Is 8mo showing signs of gluten intolerance?

[gretagrape]

Hi. Our son was diagnosed with suspected CMPA at 8 weeks, and at six months he was given skin prick tests - egg and peanut came up positive and dairy and soya came up negative. Consultant thinks that the dairy allergy is a correct diagnosis, based on his early symptoms, but that it's a delayed onset allergy so we're avoiding dairy and soya throughout the weaning process.

We increased our son's meals from 2 to 3 per day 2 weeks ago, by introducing porridge oats. I didn't actually realise they contain gluten and we have been delaying introducing wheat products for the moment so have been using grains such as millet, quinoa and amaranth instead of pasta and cereals.

Since the first day that he had oats his daytime naps instantly reduced from an average of 2x 1-1.5 hours to 2x 30 mins (if we're lucky) and his mood has steadily worsened, with him becoming very grizzly all day. Also, the eczema on his face, which had cleared, is now worse than ever, even using a mild steroid cream. Not quite back to the bad old days before the CMPA diagnosis, but definitely moving in that direction re mood and skin.

I've cut out the oats since Thursday (as we couldn't think of anything else it could be) and today he had 2x 1.5 hour naps - for the first time.

Could we be looking at an issue with gluten? Should I get some advice from our consultant?

Hi gretagrape. Oats don't in fact contain gluten but they do contain a very similar protein and unless they are specifically gluten free oats they are often contaminated with gluten from other crops (eg wheat or barley) due to the growing and manufacturing processes. However, the amount of gluten in non-gluten-free oats is still very small so I would be very surprised for it to cause a reaction so quickly. Can I ask what porridge oats you used? I know that some say 'not suitable for milk allergy sufferers' or 'may contain milk' due to the manufacturing process so was just wondering if this could be the problem. The other possibility is that his system is simply having difficulty adjusting to the changes to his diet. Sometimes when introducing major new food groups the digestive system can take a while to get used to it, causing symptoms like bloating, indigestion and heartburn. Definitely worth keeping a food diary with notes of any symptoms to see if there's a link.

Thanks for the info - I haven't looked into gluten at all as I'm still working through all the literature I've got on his confirmed allergies.

Just had a look at the pack - they are Sainsbury Organic. On the allergy advice it says contains oat gluten, but no warnings about milk, not even a warning about traces of it, and normally they put that on ALL their packets!

We've kept a diary since he started on solids, and this is the only things that's caused problems (or has coincided with problems starting). Maybe I'll leave it a week and give oats again to see what happens.

The other possibility is a wheat allergy as oats can be contaminated with wheat. My DS is allergic to wheat as well as milk, eggs and nuts. Hopefully, this isn't the case though as again it would only be very small amounts of wheat in the oats. I hope you get to the bottom of it as I know how frustrating it is when you're trying to work out what's causing the problems.

I have a wheat intolerance and I also cannot tolerate oats either. I would be leaving it longer than a week before you try again..

We have a rather out there consultant in Switzerland who has a body of research supporting his advice to avoid all grains except rice, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat and a few obscure flours from root vegetables if you have other allergies. I would go slowly on grains (including corn, though I am not wholly convinced on the corn story but excluding for my highly allergic family) as the proteins are similar to each other. You can get rice, quinoa and amaranth pasta to vary textures. Lucy Burney (I used Optimal Nutrition for Babies and Toddlers only available second hand) has good information on alternative sources of nutrients, not all relevant to your allergy restrictions but still useful if not all up to date. We are not out of the woods yet, so it might not be the magic answer.

My Dd is just over 9 months and has reflux and various allergies. She had a really bad reaction to oats a couple of months ago. I have since read around weaning and allergies a lot as I haven't had much help from the health visitors, GP and consultant have been a bit better though but I have found this article really helpful as I have been torn between wanting to introduce a variety of foods but not wanting to make her uncomfortable.
allergy nutrition

So, I will try oats again very soon and will let you know how she gets on. I am hoping that she will grow out of these allergies soon as the consultant seems to think she will but I am just being patient with introducing new foods for now.

Thanks for all your input. I've spoken to our consultant and she has said it sounds like a delayed onset allergy but she can't be sure yet whether it's an allergy to oats themselves or a gluten intolerance, so she's advised to avoid gluten until he's 12 months then to introduce it again and see what happens.

MistyB - my friend is a nutritionist with a special interest in allergies (as she has loads herself) and she has said the same thing and that actually some experts in the field suggest gluten shouldn't be eaten until the age of 4 because of the likelihood of reactions in infants. I'll see if I can get hold of that book - sounds interesting.