atopy.

[misdee]

well, dd1 had her allergy clinic appointment today. she is an 'atopy child' (spelling??). apparently she has swollen bits up her nose and dark circles under her eyes which are signs of atopy in people. she also has asthma, ezcema, hayfever and comes up in 'nettle rash' very often. unfortunatly this means that most things she is allergic to, and skin prick tests will produce a reaction to most things they will test for, even tho she may actually be able to eat/drink things with no problem. so we have been given an anti-histimine to give her everyday and another appointment for 3months time to see how we are getting on. quite baffling to me, as i was expecting to pin down one or more of her 'triggers' with help, but have been told just to try this, if she reacts at all in the next 3months, make a note of what she has had to eat/been in contact with and try and pin it down that way.

was quite an informative appointment really.

Misdee, I'm not sure that I'm the same, but I get allergic reactions to, well, basically nothing. My reactions are very specific and come and go (for the last 2 years it was angioedema- my face would swell up to the size of a balloon and now it's some weird eczema thing on the palms of my hands -- it's called something, but I forget what).

BUT, the part that might help you, is that is always happens for me when I've a bit under the weather (not even sick, just a bit not healthy, iyswim) and stressed. There's nothing I can do to avoid either one, but it makes it easier for me to treat because I know what it is right away now.

I didn't figure this out until a year or two ago, so don't have much more info than that.

My eldest son also has allergic reactions to viruses (virii?) every so often. Not a lot I can do but treat the symptoms.

apparently one comman factor is food colourings. even tho she may not react to the colourings themselves (used a lot in orange squashes, the cheaper the squash the more colourings) they may make her more sensitive to other things bringin up the nettle rash.
she does come up at infrequent intervals in the 'nettle rash' which no known trigger, so it is odd, but at least i kinda know what it is now.

misdee, my daughter was an 'atopic child' (as it was called in 1988) from the age of 2. She then developed a nut allergy at 11. She is also allergic to the sun, comes out in an itchy rash.

She has permanent black rings under her eyes, and they get blacker when she is unwell.

Her hayfever starts in May with the larch, eases off and comes back with avengeance in October with the fungal spores.

You have my sympathy, DD rattles with pills, potions, inhalers and epipens!

misdee, my daughter was an 'atopic child' (as it was called in 1988) from the age of 2. She then developed a nut allergy at 11. She is also allergic to the sun, comes out in an itchy rash.

She has permanent black rings under her eyes, and they get blacker when she is unwell.

Her hayfever starts in May with the larch, eases off and comes back with avengeance in October with the fungal spores.

You have my sympathy, DD rattles with pills, potions, inhalers and epipens!

wow, that sounds like me jj. And if it gives you any hope misdee, when I was a child (i am 40 now) I broke out in a rash with every cold and seemed to have weird allergic reactions (hives, swollen hands and feet, asthma attacks etc.) to all sorts of unidentified triggers. In those days they didn't have names for it and didn't really do much except hand out anithistimines. I did eventually grow out of the worst of it by the time I was 11 or 12 and haven't had a reoccurance of anything except the occasional asthma attack (triggered by sulfites, cigarettes and perfume) until post pregnancy I started getting the hive rashes (face, groin, buttock, hands, elbows, backs of knees) whenever I am overworked and stressed. Good excuse fo a holiday really.

Hi misdee, DS had swollen bits up nose too when we had our clinic appointment last week. We've been given nasal spray and antihistamine for every night to try and reduce swelling. Ds too is pale and has small crease and rings around eyes but his are pink/red not black! They seem to get redder when he is under the weather or is having a reaction to something. This allergy business is all very strange isnt it! At least it's comforting to know there are others going through similar experiences and we're not alone! There's a great organic squash by 'Rocks' in a glass bottle that has no nasties in it that might be worth a try, you can get it in Waitrose and Sainsbury's!

consultant said there was no point doing elimination diet, as it would hardly prove a thing, the same reason he wont do allergy tests either. but dd1 does drink a lot of squash so was thinking of changing that as soon as he mentioned (and we dont have the cheap stuff, she likes robinsons heh). the bits around her eyes go between pink-black, atm they are more black as she has been ill the last week. her dad also has these 'atopic shiners' so can i load all the blame on him

