Tomatoes...

[PregnantGrrrl]

DS seems to be reacting to tomatoes- when he eats fresh tomatoes his face becomes blotchy and red, and this lasts for a few hours afterwards. It seems to be restricted to where they have actually touched his face.

he doesn't seem to have reacted when they are cooked though- say in a bolognaise. Is this possible?

My DD had a nasty reaction to tomatoes once. It was a hot day, she was just wearing a nappy, chewing on a tomato and the juice was going down her front. She went really mad, started scratching at her chest and it was very red and sore-looking. I immediately put her in the bath for a rinse and it settled quite quickly.

She didn't have them for a while afterwards, but she had them again and was fine. She had a similar reaction to apricots last week (dried ones, with added citric acid I noticed), having had probably hundreds of the things previously with no problem.

So I'm thinking it's a reaction to the acid, rather than an allergy in this case.

that sounds possible- he doesn't have citrus fruits because he gets terrible stomach pains and a sore bottom, and i think that's because it's too acidic.

shame, he loves tomatoes.

he's 16mths.

we've already cut out cows milk and products because he wasn't sleeping, raw itchy nappy area, clutching tummy and crying. Lots of improvement since then, (been about a month) but he's started scratching his nappy area again, although it's nowhere near as bad as it was.

now tomatoes seem a problem too.

we waiting to see hospital about it, so i can get him tested properly, but god knows how long it'll take.

This comes up regularly and common with toddlers, it is not necessary an allergy. It is the acid of the tomato reacting with saliva.

yes, i'd have thought cooked ones would still cause a reaction if it was an allergy, but it only seems to be fresh. he is teething at the moment too, so drooling alot. Too much spit and acid perhaps?

acid food really is a problem for the sensitive, cooked tomatos with a bit of sugar solve the problem.
But if tummy sensitive i would avoid for a while. my son often would hive up, and go red and itchy to acid foods.
However although he has many food allergies , tomatos are not one of them.
His skin and system WAS too sensitive to cope with them until he was 2-3 yrs old.
Highly salty foods, such as mature cheese would result in the same reaction. But cooked in a cheese sauce would not react.

A sensitive system is not proof of allergy, is just a question of time as body matures.

good luck

My DS has the same reaction to fresh tomatoes (especially cherry tomatoes) but has no reaction to tinned tomatoes. He also has the same reaction to strawberries and beetroot.

At about 15mths old we started to have problems with the nappy area, his poor bottom was red raw. I had just had DS2 so decided to try them both with reusable nappies, partly to see if it would improve DS1 skin but also to try and save some money. It worked, his nappy area was clear of excema when using reusables and it came back within 2days if using disposables.
Maybe trying reusables would improve your DSs nappy area (and save you a fortune in nappies).

dd has this (always has done) but she continues to grow and eat loooaaaddds of them with no complaints.

You could try taking out the inner bit, and just giving him the flesh bit so less likely to drip down his chin...I can never catch dd fast enough - once she didnt even take it off the plant first

The bleach in disposibles makes sensitive skin worse, try "Nature" nappies in Waitrose or Sainsburys - they are the same price as Huggies etc. Although I have had a couple of night time leaks as she has got close to the next size. So maybe keep the others for night time?

As for tomatoes - it is very common. I had it and DD has it too. The worst is fresh with seeds as they are juicy and get on her skin. Cut them up and take out the seeds. Also avoid concentrated tomato such as Puree in a tube. This was so strong it made my mouth swell as a Child and I ended up on Oxygen and in A&E (don't panic it was a severe reaction!). It is also full of salt so should be avioded in young Children anyway. LO should grow out of it. Just try every now and again.

HTH

we already use Eco Disposables and washables.