dairy

Ronin (10 years old)

November 2, 2022 / , , , , , , ,

As an infant, we suspected Ronin had eczema and food sensitivities because he was always fussy and blotchy and would spit up after breastfeeding. The pediatrician suggested switching him to a special baby formula at 4 months old. So, we did. But there was no mention of food allergies. At one years old, he had his first reaction to food. It was on vacation while eating some scrambled eggs. I still remember running around like a chicken with its head cut off- because we had no clue what was going on. He had another reaction shortly after that to his birthday cake. It was then that the pediatrician ordered a food allergy panel and it was determined Ronin was allergic to soy (false positive), dairy, egg, peanut, and treenuts. He still has all of those same allergies including a tomato allergy.

We didn’t use any websites early on in our diagnosis because the whole thing was just so new and overwhelming and we honestly had no idea how many resources are actually out there. But in the years since, we have relied heavily on FARE and Allergic Living.

  Benjamin, Christopher and Abigail (@themomplicatedeater)

October 17, 2022 / , , , , , , ,

When Benjamin was 6 months old, I had eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and given him a kiss on his neck. He broke out in hives in the area he was kissed pretty soon after. We took him to an allergist who diagnosed him. Since then his blood work results have continued to worsen. For both of my subsequent children, our allergist tested them before we introduced foods. With my second child, he was positive for dairy and egg, which I had not cut out of my diet (and was breastfeeding), but did so after his diagnosis. We saw huge improvements with his skin and discomfort level. Our third baby is about to be tested, but based on similar signs that Christopher displayed, I eliminated dairy, egg, soy, gluten and peanuts at 8 weeks of age.

We were so unaware when Benjamin was first diagnosed. But as we’ve attempted OIT and experienced anaphylaxis at home, we have joined Facebook groups, receive several newsletters and follow multiple accounts on IG to learn and grow. Some of the resources we use currently are Allergen Inside and Susie at Spokin.

Daveigh Bea (1 year old)

October 14, 2022 / , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When we first started introducing solids to little miss we noticed small hives and redness with eggs and milk products as well as an increase in her eczema. At first we did not think much about it and I kept exposing her to milk and eggs thinking she would get use to it but instead she kept getting redness, hives and runny noses. All this would improve with a bath and dose of zyrtec. I had bought some peanut butter banana food pouches and we had given them to her with what I thought was no reactions but one afternoon I came home to my husband freaking out and showed me the baby and she was covered head to toe in welts and hives, he told me all he gave her was the banana peanut butter about 10 minutes prior. She then proceeded to vomit multiple times, now at this point I am still not educated on food allergies or reactions but knew something was wrong so we took her to urgent care by the time we got there the benedryl had kicked in and she was doing better so urgent care pretty much dismissed us. Looking back I realized that she had been having small delayed reactions to peanut butter as she had been vomiting randomly but each time I had given her peanut butter I just did not correlate the two. Currently I am waiting to get into see an allergist as I have had to educate and advocate for ourselves. Our pediatrician did the blood allergy test and gave us an EpiPen and said she was too young for an allergist. Right now her allergies are peanut, eggs, dairy, wheat, oats and peas. We have excluded those foods and have had no reactions and her eczema is gone. We are hoping to try some food challenges once speaking to an allergist. She is now 15 months old still breastfeeding and we have found many safe foods and she is happy and thriving!

I found the websites FARE, The Food Allergy Counselor, and joined some food allergy groups on Facebook. I took it up on myself to learn about food allergies and symptoms of anaphylaxis. I am a mental health therapist and realized I was having increased anxiety around feeding her which let me to the Food Allergy Counselor social media and website where I educated myself on how to help others parents with the same anxious feelings I was having. I educated myself enough to become one of the therapist on their directory for my state I knew if I as a therapist was having these anxious thoughts and feelings there had to be more parents out there that may need an allergy informed therapist!

Elias (1 year old)

October 13, 2022 / , , , , , , , , , ,

We were dealing with eczema since he was 3 mo that old and at times it was so bad he’d scratch and bleed. We went to the pediatrician 4 or 5 times and tried so many ointments. Lots of wrong diagnosis led to my frustration. Then someone suggested seeing an allergist. We learned he was allergic to eggs and dairy from when he consumed them directly because he broke out in hives. Through breast milk it was presenting as eczema. Once he tried wheat he also had hives from that. I had to remove those confirmed allergens from my diet and he was prescribed epipens. I have suspicions of other foods that he is sensitive to but not necessarily breaking out in hives. Those include beef, soy, tomatoes and strawberries.

Primarily diagnosed through seeing hives and then skin and blood test confirmed it. I knew something was wrong from the beginning because he used to cry so much and had such bad colic and gas. He also used to spit up significantly almost every feeding. Once allergens we’re removed form both of our diets his eczema cleared, he was a happier baby, and the gas issues also seemed to resolve.

