Food Intolerance tests

[Kazack]

Has anyone tried doing intolerance tests for their children? My 14 month old son keeps getting rashes on his back and arms and he also has exzema in his creases -arms and knees. It seems to be getting worse and a friend has reccommended a test at the health food shop to find out what foods he has intolerances to?
Does anyone know any more about this kind of thing - found it helpful or made a difference?

Thanks

My homeopath (who is also trained in other alternative therapies like kynesiology) tested me. My husband was also tested - both of us for different things.
My son has not been tested but he has eczema but as he suggested we stop dairy and "see" what happens, we did and we saw a serious improvement. It is not almost completely over (19 months old).
A Kinesiologist does this type of test by putting the "ingredient" next to you and see your body resistance to it... it's "interesting" and not at all harmful. I found it worth the 30 GBP I paid.
If you can find an alternative health clinic or directory, they should list some kinesiologists. Or speak to a homeopath. If you are in West Kent I have some references I could share.

Good luck

Kazack,
I was diagnosed for many food intolerances using kinesiology. I have since read that success with this technique is heavily dependent on the skill of the practitioner, but I have to say it was very successful in my case. It does look a bit like magic as Pupuce describes, but I can only conclude that there are more things in the world than we currently understand. The doctor warned me that he could not guarantee success, but aimed to give an approximate picture of what I was reacting to, and that proved to be the case. He successfully diagnosed and treated several reactions. I also had a very strong caffeine reaction which he never picked up, but I found myself after much trial and error. On the whole it was definitely worth it though, as I could never have picked up all the foods I was reacting to through elimination and trial and error alone.

My brother had a blood test for food intolerances at a well known private clinic specialising in such tests, it was totally useless and did not pick up his reaction to eggs and soya, which was subsequently diagnosed and treated by the kinesiologist.

The symptoms you describe sound pretty clear though - it might be worth reading up some case histories (start at the library, or books in health food shops). Cows milk is the commonest food to react to, (and can cause eczema) and it might be that by cutting this out, you could solve the problem for once and for all, without going to the trouble of having tests. If you do this, and your child IS reacting to more than just cows milk, you might see a temporary improvement as the body celebrates getting rid of the daily dose of cows milk, then a recurrence of the symptoms as it readjusts to still being hit with other "bad" foods.

Good luck with getting rid of your son's skin troubles!

Agree with all other advice of course but also - dead simple this - gently rub a tiny suspect food sample (drop of milk/white of egg/peanut butter/whatever) on an easy-to-see bit of skin and observe for 5-15 mins for urticaria (nettle rash). This looks like white lumps in a flat red patch and may become itchy but soon goes down. This is a perfectly reliable but non-invasive first step if you think you may have a problem and saves a lot of vomiting etc.

yes the test mentioned by the last person was done by the paediatric immunoligist we saw at the hospital ( my baby is allergic to cow's milk) and he said that it was fine for anyone to do at home - he did it on her back - half her back with water and half with milk so that he could compare as he said the result is sometimes very faint. Its worth mentioning that a negative result is not quite 100% reliable - but its still a useful diagnostic test.

I live in lincoln Uk. My baby daughter - 14 months old I suspect has food intolerance of wheat, soya and cheese. I need advice on diet and nutrition and have been advised to find a paediatric immunoligist. Can anyone advise me how to go about this?

Allergy Uk (The british allergy foundation) have loads of info on their web site www.allergyfoundation.com and will help you to find specialists in that field. The Inside Story is a support group and magazine which can do the same thing and is ideal for people with multiple allergies www.insidestory.com

With regard to food testing, it seems that local health clinic type tests are unreliable but York Labs seem to have a better track record, though you do have to pay quite a lot for the service.

There are some good on-line shops for health food but unfortunately not many classify soya free products and it would seem that soya is hidden in more products than any of the other common allergens.

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Have you thought about asking your gp to refer you to a dietician? They will organise the testing for you if they think it necessary.My 20 month old son is allergic to dairy, soya and wheat, but he was showing such clear symptoms in their opinion they didnt bother testing him. They do however have a lot of info on the best types of food to give/avoid, and can organise some free samples of rice breads, wheat free biscuits etc. If your child is allergic to these things then you can get alternatives on the nhs in prescription form. My son gets non dairy/non soya milk, wheat free pizza bases, w/f bread, w/f pasta all on precription. Hth.

Hi Traumatised - we went through this 2 years ago when our son was about 8 months. The gp arranged for tests (allergy not intolernace) at a local hospital and we had a positive result on eggs, wheat, nuts, dairy, soya and chicken. We then followed a strict diet excluding all the above for 3 months. It made no differnce at all to our sons condition and we were advised to give up the diet. However, there can be excellent results for some children so it is worth persevering. You should get your gp to refer you, then if necessary you will see a dietician / paediatrician etc and you will get any special foods on prescription. There are loads of alternatives available now, if you can get a recipe book for people with allergies, do get one, I eventually found a recipe to make my sons first birthday cake with none of the aforementioned ingredients and it was actually very nice. Good luck.