Corn Allergy & FPIES

[kittycatlove]

Not my DS, but a friends daughter is allergic. Unfortunately they had to make everything from scratch, it was just too much of a risk since it's pretty much in everything. I know she was really overwhelmed at first, but once they got into a routine it became much easier.

Hugs.

ETA: I will ask her for some easy ideas.

[Deleted]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I don't have specific advice on the corn allergy, that's not one we have to deal with. But with regard to FPIES. You may already know this, but it won't show up on traditional allergy testing. It is not an IGE type allergy so traditional testing which looks for this reaction will not detect it.

When J had his last allergist appt earlier this month at Children's hospital boston we discussed the girls reaction to avocado, basically an hr or two after ingestion they begin sever vomiting, we end up in the ER for fluids etc. He explained that while it is an allergy there isn't much they can do in terms of testing. And all they really do is give us a statement saying they have FPIES so that we can take it with us to the ER so they know to give fluids and steroids to help stop the reaction. Basically FPIES causes a reaction in the body that would show up similar to sepsis in blood work if taken during a reaction. But they still don't know a lot about it.

Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know! I didn't know all of these details until recently so I thought I'd share.

[longtimenopost]

No advice, just hugs. DD had a soy allergy that caused severe vomiting and like corn, soy or soy lecithin is in EVERYTHING processed in this country! On the plus side, DH and I lost weight.

[auntie]

It's so hard.

My cousin's DS is allergic to corn. You can pretty much assume it's in any food you don't prepare yourself.

The only place she's comfortable eating outside their home is WDW.

[Deleted]

Apr 29, 2015 8:43:43 GMT -5 @peggyolson said:

@awinter thank you! A had a serious severe reaction in December - I believe I posted about it here. She projectile vomited 7 times in an hour and then aspirated and passed out. I had to give her CPR to get her breathing again and we spent the night in the Children's ER. This all happened about 2 hours after she drank a bottle of formula. Any other time she's had formula, she's vomited but this was the most formula she had ever had (4 oz). Since then, we've avoided formula but then she had a similar reaction when I gave her baby food (sweet potato & corn). At that point, I put the two together and realized it is likely a corn allergy and the pediatrician agreed.

I need to buy some cooking-from-scratch cookbooks!

I remember that! And thst sounds like classic FPIES. With the girls we gave them avocado at dinner. 2 hrs later they both started vomiting repeatedly. We ended up in the ER because K was lethargic. They each vomited over 10 times in a span of about 2 hrs. The next week I gave them avocado again (thinking it was a stomach virus the first time) again the vomiting and ER visit. This time I knew it was the avocado because I knew what I had fed them and was looking for allergies because of J's history.

The other thing about FPIES is that it just presents with vomiting without also having hives or redness or other classic allergic reaction symptoms so it makes it harder to detecT. J vomits upon ingesting milk or eggs but he also gets hives and the vomiting occurs withIn minutes not an hr or two later. He also just vomits once and empties his stomach and is done. The fpies is repeated severe vomiting over and over often resulting in dehydration etc.

Good luck! Corn is a really hard one to avoid.

[brady2012]

No advice, but just wanted to jump in and say I had a corn allergy as an infant/toddler and I gradually grew out of it.  It still showed up on my allergy test at 8 but I was able to eat it by then.

[scribellesam]

I have a friend whose been dealing with a similar issue. If the corn allergy test is negative, look into fructose intolerance - my friend was sure her son's allergy was corn but the problem ended up being fructose. She put her son on a paleo-type diet to treat it and said it was a real PITA avoiding processed foods. But at nearly three, he's pretty much outgrown it.

She has a blog about her experience; happy to PM the link if you're interested.

[scribellesam]

Apr 29, 2015 9:03:00 GMT -5 @peggyolson said:

Apr 29, 2015 8:56:49 GMT -5 scribellesam said:

I have a friend whose been dealing with a similar issue. If the corn allergy test is negative, look into fructose intolerance - my friend was sure her son's allergy was corn but the problem ended up being fructose. She put her son on a paleo-type diet to treat it and said it was a real PITA avoiding processed foods. But at nearly three, he's pretty much outgrown it.

She has a blog about her experience; happy to PM the link if you're interested.

Yes, please. Thank you! 

Sent!

[Marmee]

No experience with corn allergy but my DD4 had FPIES to oats. Good news is that she grew out of it by 2 which is pretty common. I hope the same is true for your DD. Until then...I think processed foods are pretty limited with corn allergy.

[Deleted]

corn-freefoods.blogspot.com/

That might help?

www.cornallergens.com/food/corn-free-foods.php
Goldfish crackers are corn free!

[lurknomore]

Apr 29, 2015 8:43:43 GMT -5 @peggyolson said:

@awinter thank you! A had a serious severe reaction in December - I believe I posted about it here. She projectile vomited 7 times in an hour and then aspirated and passed out. I had to give her CPR to get her breathing again and we spent the night in the Children's ER. This all happened about 2 hours after she drank a bottle of formula. Any other time she's had formula, she's vomited but this was the most formula she had ever had (4 oz). Since then, we've avoided formula but then she had a similar reaction when I gave her baby food (sweet potato & corn). At that point, I put the two together and realized it is likely a corn allergy and the pediatrician agreed.

I need to buy some cooking-from-scratch cookbooks!

Peggy,

If you need a formula that is corn-free, this is the one we used with DD2 and DD3.  Turns out they both are sensitive to DHA, which is why we went with their DHA-free one.  It is made with rice-protein and specifically says in the ingredient list no corn-based ingredients.  You can get single cans on amazon, or order it from the company directly.  They're in Columbus, so you should have it the next day.  We always did. 

www.naturesone.com/babys-only-organic-dairy-formula-31fefc0e570cb3860f2a6d4b38c6490d.html

[barefootcontessa]

It is tough. My daughter is allergic to wheat, dairy, corn, tree nuts and fruits like banana, mangoes, etc. Trying to find things that are free of wheat, dairy and corn is tough. When we go out to eat, I just bring her own food. I am hoping she will outgrow it but she failed her most recent food challenge miserably.  She basically eats meat and fruit and pouches I make her.  She has been my only allergic one, so I am thankful for that.  

[rex]

ugh, I am so sorry you are going through this.

so yes, L is allergic to corn and honestly she eats almost zero processed food. she also has oats, beef, and dairy on her list so it's just easier to make things. it's a pain in the ass but you just get used to it. I am part of a few corn allergy groups on fb that are SO helpful. corn is very daunting, and there is a huge list of what she can't have or ingredients you need to call about.

I honestly hope that her reaction to corn ends up being mild enough that you won't need to call about ingredients. corn is cheap, and can be labeled as a veggie (it's a grain), and is hidden in other ingredients. a lot of people are fine with certain hidden corn (like in citric acid, for example), or corn in medicine. L can't have it in food, but can take medicine with it just fine.

I pack all of L's food, or I feed her a meal first and bring her snacks. Disney is the only place we have gone where I didn't have to worry about allergies-they are so on top of everything and it made our trip much less stressful. I didn't know she had corn issues until about 2 months ago, so I have no formula advice. L was on Neocate which is full of corn and probably part of why she never fully got better. she has tons of gastro issues and randomly pukes but not like multiple times an hour-still figuring that one out, so no advice for fpies.

I can pm you the fb links if you want, you have to be approved to get in them.