Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Allergies and intolerances

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Getting Really Worried RE DSs Allergies

10 replies

MetalMummy · 02/12/2007 17:32

DS1 has asthma, eczema and hayfever and is allegic to wheat and milk. He doesn't have an anaphylaxis reaction to the wheat and milk it sets his eczema and asthma off though.
In the last 5 weeks he has started reacting to other things. First he had 2 reactions to baked beans, the first was a reaction to Branston Beans (which he'[d never had before) where his lips went really red and his mouth was itchy. We thought it was because it was a different brand than what he usually had but a week later he had Heinz beans (which he always had before) and his lips really swelled up, we gave him antihistamine but even the next morning they were still red and slightly swollen.
We took him to the Doctors and he has been referred to Leicester for further allergy testing (Appointment is in January) but since then he has had other reactions and we don't really know what to.
He was eating a pouch of pureed fruit and before he'd even finished it he started coughing, was sick twice and then his lips started to swell, again this was something he'd eaten before. The puree was apple, pear and strawberry, only 9% strawberry but I think it's the most likely culprit.
I picked him up from school on Monday and his eye was very swollen and red, the teacher said he'd eaten an orange and 20 minutes later his eye had swollen up, but that he'd also been playing with the floam just before it happened so I think it was the floam but I'm not positive. On Thursday at 4am he came into me and his eyes were really swollen again, how the hell can he have a reaction when he's asleep!!! I bathed his eyes and gave him antihistamine and he went back to sleep at about 5.30am.
Today his left eye has swollen up again and again we have no idea what caused it. It calmed down again now but I'm getting really worried about him. I just don't have a clue what he's reacting to or if he's going to react to other foods he's had before! I've also been told that because 2 of the reactions have involved swelling to his lips and mouth then he could have a much more severe reaction next time which could involve his airways.
Sorry, I know this is long but I just felt the need to rant!!!

OP posts:
MeMySonAndI · 02/12/2007 18:11

How old is he?

DS had a bad time with baked beans so they have been out of his diet for a couple of years now. I don't know what is it in them that sets him up, if the tomato, the beans or the amount of other rubish (sorry!) that gets into them. At the beginning he was only reacting to Heinz so I thought that it was probably one additive used by the brand but, now that he reacts to all of them I'm convinced the problems are the beans (DS has peanut, soya and lentil allergy (and other things), so... considering they all belong to the same family... I'm not really that surprised)

Have you thought if eliminating popular allergens for a while to give his gut a little rest and re introduce them one by one in a few weeks time?

MeMySonAndI · 02/12/2007 18:13

BTW, do you have a cat? dog? new product? is it possible that he is reacting to an enivornmental allergen rather than food? (I know once happened in the school but it could go in the clothes)

MetalMummy · 02/12/2007 18:24

We don't have a cat or a dog and haven't used any new cleaning agents or washing powders.
I think the baked beans may be the beans and not the tomatoes because he has tomatoes in other things and is fine and it's happened with 2 different brands of beans.
We do think some of his reactions are to environmental allergens which is why the GP has refered him to Leicester and not North Staffs (local hospital) North Staffs only test for food allergies but Leicester test for environmental allergies too.
Everyone keeps saying to me that kids usually grow out of allergies not develop more so why is this happening to him, he was 5 yesterday and I had to make a Birthday cake for him instead of buying the Spiderman one that he wanted. The cake was actually quite nice but I know he was a bit disappointed.

OP posts:
williamsmummy · 02/12/2007 18:45

I think that considering that wheat and milk sets off your childs asthma really means that your child is allergic, as in classic allergy , not intolerance.

sadly if you have one allergy , you are more likely to have others.
However it may not be that your boy is devoping new allergies, its just that you are finding the causes of the allergies he has.

baked beans are legumes, and 5% of those allergic to peanut are also allergic to beans.
So obviously caution is required.
I would not intoduce any new foods until you have your appiontment at the hospital.

As for environmental allergies they do have a cross reference to food allergies, for instance , those with tree pollen allergy are more likely to develop fruit allergies.

