dairy

Ella (@Allergylife_unfiltered – 5 years old)

July 25, 2026 / , , , ,

We first noticed Ella’s allergies as a baby when she reacted badly to formula, and later to yogurt during weaning. She was formally diagnosed with a dairy allergy, and since then we’ve discovered she’s also allergic to honey, cattle meat, dog and goat dander, latex, dust mites, pollen, and certain trees and grasses. We’re currently checking for pollen allergy syndrome as well as idiopathic anaphylaxis, since she’s had a severe reaction with no known cause. She hasn’t outgrown her allergies, so we manage them through strict avoidance, ongoing monitoring, and by always carrying emergency medication.

We didn’t rely on websites to diagnose Ella’s allergies. Her diagnosis came through multiple allergists, combined with our own observations over the past five years. Along the way, we’ve learned so much through trial and error and medical guidance, and we now use that knowledge to advocate in schools and on Instagram to raise awareness about allergy life. I’m also in the process of writing a book to support families living with severe allergies and to help educate others about the challenges children like Ella face every day.

We used Flixotide and antihistamine medications.

(@my_allergy_baby – 1.5 years old) 

July 25, 2026 / , ,

We figured out my son had food allergies when he had an allergic reaction to dairy simply by touching his skin. Later, we did a skin allergy test that gave us an idea of all his allergens. We are currently working on overcoming his allergies, so this is an ongoing process.

We didn’t use any websites. We went straight to a food allergist, who explained his different food allergies. We’ve also gone through trial and error, figuring out which other foods he’s allergic to as we introduce new foods.

Lei (18+ years old)

July 25, 2026 / , , , , , , ,

We found out about our daughter’s allergies when she reacted with hives to peanut butter at 5 months old. We saw an allergist, who found allergies to peanut, dog, dairy, and egg. Since then, she’s also reacted to flax and cashew. We’re still in the thick of it and learning fast, but we’re on a list to start OIT (oral immunotherapy) and are working on egg and dairy ladders.

I’ve found it helpful to follow content creators of food-allergy kids, as well as joining allergy parent groups on Reddit and Facebook. The biggest help has been finding people who can relate, since I don’t know anyone in my life who deals with food allergies.

We used Rupall medications.

(@Young_healerss – 7 years old)

July 25, 2026 / , , , , , ,

My husband had allergies as a child, but I was completely new to it. My daughter developed allergies at age 2, and my son at 6 months old. Before that, she used to eat everything. She’s allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, sesame, strawberries, coconut, and all citrus fruits. My son has similar allergies, with the addition of all lentils.

My daughter struggled with allergies and eczema from age 2 to 7. She started methotrexate last November, and her skin has been doing well since. My son is also on methotrexate and doing well too. We still avoid all their allergens and are hoping they can outgrow their allergies over time.

We found Facebook groups for kids with eczema through Google helpful along the way.

We used methotrexate, folic acid, and fexofenadine medications.

Anchittha Kanjanarujee (17 years old)

July 23, 2026 / , , ,

When I was around 14–15 years old, I used to eat a lot of bakery treats and chocolate bars. Every time I ate them, I would get pimples around my cheeks and mouth, and it would sometimes feel itchy too. That’s when I realized I was allergic to dairy products.

I went to see a dermatologist, who suggested I stop eating dairy for a week. My skin improved shortly after.

We used Cistamine medications.

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.