite bad excema and i suspect it is made worse by dairy, he is also mildly asthmatic which was worse in the summer, pollen related, i think.

Is is worth looking at reducing his dairy intake to see if it makes a difference? I say this because dd2's excema vanished when i stopped breast feeding her at 6 months and it was quite severe.

[Podmog]

Message withdrawn

[Judessis]

Hi girly

I'd try reducing/excluding dairy for a few weeks and see what happens (substitute goats milk/formula) - goats milk formula can be bought from health food shops, or if ds eats a good balanced diet then you could just put him on goats milk and drop the formula (yes I know he's 7 months - did this with my ds at 7 months and he has gone from 50th -65th centile and virtually clear of eczema!!) - watch out for crawling - eczema will probably flare up once he's on the move - good luck!

[Girly]

Judessis, ds is 3 and has always had excema, since aprox 2 weeks old which coincided with dropping b/f and going onto formula, he now loves cows milk, cheese etc which makes me reluctant to stop as will need alternatives for this. Not sure if I need to get him tested too?

dd2 is 7 months and is the opposite her excema cleared up totally when i stopped b/f and put her on formula last month, Consultaant said it was prob due to the wheat and egg crossing over from my breastmilk

[jenk1]

hi-i have allergies to certain anasthetics and egg,
DS has asthma and eczema
DD has asthama and eczema, GDD, allergic to dairy and egg-anaphylaxis,wheat,citrus fruit and tomatoes and soya although on dieticians advice i am slowly introducing soya products