Reaction to bell pepper and / or aubergine

[Ifitistobesaid]

Has anyone else’s baby had a reaction to either of those foods? I gave my 7 month old bell pepper and aubergine for dinner last week and she broke into a red rash after rubbing her face. It went down after 10 minutes. Went to A&E who couldn’t tell us much about what happened and said they would call the next day after speaking to an allergy specialist. Almost a week later haven’t heard a word. Called my GP to see if they could chase but they just said to avoid those foods and she didn’t need to be referred for allergy testing.

I have read that aubergine can cause a reaction due to histamines but isn’t a true allergy but have no way of knowing. Baby has CMPA so worried she will have a lot of allergies.

My ds had a reaction to loads of fruit and veg, but he's 7 now and I can't remember exactly which ones, so may have been peppers/aubergine but it was definitely celery, tomato, cucumber, melon and some others. He also had CMPA. I read that some of these foods can be linked to pollen allergies (look up oral allergy syndrome in adults for more info on pollen or latex allergy foods) and he had allergy testing done because he had the same reaction to milk. The milk showed up positive for allergy, but none of the other food he had the same reaction to did.

He does have atopic asthma now, no food or pollen allergy, and he grew out of all the food allergies as far as I know (he is autistic and a very fussy eater) but the food allergies didn't get worse/progress like I worried they would. His reaction was only ever hives around mouth/on face. No anaphylaxis. Fingers crossed it is mild for your son too and he grows out of it.

Will the GO refer to the allergy clinic now there are two allergies?

These are both foods from the Nightshade family and is a known allergen.
Nightshades foods

@Fraaahnces Thanks, I know nightshades can be an allergen, just wondered if it might be a contact rash as I’ve read aubergine can cause redness that can be mistaken as an allergic reaction.

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto The GP won’t refer her, they said she doesn’t need testing as we know the foods she is reacting to. Obviously that is totally unhelpful for figuring out what else she might be allergic to. Terrified to give her any new foods now.

That's awful. Push for a referral. Seeing a rash after eating something is the first indication of an allergic/histamine response. It's not a diagnosis.

@Ortila Thing is I don’t know if the rash was from eating or just because she was smearing it all over her face. Or if that makes any difference.

@Ifitistobesaid either way, the advice on exposure seems to change almost weekly atm. Some say that the more exposure you get, the higher the chance of it becoming anaphylaxis later in life, and some say to keep exposing in small amounts and increase tolerance. I’m not going to advise you either way. I’d want to know, though. I had to use an epipen on a woman at work last week (I am a first aid officer atm) and she said that it wasn’t a pleasant experience. (But better than the alternative!)

Called the GP again and they were very firm that any referral would be rejected. I guess I just have to assume she’s allergic and not give her those foods. The GP said there’s no test they can do that can tell you in advance if you will have an allergic reaction to foods - though I thought that’s what the skin prick test was for.

You have to have been in contact with an allergen first to produce the reaction to a test so it is true that you can't test for things they haven't eaten yet. It's why a doctor was reluctant to test for pollen when my son has the allergy tests when he was reacting to pollen linked foods.

This exact thing just happened with my 9 month old. Did you get any answers? He had aubergine prior to tonight, but it was his first time with red bell pepper. @Ifitistobesaid

Hi @SEBma, we’ve avoided giving her aubergine since that experience but she can eat bell pepper with no issues. We had stopped giving her that too but she was given it accidentally and we realised she could tolerate it.

She has outgrown CMPA and hasn’t had reactions to any other foods. I should get her properly tested for aubergine but since it’s pretty easy food to avoid I haven’t pursued it.