My son has red cheeks. Pretty much all the time. He's 2 (25 months). It's progressively gotten worse over the last 8 months that we've noticed, and he has flushing spells after he eats. We've taken dairy out of his diet and that has helped his eczema (HUGE improvement) and his constant diaper-area rash (it's gone). He also has had 11 ear infections, 8 of them before he got tubes at 10 months, and 3 of them since the tubes came out at 22 months (these last 3 have been double ear infections).
I'm pretty sure he has a food allergy. I've read a ton on the internet. The ENT is also sure (and thinks another set of tubes is a bad idea), and we eliminated dairy starting a week ago and already there's improvement, but not with his cheeks. How long do we wait to eliminate the next possible offender (wheat)? Should we start now, or should we wait another week to see if the flushing improves with just eliminating dairy? (He doesn't seem to have any reaction to eggs; we know he's allergic to cinnamon).
Other possibly-related symptoms: weight loss (2 pounds since mid-November) and year-long trouble with gaining weight, trouble sleeping, alternating constipation/diarrhea, sudden changes in energy. Our son weighs 26 pounds (he was 23 pounds at his 9 month check up).
Our ENT feels that the best way to find out if your child has an allergy is through the elimination diet. (The ENT already conducted a blood test and everything was negative.) From what I've read on the internet, this is probably true at least for a child my son's age. They don't even usually test for celiac until 3.
Thanks so much to everyone who responded. I got so much info and assistance! We met with our doctor this week and talked about a game plan. We're testing for Celiac Disease and then removing wheat, next week, to test for a wheat allergy. We are also investigating preservatives and then other potential allergens. The doctor is also checking metabolic disorders and other stuff because of the recent weight loss. I found your feedback most helpful. Thanks again.
You could eliminate wheat (or actually all gluten)now, the sooner you know if it helps the better...Could also be a thyroid or digestive (malabsorption)with the energy changes and weight loss. At any rate, eliminating gluten and keeping him off dairy for 2-3 months will help. Hope it goes well!
I think it takes 2-4 weeks to see changees.
My son always gets very red cheeks, especially when active. He also has very solid bowel movements.
The herbalist to whom we took him suggested these symptoms are related to digestion. He suggested eliminating milk (or using lactose-free milk e.g., lactaid). He said it can take 2-4 weeks to see a change.
Good luck.
Sounds like your doc is on top of things--blood tests are just a way of narrowing the suspects. A lot of allergies/intolerances will not show up on tests and the only way to be sure is to do an elimination/addition test. Eliminate suspect foods until you reach baseline and then test them individually for a reaction. If you get a reaction then eliminate the food again and test again at a later date just to be sure it wasn't coincidence.
Personally, with my daughter we eliminated all suspect foods at once and added them back in starting with the least likely item on the list (soy, dairy, gluten, strawberries, tomatoes, legumes)--Turns out she definitely reacts to soy, and probably dairy (results are a bit mixed here) :/
If eliminating all your suspect foods at once seems daunting, you can continue to eliminate one item at a time until you reach baseline, but it may take longer. (Note: Once you eliminate a food item do not reintroduce it until you get to baseline, because your son could be reacting to more than one thing.)
Also, make sure to double check your son isn't getting exposed any hidden dairy (or whatever else you eliminate) in packaged foods (beware of lunch meats, hotdogs, dressings, etc), OR through soaps, lotions, shampoos etc.
One more thing--if you happen to be breastfeeding him, make sure you aren't consuming anything you have eliminated from your son's diet.
We eliminted dairy from my son's diet when he was 6 months old because we were seeing bloody stools. It took almost 3 weeks for the blood to disappear and the nurse at the ped's office said that it could have even taken longer for symptoms to go away. You could eliminate the next food, but you might not be sure which one is causing his problems. I know it's hard to wait, but you might want to wait just to be sure.
I agree with Christine I would go to an allergist. He could have Rosacea which you may need to see a dermatologist for. My son has it an certain foods do aggravate it. Like tomato sauces, foods with a high acidity. As far as the intestinal symptoms he could have a Gluten Intolerance(Celiac's Disease) and believe me everything has gluten in it. My aunt has it, they actually tested me for it as well but I was okay. It wouldn't hurt to take the gluten out of his diet and see if he improves. Trader Joe's has so many gluten free products now that it's not really that difficult to cut it from your diet. Since he is so young I would try the process of elimination and see what helps him. Just like when you introduce foods you stay with the same thing for a few days to look for a reaction. I would remove certain things from his diet weekly and look for improvements. I would go to an allergist, however they may not test him yet because he is so young. Good luck!!!