A double crease under the eye is also a sign, as well as the classic "allergic shiners" Looking back at photos of ds as a newborn baby it's now screamingly obvious to us. At the time we just didn't notice.

dd1 has had ezcema pretty much since birth, she peeled head to toe b4 the patches started up on her face. she has the classic 'atopic shiners' is a very pale child as well. dd2 also peeled and has had the odd patch of ezcema, has had breathing problems when very small (bought on by brochalitis excuse the spelling) and is sometimes chesty/wheezey. so maybe should get her checked too. she also has slight black eyes, nothing like her sisters tho.

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this is fascinating my son has the classic look of atopy and always gets rashes etc at the slightest thing.We took him to ent aged 4 and age 6 and they said his nose was stuffy but not enough to treat it.He often gets rashes in the sun and we have been nagging him for years to go to bed early as he has dark circles which are really bad if he is ill or takes any form of medication.He is happy though and says he fells fine.Any vitamins or alternative treatments?

anyone who's interested, I believe that the Pollen Research Unit will write to eg exam boards if a child has an allergy to a particular pollen ie they can show that performance would be affected (not sure if they charge for this)

Took dd (15 weeks) to the doctors this morning as she is making a very loud snuffly grunting noise at the back of her nose with no other cold symptoms (and also failing to put on weight for the last month).
Doctor said she thinks dd is 'atopic' and on looking at her after reading this thread she does have dark patches under eyes and is pale.
At the moment she is breastfed and has had no rashes/excema etc....now researching about what's best for her.
Anyone know if cat hair can cause problems?

cats are a comman 'trigger' for atopic children i'm afraid bluebear. even if u get rid of your cat (assuming u have one after asking) it can take 6months to make your place 'dander' free. its not really the fur that causes most problems but the skin after the cat has cleaned itself and flaked off. i got rid of my cat when dd1 was around 9months old as we had tried everything else and her ezcema was awful, it didnt make a huge difference to her then, but now if she is near a cat she wheezes.

We have three burmese cats and DD couldn't bear to be without them. We do try to keep them out of her room, that's the best we do. She does also have a Hepa air purifier and cleaner in her room, bare boards and no curtains!

You can become immune to them, and lose the immunity very quickly, DD was away all this summer in France, butwwhen she came back, she was wheezing and sneezing away for a couple of days and then it all settles down again.

the only rooms with curtains are my living room and my bedroom. the poor kids get blinds. the whole place will eventaully be laminated flooring, atm its just the girls rooms which are finished.
my dream is to be able to afford a lovely leather sofa. its for my dd benefit honest!!!

Apparently 3 cats are better than one cat for allergies - but I have no idea why.

i just couldnt bring myself to risk getting a cat after dd1 had an asthma attack at my sisters a few months ago. we did get a kitten last year but after a week it was affecting BOTH my dd's so it had to go.

We've got two cats - they are ds's true loves and fantastic with children.... but since dd must be reacting to something in the house I am worried it's either them or dust (arghh! You mean I have to clean rather than mumsnet?)
Spoke to dh last night and suggested cats went on holiday to his parents for a while...they normally have 3 or 4 cats but are down to 1 at the moment. Dh wants to think about it.. he doesn't seem as worried about dd as I am... seems to think that she'll just have a blocked/sniffy nose all the time (like he has).
We have already planned to have wood floors in living rooms but haven't started on them yet.. and have just finished children's bedroom with new carpet and curtains Well, I better get cleaning!

I have never heard of this (have heard of atopic eczema, is that the same?) I was terribly allergic growing up but am much better now after chinese herbal medicine. I do still get occasional weird things eg if I go to Ikea my lips swell up till I look like leslie Ash after her fish face episode

Dd has a bit of eczema, must look at her eyes to see if she has rings under them or creases

i looked at dd baby photos today and even then i could see the creases and circles.
we are also have fun each monring getting her to take the anti histimine. grr silly thing is she will take piriton tho i think it taste nasty as anything.