egg

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.

 Cameron (10 years old)

October 5, 2022 / , , , , , , , , ,

Our son was 13 months when he was diagnosed with his first allergy. I fed him mashed peas and he started coughing, then choking a bit and developing hives. His coughing was persistent and he started vomiting as well. It was really scary and I remember feeling helpless. I called 911 and was alone at the time. Before that incident, our son had vomited regularly after eating some foods and we attributed it to reflux. He also had terrible eczema and we just thought he had overly sensitive skin. After an upper GI and swallow study, a few different medications and other specialists evaluating his immunology responses, we finally looked at food allergies as a test. It felt like the most non-linear maze until we got to the pea reaction…and then we followed up with blood work and a skin scratch test. The tests confirmed that our son was anaphylactic to peanuts, most tree nuts, eggs, most legumes (including peas), mustard, sesame and soy protein. He is currently 10.5 years old as of 2022 and has not outgrown any of his food allergens yet.

Once diagnosed, we found FARE, Kids with Food Allergies and FAACT to be the most informative and helpful for creating allergy plans, what to include in an allergy bag and how to understand the basics (reading labels, understanding and preventing cross-contact, and understanding emergency signs and symptoms of a reaction). For every day living, I found several blogs with tips and tricks, recipes and people steps ahead on the journey who could detail tools for navigating this forward-facing health condition! Each meal requires careful planning and we had to reorient our thinking to anchor our plans in safety while also having fun. I was also finding that the Facebook groups brought together families out of trauma (after reactions) and fears (of future reactions) and as a caregiver I didn’t want to raise my kids with extra anxiety. I ended up creating Feedyourcan.com (when some foods you just can’t) as an empowering way to use the struggle as the teacher to help our kids build lasting life skills that will serve them well in food AND non-food challenging situations.

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.

Emily (@allergyandwe – 18+ years old)

August 24, 2022 / , , , , , , , , , ,

I was born with extreme eczema especially in the face. After getting breast milk I always reacted. My parents took me immediately to our doc and special allergist. They figured out during my first weeks and months that I have many allergies. I did overcome a lot while growing up. Now I’m still allergic to peanut, egg, soy, peas, lentils, beans and kiwi. I’m also lactose and histamine intolerant but I manage to have it on a normal basis in discussion with my natural practitioner.

My parents mostly reached out to the best docs and allergists in Germany. Since two years I go to a natural practitioner who works on a scientific basis and starts with the roots (gut health and immune system). I really do recommend looking for one working scientifically and visiting on a regular basis.

@ollie.eats.food (1 year old)

October 5, 2022 / , , ,

We first realized Ollie had an allergy when he reacted to a new formula. Large white welts spread across his face wherever it had touched his skin. After a hospital trip, blood tests and skin prick tests, we found out he had Cows Milk Protein Allergy along with peanut and egg allergy. We avoid all of these foods and he’s thriving and happy. I found the Instagram allergy community so helpful and supportive. We follow lots of fellow parents/children who also suffer allergies. They’re always full of great tips and meal inspiration.

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

@theallergymumdiaries – 3 years old

July 31, 2021 / , ,

Florence started reacted to egg when weaned onto solids at 6 months, it all spiraled out of control from there and she is allergic to peanuts and most tree nuts.

Joseph when he was born he wouldn’t feed or grow. He was diagnosed at 3 weeks with CMPA and at a year we discovered he was allergic to soy. He has failed milk and soy ladders several time.

Medicine: Citirizine

Resources Recommended: Allergy UK, Anaphylaxis campaign

Florence (3 years old)

March 8, 2021 / , , , , , , ,

I found out Florence had allergies at 7 months old. She reacted to a bit of scrambled egg. Since then, she has gained 5 more allergies. These include peanuts, cashew nuts, pistachio, cherries, sesame and dust mites. She has overcome almond, coconut egg and tomato. I went to a general practitioner who referred us to an allergy doctor.