The way I found out about the allergies was through blood and skin testing. My daughter (14months) had red cheeks and itching since 5 months. I was nursing her and eating my regular diet. We found out all her allergies and I cut it all out from my diet so she could still nurse until 1 year. My allergist works with cut it all out for a time and then introduce one thing back at a time and note results. I found the redness to be mostly from her wheat allergy. Be patient though it could take a week or two to get his body used to this and to clear up. My thoughts are with you and your little one :)
Sounds very familiar. My youngest was red from head to toe at 6 weeks old. Once we got the eczema under control we went to an allergist who spent a lot of time asking questions and then ordered testing for the baby, first we did a skin test and then a blood test. The first appointement with the allergist was also our first ear infection - he had ear tubes too, but only once and then he was find. As for the allergies, the skin test did not show much but the blood test was positive for milk, egg, and peanut. It was the best thing we did for him. They think he will actually outgrow them soon, he is now almost 5, but at least he has been happier now that he is not red all over. I would DEFINITELY find a good allergist in your area and make an appointement ASAP, as it often takes time to get in to see them. Good luck, having been there I know it is hard.
One of my best friends has 2 children with several food related allergies. She sees a pediatric allergist for advice and diagnosis. I know that just recently she had blood testing done on her 1 year old son and also skin testing. He also does not gain weight well, but he does not eat much "real food" yet because she knew allergies were a real possibility and when she tried to give him even baby rice cereal, he had a strong reaction to it. Same with barley and oats. So, my advice would be to seek out a pediatric allergist in your area. Hope that helps.
hi
i just wanted to second the acidic foods for flushed cheeks. i think the other suggestions to rule out more serious allergies are good too. good luck!
Your baby is allergic to the MSG and aspartame in his food. Everyone is!
Eliminating entirely ALL foods containing MSG (chemical flavor enhancers) and artificial sweeteners ( aspartame) from your babies diet will rid your child of virtually all of these modern day baby sicknesses.
This includes most, if not all Baby formulas.. Soy formula is even worse.. MSG is STILL in baby formula even though the manufactures claim they removed it.
MSG greatly increases the level of glutamate in the blood causing very serous problems,, even death.. Chemical sugar substitutes (aspartame) damage your baby's (and yours) DNA and will eventually cause cancer. Keep your children away from these poisons.
Whole, raw foods.. No Juices.. none! Give your children water. Do not give them soda and NEVER give them diet soda or anything labeled diet or no sugar) Processed sugar is very bad for you but aspartame is even worse.
Research Dr. Russell Blaylock -neurosurgeon ( BRAIN Surgeon)
I am not sure what an ENT would know about food allergies and how to treat them. I would go to a gastroenterologist. They specialize in food allergies / tummy problems.
Hi M.,
My son had flushed cheeks every time he ate anything really sweet. You might try eliminating sugary foods from his diet.
L.
I'd try a pediatric allergist. Call your pediatrician (or the ENT) for a referral. Good luck!
Call your docotr today schedule a blood panel, there is an allergy panel to test on his blood that will tell you what he is allergic to. It is hard to eliminate every allergin 1 by 1. this way you know and eliminate what it is. My son is allergic to eggs and he had a bad diaper rash too, but he also has reactive air way. Food allergies are hard and scary please get the draw, with 1 poke you should have a good idea. Then go to an allerginist and confirm with a skin test.
Good luck.
It does sound like food allergies. To be 100% honest with I would take him to an allergist. I went through the same thing with my oldet and after the months of eliminating foods and other things we still had no answers. I took him to an allergist. He ordered blood work to test him for allergies and we had answers within a week. Also, he could have allergies to things other than foods. It was a lot easier to have blood drawn than to deal with months of playing with his diet. Good Luck!!
In reference to red cheeks...my daughter suffered from the same until I realized she was sleeping on her plastic crib mattress without a quilted pad between the mattress and crib sheet. Turned out it was heat rash. Hope this helps.
When my son was 6 months he had bad eczema. We took him to an pediatric allergist who gave him blood test and found out he was allergic to eggs & nuts. When my daughter was born the same thing happen and she's allergic to egg, nuts, wheat & milk. It could be a combination of things. I would find an allergist to take him to to find out just why he's reactioning.
Good luck,
V. L
My daughter has the samething. You need to go to an allergist, certified to test children and get it done. We did it at 6 months and go back in Feb to re-test at 18 months. My daughter had this all her life, She is allergic to soy, milk, and eggs. So you should do that, I am not sure about the ears. She has never had an ear infection, colds yes, but no ear trouble. She also lost weight b/c of the calcium, but there is a lot you can do. we have figured it all out. If you want further info, let me know. But, have them tested, it is the best things we did and go to a dermotologist too. We are on medicine and it really works.
Hi my son also had the red cheek and it ending up being that he was allergic to citric acid. He had the reaction from the time he was a baby up until he was about 3.
Citric acid is found in some children's vitamins plus baby food and baby cookies. So I stopped giving him the packaged cookies and snacks and gave him graham crackers and fruit instead and he got better.
I had issues with my now 3 yo twins. They were allergic to milk, eggs, corn, soy, wheat and nuts. Elimination was the only way to see improvements. Please check the website NAET.com. It is an alternative technique for dealing with food and other allergies that was 100% effective for us. I suugest at least visiting a practitioner in your area to see if you think it is for you. It has literally changed our lives to finally be food allergy free. Good luck.
