Wheat allergy or just Weetabix?

[ariadnestar]

DD is 6mo and has been pretty much EBF (with a couple of bottles of formula along the way). We're doing a mixture of BLW and some spoon feeding and she seems to be enjoying food very much indeed. I'm a bit concerned about some reactions she's had though and would love to hear some advice from people who've been through similar.

I'm sure she doesn't have a cow's milk allergy, as she has yoghurt every night. She does have itchy skin on her face, neck and body, but the GP doesn't seem worried and it was like that long before we started weaning.

She had a bit of Yorkshire pudding two weeks ago with no reaction, but a few days later she had French toast (with white bread) and a few hours later we noticed she was covered in a raised red rash - face, body and limbs. We called NHS 24 who thought it might be an egg allergy and advised us to keep a close eye on her if we tried egg again. I remembered later about the Yorkshire pudding, but I then read on here that sometimes you don't get a reaction the first time you try an allergen, so the egg theory was plausible. However, we gave her some meatloaf with egg as a binder the next week and everything seemed fine.

Last Sunday, I decided to try her on some Weetabix for breakfast, made up with formula. Immediately after, her face and neck were bright red and hot where it had touched her. She seemed ok afterwards, if a bit grumpy. Two hours later though, she was violently sick, five or six times in ten minutes, still trying to be sick when there was nothing left. Afterwards she was fine again - she just had BM the rest of the day, and was back on her usual solids on Monday with no ill effects.

I asked the HV at my BF group on Monday about it, and she thought it sounded like her body couldn't cope with the fibre in the Weetabix, and that I should try her on more refined wheat, and try Weetabix again in a few months. DD had a mouthful or two of meatloaf last night (with breadcrumbs in) and again seemed ok.

I suppose I'm just looking to see if anyone's had a similar experience with initial reactions to foods that then go away, or if anyone thinks this might be a bit more serious (especially when taken into consideration with her itchy skin - we have an anti-fungal hydrocortisone for that BTW which does help, as does aqueous calamine). I do think this HV knows what she's talking about, and she's very experienced and pro BLW and BF, but every baby's different, and the reaction where it touched her skin did worry me.

Sorry for the huge post!

ok. its possible your child is allergic, btw ezcema at a very young age, esp if in the first 3 months of life, is one pointer to being food allergic.

if formula is not the problem, ige reactions to wheat could very well be the problem.
because you cant tell without some testing, and that is not age dependant, you can ask to be reffered to a immunologist to help you. r u near to london?

According to Anaphylaxis UK, true wheat allergies are very very rare. However, there are some unlucky babies out there who really are allergic to it, including my DS. His symptoms were odd. For about three weeks he didn't show any reaction to wheatgerm, bread or weetabix. Then over a few days he got very dark circles under his eyes, became quieter and more grumpy, then got a rash after eating weetabix, then finally had one episode after wheat porridge where he vomited violently, got a rash and a cough and started wheezing. On being tested a few months later, he turned out to be allergic to wheat (and very high on the scale).

Vomiting 5 or 6 times in 10 minutes seems like an allergic reaction to me, especially with rash involved. So I agree with eragon that a referral may well be a good idea. It seems to me that wheat allergies are always accompanied by other allergies, e.g. egg (which might explain the reaction to French bread, where the egg is perhaps not that well cooked?).

DS also had Daktacort for a facial rash that went on for weeks. It gradually went away, and I have no idea whether it was related to his allergies or not.

Thanks so much for your responses. I'm very wary of over-reacting, but as you both say, there are definitely signs there. I don't know what the provision for testing is like here (I'm in Glasgow) but I'll take her along to the doctor tomorrow and see what's what.

Thanks again for the responses.