So, I got ds tested at an allergy clinic and feel quite sad at the results :(

[VelvetCushions]

I knew he had some allergies from his reactions but now its been confirmed, I feel really upset for him.
I'm sure I'll get used to it but he tested skin test positive to milk, egg, fish, lentils and nuts. Its unlikely he'll grow out of fish, nuts and lentils. They are very likely to get worse.
I feel quite angry too that there are so many children with serious allergies now (confirmed by the private dr I saw) and there seems to be very little resource given to it. 'They' must know what is triggering these allergies, probably some of the vaccinations. Why does it seem like nothing being done?
Rant over.

Oh that's so rubbish, so sorry.

Its true. More should be done.

The medical world still doesn't know much about allergies, what starts them etc etc. Just look at all the conflicting advice: don't eat peanuts whilst preg/eat peanuts etc. Thing is, no-one really has definative answers just lots of good guesses.

What annoys me is just how blase GPs are about allergies. With ds1 we nagged and nagged and finally got a referal when he was aged 3 (now confirmed allergies to eggs, nuts, all pollen, kiwi). With ds2 he had (in hindsight) classical symptoms for dairy allergy and yet even when he got a reaction to his first half oz of formula the GP still dismissed it .

I don't agree with you about the vaccinations though - no scientific evidence for this. DS2 had really had eczema from birth, which at 12 months is now completely clear and has been since we discovered his dairy allergy.

I was really depressed by my DS's allergies being confirmed by testing. I was pretty certain he was allergic to everything he was tested for, so it wasn't really a surprise, but I guess there was a little bit of hope at the back of my mind that I was just being paranoid and he wasn't realy allergic.

So I can totally empathise with you. It is totally rubbish.

I totally agree that more esources should be spent on understanding allergies.

I am quite hopeful about the success that there seems to have been with desensitising recently.

my theory is that we're fighting natural selection.

dp has severe asthma and eczema, without inhalers he'd be dead at the age of 8 when he has his first violent attack. but he was saved by modern medicine and passed on his atopic genes to our kids.

dd is cow's milk and wheat intolerant, ds1 was cow's milk intolerant but grew out of it, both have mild eczema flare ups occasionally and all 3 kids have at least a 1/3 chance of developing asthma.

ds2 has a hugely increased chance of it actually, he had pneumonia at birth so has about a 2/3 chance of asthma

i'm so sorry for your ds at least he can have ce cream and cake though [frantically looks on bright side]

Thanks for the kind words and support.

(I actually do think that some vaccinations can trigger something in some childrens immune systems. There's been research done in the link between peanut oil in vaccines and the rise in nut allergies, but thats a different topic.)

I know things will be easier once he does grow out of egg and dairy and it probably won't be too bad just avoiding fish, peanuts and pulses as long as his reactions aren't life threatening, fingers crossed.

It is isn't it, DS is allergic to milk, eggs, nuts & lentils, he's being retested in October. Milk is the worst, last blood test was a level 5 so seeing as he'll be 8 by the time they next test I doubt he's going to grow out of it.

Have to say I agree to some extent with the 'natural selection' theory - more and more people with allergies are surviving to adulthood to pass on allergies. Trouble is, you see, I think there's more than one cause of allergies - for some it's something in the environment that triggers it, and I think those are the allergies that tend to be outgrown and not passed on in families. There's also those that are genetically destined to be allergic, which is where I think DS falls, and those are the ones that aren't outgrown and are being passed on.

You're right though, there's just not the money in allergy research. I don't know what it'll take for allergy to get any sort of priority. I wonder sometimes what the Anaphylaxis Campaign actually DO.

been there , got the t-shirt, and cried a river of tears..............

remember 1st appointment clearly, comfirmed more than i had suspected.

now son is 13, and still has a list of allergies.

only consulation, he is not the only one.

sometimes just hearing it said out loud for real , is hurtful.

but is needed.

like antiseptic lotion on a big dirty cut.....................give it time, and you will feel better.

I go with natural selection on the allergies but also had to write an essay on allergies whilst at uni and another fact was use of anti-bacterial solutions and wipes and that kids not getting exposed to enough germs. SO immune system fighting itself rather then what intended.