Dustmite is a common allergy, and i personally develop swollen eyes if I rub my eyes when dusting ( I also get a burning sensation in my hands!!) But I am not food allergic.

My son has quite a high rating for dustmite allergy, and along with wooden flooring , good dustmite covers on the bed, and a nasal spray , we get by. ( he snores terribly!!)

a good book to get hold of is the 'complete guide to food intolerance and food allergy' by prof Brostoff,published by Gamlin.

my boy allergies at 5yrs were, peanut/treenut/all beans/kiwi fruit/ dog /cat/dustmite/eggs/tree pollen/hay fever.

at 11yrs, are peanut/beans/kiwi fruit/yeast extract/dog/dustmite/cat/tree pollen.

There is every chance your child will grow out of some allergies, esp as he is so young.
good luck with the testing.

tatt · 02/12/2007 18:56

Reactions in your sleep could include dust mite, mould spores now the weather's turning colder, biological podwer residues in the sheets, cleaning product residues.

Unfortunately while a lot of kids grow out of food allergies as their gut develops they sometimes grow in to inhaled allergies.

I do sympathise - I feel I'm playing Russian roulette if I try a new food on my children - but don't get your hopes up for the testing. They will tell you they can't test everything and need some idea what to test for. If they are good people they'll test quite a bit but it may not help you much.

Do you have an epipen yet? If not try a bit of pressure on your gp as it would be a comfort to have one.

I give mine live yoghurt and fish oil (good for bacteria in the gut) and when I can get them to eat it carrot sticks (for the vitamin A). Might not make the slightest bit of difference but worth trying for the eczema.

Fruit is easily broken down by the digestive system (even saliva in the mouth) so allergies to that are rarely anaphylactic - that's really the most hopeful thing I can think of. Wouldn't risk any kiwi though. Fruit allergy often goes with an allergy to birch pollen so I guess they will test for that. I'm sorry nothing much that will help.

MetalMummy · 02/12/2007 18:59

When he had blood tests they showed he was allergic to wheat, milk, eggs and peanuts. We did an elimination diet and he only seemed to react to wheat and milk.
His hay fever starts when the blossom starts appearing on the trees so I suppose that is tree pollen.
He snores really badly too, we have an open plan staircase and when he goes to bed we can hear him snoring downstairs.

OP posts:
CarGirl · 02/12/2007 18:59

hayfever is linked to fruit allergies because the silver birch tree (a usual culprit with hayfever) has a protein in it that is very very similar to one found in apples/pears/peaches/apricots and many other fruits (no idea about tomatoes) I think it is called oral allergy syndrome. I suffered badly with it during one of my pregnancies for some reason it heightened my allergy to silver birch trees (my worst allergen).

I hope you get the support you need from your hospital appointment.

MetalMummy · 02/12/2007 20:25

He saw the school nurse on Thursday for his 5 year check and after talking about the reactions he's been having lately she said that she was going to contact our GP and ask that DS has an epipen in school. I had a telephone consultation with the GP later that day (about something else) and mentioned what the nurse had said. He told me that he doesn't think an epipen is needed and until DS actually has an allergic reaction which requires him to go to hospital he won't prescribe one.

OP posts:
Pimmpom · 03/12/2007 13:40

Arrrgh Really think you should see another GP and ask about epipens. I would not want to wait until January.

DS reacts by his eyes swelling up and looks like he has been punched in the eye. He is allergic to nuts (amongst others).

Trouble is, many GPs do not have a clue .

Good luck x

MeMySonAndI · 04/12/2007 18:22

My experience about Epipen prescribing is that many GPs won't prescribe one until they receive a letter from the allergy clinic specifying they really need one. You may end up with one without visiting the allergy clinic if your child ends up in A&E with an anaphylactic reaction.

If you end up at A&E with that, keep pressing for an appointment at the allergy clinic in order to get access to further help (or even for the problem to be put in the child's record as A&E admisions are not necessarily reflected on the files)

I would stop all the beans, just in case, and don't allow him anywhere near to peanuts.

As others have said, I would not keep my hopes high on the tests. If you can keep a food diary you may get more answers than via testing. (Not that the testing is useless but at least you need to shortlist a few allergens)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page