no more hives = no more allergy??

[maryblue]

hi there,
i'm looking for some advice re my ds1's dairy allergy.. he is nearly 5 now and since he was a baby whenever anything containing dairy products touched his skin he would get hives..but this does not seem to be happening any more..does this mean he may have grown out of this allergy and if so how should i go about introducing dairy to his diet?
thanks..

bump

has he ever had a more serious reaction and has he had allergy testing? If he hasn't had a serious reaction and you can't easily return to a consultant for more skin prick tests then you might consider rubbing a little milk on his face. If that causes no problem then you can think about letting him eat something. Cheese and live yoghurt are less allergenic than milk and should be tried first. Obviously only a very tiny amount and with a bottle of piriton handy.

If he has ever had a serious reaction then reintroduction should be with medical advice.

thanks tatt for yr reply..
no he has never had allergy testing although i have often wondered if i should push for this as he also seems to have a permanently blocked nose..the only reaction he has had to dairy was hives and terrible eczema as a baby which thankfully he has grown out of..
i have put milk on his skin and there are no hives coming now so maybe i could try and let him try some cheese or something..i am a bit worried about giving him an upset stomach as it is only recently he stopped getting hives.

blocked noses can be a sign of milk intolerance or allergy to something inhaled like house dust mite.

Problems with milk are often outgrown but if he had skin prick tests and they'd confirmed an allergy he should have been given repeat tests before reintroducing. Then if the skin prick wheal was smaller (and it would be if he doesn't get hives now) they'd arrange a food challenge.

At an allergy clinic they usually try food on the face before putting anything in their mouth. Not sure why but I imagine skin there is more sensitive?

How recently did the hives stop and what has he been having for milk substitute?

sorry for delay..hives stopped in the last month or so..i extended bf till 2.5yrs to avoid formula then he has a variety of rice/oat/soya milk all vitamin enriched..maybe i need to ask doc for skin tests..i kind of gave up with doc with his eczema and allergy as seemed pointless!!

I think I'd wait a month or two longer then take a few crumbs of cheese to a hospital/gps car park and see how he got on. Then if he was OK with that it would be live yoghurt, then goats milk before cows milk. Stomach aches wouldn't worry me, vomiting, rashes or reappearance of eczema would mean stopping and asking for allergy testing.

He probably has outgrown his allergy as children often do outgrow milk allergy by 5 but having dealt with an anaphylactic reaction or two (nuts not milk) I'm always cautious.

thanks for yr advice..yes i think maybe i'll give it a bit longer then give some cheese a try!