Doesn't help when sitting inA&E while ds being treated for anaphaltic shock

of course no research medical profession might actually have to admit they are helping to cause the problem- plus no money in it. if they cure allergies they don't get all the funds from things like anti-histamines, and more importantly for some of us epi-pens.

Oh am cynical tonight.

I'm so sorry I think you are absolutely right about allergies being given short shrift by many doctors.

"Healing the New Childhood Epidemics" by Ken Bock would be a wonderful resource for you.

I am sorry. it will get better tho, and life will take on some semblence (sp?) or normallity again.

it will be pricy getting there tho. I remember my first shopping trip after DD2 was confirmed with milk allergy. I spent £80 just on food for HER, and she was only 11mths old at that point!

I am now 12yrs into life living with allergies, and the most pants thing?? my three children who are allergic now can tolerate foods with some milk in (altho high amounts of milk can build up in them to give them issues). I think now that they are intolerant rather than allergic, but that doesn;t take away how horrid it has been.

my problem now is that it is ME with the serious allergies.

I was probably like my children when small, but by the time I was 5 I could certainly cope with all foods, altho I did suffer bad asthma in my teens.

during my 20's, I had some episodes of food probs, but only when pregnant strangely enough. If I ate cream or had a lot of milk at any time during pregnancy I was really REALLY sick, so milk has always clearly been a problem for me/us.

now tho.......(my last pregnancy seemed to have triggered something, plus almost dying after an operation when I had a reaction to medication)......I have epipens, daily antihistamines (femafexadine 180mg, so pretty much the strongest poss), plus inhalers, and I have a long list of allergies. Milk and apples are what sends me into anaphylaxis........and I needed my epipen just this year in fact!

BUT

it does get to be part of your life, and so easier to cope.

well, I say that. going out is a chore, shopping is a chore, explaining to people is a chore when you get someone who thinks you are either making it up or being nuerotic, but in yourself you calm down, and so it becomes part of your life.

that heart-sick feeling tho. it will ease off, I promise

'well, I say that. going out is a chore, shopping is a chore, explaining to people is a chore when you get someone who thinks you are either making it up or being nuerotic, but in yourself you calm down, and so it becomes part of your life'

• 1 000 000

we can't eat out as a family as there's never anything at all that dd can have.

i have to send food with her to parties and investigate what they're offering, earning me the reputation of neurotic freak amongst mothers who 'don't believe in all that allergies nonsense' (i damn near punched my aunt when she came out with that gem and pointed out that maybe if she'd seen her child screaming in agony with stomach cramps and turning into a skeleton in front of her eyes as she wasn't digesting most food for over a year she might change her views slightly )

we spend a fortune on shopping, which is no joke as we're both out of work atm and can little afford the extra costs of feeding dd

but it does get easier once th initial panic is over, you become used to allowing an hour extra to do the shopping so you can read the ingredients label on everything, you become used to either having to give up on the concept of 'everyone eats the same meal for dinner' or else go broke feeding special food to everyone. you even get used to your poor baby being offered a cake by someone and saying 'i'm not allowed that' even though it makes you want to sob.

I really appreciate everyone's contribution to this thread.

I've already had those disapproving and suspicious comments when at a birthday party, I let ds2 eat the chips as they were the only things he could eat and he wanted to eat what everyone else was having.

'should he be eating chips?' was one mothers comment as if I was some lazy, ignorant person who didn't care about her 1yr olds diet.

At the moment, I take food with me for ds2 if we eat out but he still wants to eat what we're having. It breaks my heart to tell him no and he gets upset because he can't understand why.

dd understood 'wheat makes you sick' from a very young age. she's 4 now and has been telling people herself, even if i'm not around, that she can't have certain foods and if she's unsure she refuses to take something unless i or her playschool teacher tell her it's alright.

i never use the words 'you're not allowed that' or 'you can't have that', i simply tell her 'it has wheat in it sweetie' and as she knows wheat makes her sick she's decides herself not to eat it.

