What on earth id ds allergic to now? At my wits end!

[cantsleep]

ds2 16 months has been on cows milk and egg free diet since weaning began ( and I was excluding them when bf him) due to allergies.

He has been doing well untill recently and we also exclude nuts and shellfish as other dcs have same allergies.

For the last 3 weeks ds2 has had a constant upset tummy with approx 2 really nasty nappies a day-sorry probably tmi but they are quite dark, very smelly (almost vinegary) not solid and huge amounts and he seems to be in discomfort. We have to bath him after each episode.
He also developed bad eczema at the same time on scalp, back of neck and all over tummy/chest.

The worst thing by far though is he will NOT sleep at all, he spens ALL night moaning, crying and turning over and over. I tried him in my bed with me and he does the same ALL night , we have a bed guard he turns over and over hits the guard and turns back moaning and upset all night.

The last few days he has had piriton at night which has slightly helped with eczema and a tiny bit with sleep but not much and Im exhausted and so is he.

his diet is usually as follows:

Breakfast: either a slice of toast and sunflower spread, sometimes marmite and some fruit (strawberries, blueberries, apple, banana) or a soya yog and fruit or baby porridge mixed with soya milk or coconut milk and a drink of water.

snack mid morn of either raisins, fruit or a plain biscuit

lunch is usually a little chicken sandwich, cucumber, little sausages or a jar of baby food if we are in a hurry ( he will only eat 'sweet squash and chicken or plum baby pea and parsnip).

another snack same as mid morn ones

dinner is whatever we have, beef/chicken casserole/ spagetti bolognese/ chicken, oven chips, peas and ketchup, pasta etc. soya yog for puccing and water to drink.

bf at bedtime.

This week I have in desperation cut out from his diet-all soya products, marmite, ketchup and i have stopped having the cups of tea I was having in mornings with milk in case it was affecting him at bedtime although he previously tolerated me having a couple of cups in morning as he is then fed next in the evening but have excluded it anyway.

I am not seeing much improvement yet, I had also cut out his well kid vitamin drops as they contained malt extract and as I started then a month ago which coincides nearly with problems starting I wasnt sure if it was them contributing to the problems.

After another sleepless night I am wondering should I cut out strawberries too? I was going to wait a week see if there was an improvement then reintroduce one at a time over a few weeks.

I am worried I am excluding too much I do not want to make him unwell. I sthere anything else I should do/exclude?

sorry, pudding not puccing!

My brother went through a phase of reacting badly to strawberries. I know a few people who have real problems digesting bananas, as well - iirc they contain latex, which is a known allergen.

Strawberries and bananas can both cause allergies. But is be reluctant to cut anything further from his diet without seeing a specialist. Have you had a referral for him to be allergy tested?

Why don't you get him tested? Ds has various allergies, not all food, he's allergic to parabens and nickel amongst others though yours does sound food related. Strawberries are a common allergen.
We had blood tests and dermal patch testing, you just have to ask for a referral.

we have seen a dietician but gp reluctant to refer for testing.We had similar issues with dd2 allergy tests after begging they did skin tests which were negative yet she continued to react and they refused blood tests.

In the end we paid privately and her allergies were confirmed. I will have to take him to see gp again I think and see if they will agree to a referral as he is really unhappy.

I agree with SleepyFish. If you've got to the stage where you're excluding a lot of foods and feeling very stressed, I think you need specialist guidance. And the eczema and uncomfortable tummy are keeping you and DS awake at night. I would ask GP about a referral to a paediatric allergy clinic, if you haven't done so already. Also, worth contacting the helplines of medical allergy charities - Allergy UK or The Anaphylaxis Campaign have helplines open MonFri 9-5 and will be able to advise about seeking referrals, location of nearest NHS allergy clinic etc.

The NICE guidance on food allergy in children is here

Insist on testing. But be wary of private testing -particularly if it's not an actual proper doctor. There are a lot of people who have a vested interest in "confirming" allergies.

If he's having toast then wheat/gluten stands out to me as the obvious next step.

I've had allergies and intolerances my whole life and gp/nhs never helped. Perhaps other people will say you need to push harder/demand more from your gp but I found that alternative therapy nutrionists were much more effective anyway.

Homeopaths often do this so a good place to start looking (incidentally I think homeopathy is mumbo jumbo butbtheir dietary advice/allergy testing is very good! ).

If it is gluten then you really really need to see a proper doctor. And quickly. And don't cut out the gluten first, or the tests will come back negative- he has to be tested while still eating gluten.

Please don't rely on alternative practitioners with a tiny baby like this- you need real advice, not fairy dust.

Id say wheat. Because your son sounds very similar to mine and I excluded wheat and it fixed his awful poos, waking and stomach ache.

At 16 months I would strip his diet right back for 2 weeks. Rice, chicken, broccoli and carrots and see what happens. Add items in one by one.

This wont make him ill. He IS ill, you plan is to make him better.

Presumably he still takes a fair amount of breastmilk/allergy formula?

Sorry, I didn't make it clear earlier, when we went private it was to a bmi hospital and we saw the same consultant who we would have seen at nhs hosp if they gp had agreed to refer us for dd2.

I am still bf ds 2 usually in the morning at about 5 am then in evening and at bedtime. Sometimes in the night if he's really upset as it settles him a bit. He was prescribed aptamil pepti but tbh I havnt tried it yet as he's been so unhappy I am leaving it till I know what's wrong.

you have no idea, and need testing. I would chip in with soya allergy as well.

so u need to push for more medical support.

Sorry, just got back to this thread. Honestly go in and demand a referral, your gp has no right to deny you one. Ds suffered needlessly with reflux as a baby until I grew a backbone and went in all guns blazing.
Good luck.

Yes to others who have said strongly to get him tested. my allergies were only diagnosed when I was nine, by such stage I'd had years of being ill, sore, eczema, ear infections etc. One set of tests, my parents knew what to restrict from my diet and I was like a new child. The change was striking.

You really have to insist. My mum gatecrashed an appointment with an allergy consultant to get me tested as the gp was useless. She still feels guilty about not doing so earlier.

Please put your foot down and insist on a referral rather than excluding further foods as so many could be allergens or not.

Keep a detailed food / poo diary for a couple of weeks. Paediatricians will normally expect GPs to already have requested this from patients. Book a gp appt, show the diary and request a referral to a paediatrician. If the gp suggests doing some blood tests instead of a referral, challenge this, as the allergy blood tests are notoriously unreliable. Do NOT start eliminating things from his diet, as he will need to be eating everything when it comes to any relevant tests & investigations. Good luck.

Soya!? Easier to exclude than gluten and very common with cmp allergy

I have made an appt for later in the week.

Ds seems slightly less fidgety today as has not had soya for a few days now but his nappies are still unpleasant but slightly better.

I'm trying to keep him full up with things like extra potatoes with his casserole, and he's been having rice cakes ratjer than biscuits for snacks. Eczema still awful though.