Suspected dairy allergy

[WeLoveHaribo]

My teenage son all of a sudden started feeling unwell.. several days of school no real pattern to what was happening his symptoms are itchy legs sometimes or hives on chest tummy ache feeling unwell very irritable.
He was on antihistamines 5 to 7 days a week to control his itching.
It took us a long while to realise it was possible something he was eating GP did lots of testing everything negative.
Referred us to paediatrics where we didn’t have a great response as my son wasn’t showing any visible symptoms at the time the paediatrician didn’t seem interested. I understand with a non-IGE allergy tests can come back negative but any information I found on allergies has been self sourced.
We have been told to undertake an elimination diet which we have done for the past few months. The only one that’s made any difference is dairy.
We have had the odd hiccup something random that I would never think had milk included and he’s back to itching hives irritable etc
So I think that tells me dairy is possibly the culprit.
We have a paediatrician appointment in a couple of weeks,(I’m not holding my breath) but I guess I’m wanting to know where to go from here and what are you guys think is the best way to go forward?

He’s now 15 and copped really well with the change in his diet. we are struggling to eat out much and the thing he’s misses most is cheese every alternative I’ve found I’ve tried!!!

Sorry, this post is so long. Thank you for reading any help or input is much appreciated.

I'm an allergy mum. Dd2 carries epi pens for peanuts and seseame and has many other allergies. Not dairy though. In my experience she is reviewed every 1-2 years in the allergy clinic and they repeat her skin prick test to check for any change to her allergies. Then you just go away and manage their diet to avoid the items they are allergic to. You do get used to it over time just beckons a way of life. Let me know if there are any specific questions you have 😊

Thank you for your reply.
I’m not sure what I was expecting ppl to reply. Guess just wanted to get it all out and down on paper.
Like you say, I’m sure all the time we will get our head round it and see if the consultant is any help next week.

Now we have done the elimination and I’m fairly sure 99% it’s dairy I just wondered where we go from here but I guess I’m being impatient and all will become clear.

My DS has a milk allergy technically. He currently is able to eat quite a lot of dairy following taking part in an immunotherapy clinical trial.

Current advice is if an allergen is tolerated with minor symptoms then don't cut it out as the best way to hold off it developing into a more severe allergy is to maintain tolerance.

My DS is also allergic to sesame and nuts however he can tolerate sesame oil and almond milk so he eats those regularly.

This is the milk ladder. It shows how allergenic different foods containing milk are. It could be an idea to determine at what levels he can tolerate milk products assuming there has not been a severe reaction before.
www.uhcw.nhs.uk/download/clientfiles/files/Patient%20Information%20Leaflets/Clinical%20Support%20Services/Dietetics/Reintroduction%20of%20cow's%20milk.pdf

www.allergyuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Cows-Milk-Allergy-in-Adults-v1.pdf

Allergy mum and allergy sufferer here. I am dairy allergic and like your ds it came on out of the blue one day. I was about 14 if I remember (am now 44). Called at a services on route to a family members house. They only had full fat milk for my cuppa and within seconds of it hitting my stomach I was throwing up. Haven't been able to touch anything diary based since.

You're right about the list of random stuff that has milk in it though!! One thing to try and test is it is daily or lactose. I say that because a huge number of pill based meds (Inc paracetamol) use lactose as a binding agent.

Cheese substitutes are awful!! But most supermarkets do a great free from range. Avoid cheap dairy free chocolate though and the galaxy stuff is vile. Nomo is nice though.

The rise of veganism & it being more mainstream has helped enormously if I am.hinst as there are so many options available. It has made eating out easier too.

There's not a huge amount of follow up support with allergies unfortunately.
Remove foods you think are problematic adjust to new life. It might be worth asking for a dietician referral to make sure the df diet covers all their needs.
Then find out where their current level is using a milk ladder for delayed allergies. We try periodically but my daughter is still failing on tiny amounts infrequently. We now have annual dietician appointments and we have agreed that once we can get her to be ok with a having something daily even if its a crumb we will keep it in her diet.

Thanks all
we have been referred to a dietitian
I follow Dr Helen on fb - very informative and where I’ve found a lot of my new found knowledge!