New to this malarkey, advice please!

[mrsXsweet]

hi, we've been to the paediatrician today. Dd (16 months) has been dairy free since january, this has stopped her vomiting and improved her nappies but had no impact on her eczema, wind, weepy eyes, or runny nose and cough. She is going to have some skin prick tests next week and had some bloods taken today but the paediatrician would like her to go wheat free (or was it gluten free? I need to ask) for a month to see if this has any impact. Any ideas as to what I can/can't feed her? Apart from the obvious!!

Hello! You will need to check whether it was wheat free or gluten free as this makes quite big difference. The good news is there are lots of free from products you can buy in the supermarkets to cater for dairy and wheat or gluten free. If it's wheat free then for breakfast you could try Tesco or Morrisons own brand instant hot oat cereal with usual milk substitute, if it's gluten free you could try Whole Earth gluten-free corn flakes or other gluten-free children's cereal. Dietary Specials do a wheat, gluten and dairy free bread that you can buy in supermarkets, it's ok for toast but not sandwiches so I'd recommend the Dietary Specials ciabatta rolls, they are more like 'real' bread and can be filled with Pure/Vitalite spread and fillings like ham (check labels), tuna & dairy free mayo, chicken etc. Alpro soya smooth yoghurts, wheat-free pasta and homemade tomato sauce (or Heinz baby cook at home pouches), Bisto Best chicken gravy powder, Organix crisps (carrot, tomato or sweetcorn flavours), Organix rice cakes (apple & cinnamon or raspberry & blueberry), Tesco or Asda free from choc chip cookies (nice treat!), quick fix: Heinz age 1-3 tray meals sweet & sour chicken, sunday chicken dinner, apple & pork casserole, or sweet potato & beef hotpot. Hope this helps and if I think of any more, I'll let you know.

Thank u, that is really helpful.

freefrommum that is a fabulous starter list. Have known ds is allergic to dairy since 3 mos, need to avoid egg and have found out this week he also reacts to wheat. I was just getting used to dairy free and now this. This really helps thank. Just wish the testing appt would come through quickly so that we can definately rule things in and out.

mrsXsweet sorry for the hi-jack but I was about to do the exact same post.

Glad I could help. mum2twoloudbabies my DS is also allergic to milk, wheat and egg like yours. It's tough but it will get easier and you'll find alternatives to most things. Parties and eating out are the hardest but you just get used to be well-prepared and always taking food with you. Let me know if you need any more help/ideas and good luck with the appointment.

freefrommum this may seem like a stupid question but I'm struggling to figure out what has wheat in it and what doesn't do you know of any resources that provide a list of the common products that contain wheat and the different names that are used in the ingredients lists?

Not a stupid question at all! Under EU regulations, all cereals must be declared in the ingredients so if it contains wheat it must state this in the ingredients (but don't rely on 'allergy info' boxes as these are not required by law). Gluten is more awkward as it is not just in wheat but also barley and rye plus gluten itself doesn't have to be listed as an ingredient so wheat is in fact easier to identify. One particular ingredient to watch out for is soy sauce as this contains wheat and is found in lots of cooking sauces etc but again, it should declare in the ingredients that is contains wheat. Hope this helps.