Maria Alexander (@allergy.with.me04 – 18+ years old)

October 5, 2022 / , , , , ,

When I was a baby, I had terrible rashes all over my skin and would itch constantly. I would not keep food down, so when I was around 6 months old I had gotten allergy tested. My blood test showed up with dairy, wheat/gluten, chicken, turkey, egg, shellfish, peanut, tree nut, oat, barley, pea. I have single grown out of a few allergens, but I still have a majority of them.

A lot of the information that my mom and dad used was from FARE and some different books.

Lauren Reynolds (18+ years old)

September 1, 2022 / , ,

I have always had stomach issues from birth. I was a colicky baby and later was diagnosed with IBS. There were times off and on while I was growing up that we noticed if I ate a lot of dairy it would upset my stomach so we tried to limit it. In 2017 I had my gallbladder removed as I got sick every time that I ate. After surgery I couldn’t eat ice cream or drink regular milk anymore at all without getting sick. Fast forward to about a year ago when it seemed I would get sicker more often when eating dairy. My doctor recommended that I try an elimination diet and stop eating all dairy. It’s been quite the challenge when eating out and learning to watch labels for hidden dairy.

I google all foods to check for dairy. I watch the menus at restaurants and have to ask a lot of questions to make accommodations. I try to keep it simple right now with just protein, fruit and vegetables. I have found a-lot of dairy free items such as cheese, sour cream, almond milk, oat milk, etc. that makes it easier. I’m still learning and it can be really frustrating to want to eat things I used to love and not be able to until we can find a non dairy solution.

Shae Averaimo (@shaeallergy_07 – 15 years old)

August 3, 2022 / , , , , ,

I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy when I was 6 months old. When I was a baby, I had skin rashes, vomited after I ate, lost weight, and cried a lot. My parents took me to my pediatrician and that is when I was diagnosed. I had my first anaphylactic reaction at 1 year old after eating a small piece of cheese. That is when I saw an allergist and started carrying an Epipen. I am now 15 years old and I did not outgrow my allergy. Unfortunately, it is still just as severe as it was when I was a baby. I have learned how to manage my allergy in all aspects of my life. I was diagnosed by my doctor so I did not use any websites to diagnose. My family and I frequently use information from FARE’s website. I also use the Spokin app.

Lauren (18+ years old)

January 5, 2022 / , , ,

From when I was a baby I was able to eat all foods and was able to have everything. I had no issues with food until my late teens when it all started. In 2017/18 I noticed that I would become unwell soon after eating meals/snacks and first thought that it could have been a bug but then noticed it was happening more regularly and only after I had certain foods which had dairy in them. This then lead me to think that I could be dairy intolerant, so I spoke to the doctor and after a discussion with them I was referred to the dietitian. Before my appointment I had to keep a food diary to track what I was eating and what reaction I was having after it, when I went to my appointment we discussed my symptoms and after our discussion it was decided that I was to avoid dairy completely from my diet. Then a couple years later I began to start becoming unwell again after meals/snacks and thought like I did with the dairy, is it a bug? But no it turned out that I was becoming unwell with egg, then a few months later I was becoming unwell again and because I had already taken dairy and egg out of my diet, the only other allergen I had eaten was gluten/wheat! So I then spoke to the doctor and got another referral to the dietitians; I had to do another food diary, when I spoke to them I discussed about how I was becoming unwell after having egg and gluten/wheat and that it just seems to be one thing after another I am now not able to have. So they said that I should remove them completely from my diet and to start taking multivitamins daily to help make sure I am still getting the nutrients. I’ve also had allergic reactions to vegan cheese as well where my neck and lips become really itchy and my throat and tongue become tingly, so I avoid this too! I’m still currently avoiding all dairy, egg and gluten/wheat and all vegan cheeses. But sometime not in the near future I might reintroduced these one by one in small amounts. I used the NHS website a lot when figuring out symptoms, and google in general. I also got good leaflets from my couple of appointments from the dietitians as well.

@theallergyteen – 14 years old

August 11, 2021 / , , , , , , , ,

My sister had a dairy allergy, so I was invited to the LEAP food allergy study – this is where I was diagnosed with a dairy, egg, peanut, and sesame allergy. When I was younger, allergies were very much in the dark ages and eating out or buying allergy safe alternatives were simply not options! Because of this my mum (@lucysfriendlyfoods) decided to start baking and creating allergy friendly recipes. This really transformed my life and made me feel as though I was ‘normal’ and the same as all of my friends, who also enjoyed these baked goodies, and even said they were better then dairy and egg containing bakes!

Medications Taken: salbutamol (inhaler) for asthma and i carry antihistamine and epipens around as a precaution

@theallergybadge – 6 years old

August 11, 2021 / , , , , , ,

As a baby Ella was very unhappy. Always crying, covered in eczema and her face would swell. She then went on to have an anaphylactic reaction to dairy at the age of 1. This was a very frightening experience. She now carries Epipens for dairy and peanut allergies and although it’s sometimes tough checking everything she eats, she is a very happy little girl.

Medication taken : She carries Epipens. Also, she has asthma so she uses inhalers daily.