Feels like nothing is being done because very little is being done. However there are a few bright spots, like the desensitisation study and the LEAP study. I'd expect more to happen in other countries but actually it doesn't seem to. Hopefully he will outgrow milk and eggs and the rest is more manageable.

Had the discussion about peanut oil in vaccines before and couldn't find any proof that there had ever been peanut oil in vaccines. In any case refined peanut oil doesn't usually cause problems even for those allergic to nuts.

It's possible that vaccinations might affect the immune system and therefore children with a genetic risk exposed to new foods shortly after vaccination might be at risk. Feed probiotics after vaccination and avoid new foods at those times if you want to be ultra cautious.

Unfortunately the stupid fuss over MMR has prevented any decent study on vaccination issues.

It does get better. We have been honeset with ds who was milk anaphalatic (now just allergic thanks to growing up) and now HE is control of his allergy (age 4). He has never known anything else being diagnosed at 8 weeks.

If there is something new he wants to try he brings it and asks for the ingrediants to be read. He still finds it very frustrating that he cant eat what we do but surprisingly McD's have a very good food list with allergy triggers and he can have a basic buger and chips in the form of a happy meal -so he is chuffed about that. (though thankfully we didn't have to consider VERY small contamination amounts)

You will manage it but we still find eating out a problem so plan outings with a standby packup for ds just incase it just saves the heart ache of unpredicted delays/extensions to excursions.

Thats a good idea about a standyby packup. I was actually thinking of freezing some chicken sandwiches that I could just grab if we were heading out for the day.

Oh so healthy. I have stash of milk free flapjack (aldi general) biscuits (multiple sources) fruit and carten of alpro strawberry/choc milk. And the normal chips stand by(bought out) Otherwise rush to make up in morning.

Got to get more organised (but when you are adhd organised is an interesting concept )

It makes me so cross to hear of other people's lack of understanding .
Although not food, both myself and DD are highly allerfic to any pets with hair. I have lost count of how many friends she and I have lost just by not being able to come and visit frequently! DD knows that if she goes to her friends house with pets it makes her unwell, but it is the attitude of the parents of the other kids that influences how she is treated by 'friends'
Why can't we have a national awareness campaign for all types of allergies? Would help us all!!!

Problem is that would mean re-training a large proportion of the medical profession as I have found they can be as bad as others.

Would be nice though

Was it painful for them being tested?

DS is being tested soon

I think it's also partially down to people being sick of listening to people putting their food intolerance down to food allergies. Everyone feels the need to be allergic to something these days which can be a nightmare to cater to. Luckily I'm not allergic to anything severely but dont eat peanuts or tomatoes as they give me mouth ulcers.

DD on the other hand was red raw with eczema till she was one, is now undercontrol with topical corticoids. And is allergic to eggs (which she will hopefully grow out of), nuts which she probably wont. We are v careful with what we give her and the panic of running for the antihistamines and creams when the hives appear as soon as she touches something she cant have has diminished slightly. I do feel like a bit of a twat having to remind anyone who takes her of what she can and cant have.

I have to say we have a fab practice nurse who actually checked before giving her her MMR, as the vaccine is developed in albumin she has to go to hospital to have it. The longer she doesnt have it the better IMO. Will definately give her probiotics before and after though.

I was happy enough after dd's allergy test as things I brought along for testing were fine, but she reacts to the strangest stuff so we have to be constantly on our guard.

As Psychomum said, you get used to it. It's a pain in the bum but it becomes a way of life.

Votemerlin - we only found the blood test part painful - the skin prick was uncomfortable, especially as very ichy.

Not sure if this is the same in everyones experience but was mine.

It would be nice if schools were more helpful though! Apparently they aren't allowed to administer antihistamines unless they are on prescription. It is so down to interpretation that our school will give an asthma inhaler but not an antihistamine as it is apparently too vague to administer. When will people understand that asthma and allergies are not the same thing? And just because a condition isn't life threatening doesn't mean a child won't be more comfortable with medication when it is sensible to give it- not hours later once they get home from school?

My school gives non prescription anti histamine if you provide it. They won't give paracetamol etc though.