My doctor just left a message saying the results of my daughter's blood work came back (for allergies). She has "Mild Reactivity" to cow's milk (of which she drinks a TON), egg whites and cat (we have one). Since he only left a message I wasn't able ask if this means we need to avoid these things (except we plan on keeping the cat :) ) or just minimize her intake or what. She drinks a lot of milk and egg whites are in a lot of things. She has pretty bad eczema which is why I had her tested. I plan on calling the doc back but I will have to leave a message and wait for him to get back to me. So in the mean time I'd thought I'd see if anywhere out there in Mamapedia Land knew anything about this stuff.
**Scale is Milld, Moderate, Severe
Right before I got the call from the doctor with her test results, she ate an entire hardboiled egg. A few hours later she broke out in a raised itchy rash all over her thighs and this morning she said her butt hurt. I looked between her cheeks and she has two raised welts and one on her thigh. I have no idea if it is related or not. The doc (her pediatrician) doesn't seem overly concerned since her results are "mild." He says we need to do a skin prick test to learn more.
Since she is mildly allergic you do need to at least limit them. I would take 1 of the food allergies completely away and see what happens with her eczema. My husband was diagnosed with psoriasis when he was in jr high and he fainted since he was 10 come to find out he was allergic to wheat, cows milk, and egg whites. We took out the wheat and didn't have to take the milk or egg whites out. At least yet anyway. His test came back mild as well.
You'll really have to talk to the doctor to see what route he'd like you to take. There is such a thing as tolerating a food she is allergic to. My daughter tests high for cantaloupe and eggs but she tolerates them so he lets her to continue to eat them. Of course she does not have any eczema or other overt signs of allergy with them.
As for milk substitutes we use rice milk and we have used it in recipes.
If she consumes as much milk as you say than that may be your culprit there. Maybe he'll have you eliminate one food at a time to see how her symptoms change.
As a mom of a child with allergies consider yourself lucky that it's only 2 food items (and the cat;))!! Cow's milk isn't healthy anyway, so switching her will be no big deal. My kids drink the So Delicious brand Coconut Milk or the Hemp milk, both do great in recipes. As far as eggs, I'm right there with you but it's not that big of a deal as there are many substitutes out there for eggs when it comes to baking:) BUT, since her diagnosis is "mild" I'm thinking they may just have her cut back. On the "mild" things for my kid, they say he can have those items every 4 days since it takes your body 4 days to rid the food entirely. But, if her eczema is a big issue, I'd remove then all together to stop that from flaring up, but that's just me.
Hi--
Unfortunately I'm a bit of an expert on this because both my kids have allergies to lots of different things. My oldest was very sick as an infant and I tried to go the traditional western medicine route and nothing we tried worked for the severe constipation and terrible rashes, so we went an alternative route. Here's what I know:
1. Take her totally off milk all together if you want the rashes to go away. Even a small amount causes a reaction. In fact, a small amount can cause a larger reaction because the body gets hypersensitive to it. You have to take out anything that has milk, or casein or whey in it, as the allergy is to the milk protein. Same with the egg. Absolutely her reaction the other day was to the egg--no doubt in my mind. Honestly, if you want to avoid even something as simple as a tummy ache you'll have to take her totally off of these things. It takes 7 days for the milk protein to completely leave the body, so don't expect immediate results until she's been off dairy for over a week.
2. My cousin had allergies as a child to cats and my aunt never got rid of the cat. His allergies developed into asthma. The asthma attacks nearly killed him a couple of times, but still they kept the cat. Didn't make sense to me. My oldest is allergic to dogs. They make him itchy and stuffy and if he pets them he gets hives. We had a dog. Now my brother-in-law has our dog. My child's comfort was more important to me then my dog. The hair was everywhere no matter how much we cleaned.
3. We have had success treating our children with allergy elimination treatments. I can recommend a doctor in the Denver area if you are interested in this. (In fact, he's the same doc that has helped get our children healthy when western medicine didn't work for us). It's quite possible that he can treat your daughter for the cat allergy and eliminate it. Dairy can be more difficult to treat, as dairy is simply not something anyone's body is designed to digest. If you think about it, cow's milk is perfectly made for baby cows--they have four stomach chambers and digest things twice. That is why so many people have issues with dairy.
4. I can help you with recipes and teach you how to watch out for dairy when you go out to eat. It's actually easier to avoid then you might think (gluten is the tough one). Let me know if you'd like my assistance on that.
5. It is possible that doing a homeopathic liver cleanse with her could clear the allergies. Again, the doctor I mentioned previously could help with that as well. The liver is the organ from which histamine is released. If it is not functioning at top capacity it could cause or make allergies worse.
Good luck!
J.
take her off dairy for sure. Have her play with the cat more to build up a tolerance. You will find that her allergies to her cat will go away.
I had food allergies has a child and had to get allergy shots. I did not mind getting them. I was also allergic to dogs and cats but we kept them and i now have a dog and 2 cats. I am glad you are keeping the cat. They are part of the family. I had exzema has a child and my mom did oatmeal baths. I was drinking soy milk but now want to try hemp milk. good luck
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I had food allergies has a child and had to get allergy shots. I did not mind getting them. I was also allergic to dogs and cats but we kept them and i now have a dog and 2 cats. I am glad you are keeping the cat. They are part of the family. I had exzema has a child and my mom did oatmeal baths. I was drinking soy milk but now want to try hemp milk. good luck
Keep the cat for now, but be open to finding him a new home if it seems he is affecting her. I got a cat as an adult, and then I got three more. I adored those cats, esp b/c for 10 years they were my 'kids'. But my allergies became asthma, controlled by 2 doses of meds/day. I still wouldn't let the cats go. But the minute my last cat died (at age 16) my asthma disappeared. Suddenly I could exercise again, and be active, w/o panting. I lost 40 lbs, I'm an athlete, I'm a totally different person. I didn't realize what a toll the asthma was taking on me. It's not something I would choose for my child. Be extremely aware of whether your child acts different in environments other than your home, like on vacation in a hotel, or overnight at grandmas. For example, her nose isn't as runny, or when she runs around, she doesn't get as tired/ wheezy. Watch for clues that the cat may be affecting her. If it becomes necessary, you have time to find an ideal placement for your feline buddy.
Take her off dairy and pure eggs -- it should work wonders. My daughter had HORRIBLE eczema from her milk and egg allergies though they were classified mild to moderate. She has a severe one to peanuts with an epipen. We took her off of dairy -- we use Rice Milk, Silk Live (milk free, even the cultures) yogurt, Better than Cream Cheese (by Tofutti), etc. She can tolerate things that contain eggs baked -- like a homemade cake or muffins or storebought bread BUT cannot have eggs (like scrambled or hardboiled) or she will break out in a rash or get eczema. Her eczema cleared up after we did the diet changes. She has been eczema free pretty much since 14 mos old -- she is now almost 4 years old! Every now and then we will let her have normal lasagna or something with regular old cheese and she breaks out all over again....so obviously she didn't grow out of it yet. Good luck!
