Just got confirmation that DS (10mo) has a nut and a cow’s milk allergy. I am trying to wrap my head around this.
1) Should I be trying to avoid nuts and milk since I’m nursing? As far as I can tell, he doesn’t seem bothered by my milk but I’d hate for him to be feeling sick because of my diet.
2) I was SO looking forward to being done pumping but since cow’s milk is out as a replacement, I’m wondering if I ought to keep it up. I’d welcome thoughts on how to fill out his diet without cow’s milk.
3) He’s had three dairy reactions but all we noticed were rashes on his face, so they seemed mild. He had one reaction to some peanut butter that was worse and following the allergist’s care plan to the letter, we maybe should have epi’ed him (though we didn’t have one). I’ve heard that the second reaction can be much worse – is that a real thing or is it just that severity can vary so we shouldn’t be too comfortable about exposure? TRIGGER WARNING: I read an anecdote via Dr Google about a boy who had a bad reaction on vacation without an epi because previous reactions had been mild - he ate some cheese and ended up dying.
4) Any calming words? I am so nervous about this because it can happen so suddenly. I can’t always be in full control of his diet and even when I am in control, a mistake I make could be fatal to him. UGH. I am trying not to freak out.
Post by mandapanda18 on Oct 13, 2015 12:45:40 GMT -5
I would avoid all allergens if you are nursing. Allergies can get worse with repeated exposure (although not always). I would definitely get some epi pens and leave them anywhere where your DS will be (home, diaper bag/car, daycare, etc). Is he allergic to the milk protein or lactose? C was super sensitive to the milk protein, but out grew it (thankfully) so I nursed until he was almost 15 months old and then we went with alternative milk sources (almond, soy, coconut).
Keep calm, you will get good at making sure that he is getting what he needs and still protected. You will learn to automatically read every label, ask questions at restaurants, etc.
My dd was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at that age. I'm so sorry, it's stressful She actually outgrew it around 2, which is rare but does happen.
I mostly did not eat nuts after her diagnosis. Not for milk concerns (it doesn't work like that) but for cross contamination concerns. If I did it nuts or PB, I brushed me teeth and washed my face/hands before touching her.
FARE is a helpful website. Google for copay coupons if you get an epipen or auvi-q. Be sure to get several sets, you are actually supposed to keep them together in pairs.
I would avoid all allergens if you are nursing. Allergies can get worse with repeated exposure (although not always). I would definitely get some epi pens and leave them anywhere where your DS will be (home, diaper bag/car, daycare, etc). Is he allergic to the milk protein or lactose? C was super sensitive to the milk protein, but out grew it (thankfully) so I nursed until he was almost 15 months old and then we went with alternative milk sources (almond, soy, coconut).
Keep calm, you will get good at making sure that he is getting what he needs and still protected. You will learn to automatically read every label, ask questions at restaurants, etc.
Thanks!
I don't know what in the milk he's allergic to. I was pretty disappointed with the allergist, after the skin test they just sent in a tech to teach us how to use an epi pen, so I didn't get to ask many questions. I assume we could push for some follow up testing to get more specific answers. We do have another appointment with an NP in the allergy office in a month. Also, we told them we wanted three epis (for home, daycare, and a "traveling" one) but the way the prescription was written we got one 2-pk and there's a "1" refill. We need a 2-pk at all times, right?
FARE is a helpful website. Google for copay coupons if you get an epipen or auvi-q. Be sure to get several sets, you are actually supposed to keep them together in pairs.
Thanks! I just posted at the same time. I think they screwed up our prescription (either writing or filling) so I need to check into that.
Just got confirmation that DS (10mo) has a nut and a cow’s milk allergy. I am trying to wrap my head around this.
1) Should I be trying to avoid nuts and milk since I’m nursing? As far as I can tell, he doesn’t seem bothered by my milk but I’d hate for him to be feeling sick because of my diet.
2) I was SO looking forward to being done pumping but since cow’s milk is out as a replacement, I’m wondering if I ought to keep it up. I’d welcome thoughts on how to fill out his diet without cow’s milk.
3) He’s had three dairy reactions but all we noticed were rashes on his face, so they seemed mild. He had one reaction to some peanut butter that was worse and following the allergist’s care plan to the letter, we maybe should have epi’ed him (though we didn’t have one). I’ve heard that the second reaction can be much worse – is that a real thing or is it just that severity can vary so we shouldn’t be too comfortable about exposure? TRIGGER WARNING: I read an anecdote via Dr Google about a boy who had a bad reaction on vacation without an epi because previous reactions had been mild - he ate some cheese and ended up dying.
4) Any calming words? I am so nervous about this because it can happen so suddenly. I can’t always be in full control of his diet and even when I am in control, a mistake I make could be fatal to him. UGH. I am trying not to freak out.
First, hugs, it's really tough news to get and SO frightening at first. It will get so much better in time- I promise. My son was diagnosed at 10 months as well and now (he's 32 months) our life is so adapted to managing his allergies that I really don't even think about it. It's all second nature now.
For your questions:
1. I did (do, as he's still nursing) remove all of his allergens from my diet. He had a lot of ongoing skin issues that were only resolved when I removed them from my diet. The only difference is that I allow myself to eat things that "may contain" or are "processed on the same equipment as X" whereas I will not give those same items to him. He is milk, egg, peanut and tree nut allergic. We don't even keep cow's milk, eggs or any nut products in our house bc I would be too worried about accidentally grabbing the wrong carton from the fridge or whatever.
2. Uggh, the diet thing is so tough. We started out giving him rice milk in a cup at meals around 12 months as well as his 3-4x a day nursing. I don't know why the heck neither our pedi nor our allergy bothered to point out how nutritionally deficient rice milk is to us. I was overwhelmed and didn't know what to do, wasn't crazy about going to soy milk but all the nut milks were out so I landed on rice milk. We moved around 18 months and his new pedi was like "what the heck, no no no, do not use rice milk" and actually wanted us to give him Nutramigen formula as his " cup milk" in addition to the nursing. He refused to drink it so we ended up moving to soy milk and his weight stopped dropping down the charts, so that was helpful I guess. We also do soy yogurt (more protein that the coconut yogurts we've found).
I found Kids with Food Allergies to be an amazing resource when my son was first diagnosed. They have a wealth of info on their site as well as a community with loads of helpful people on their forums.
1) Should I be trying to avoid nuts and milk since I’m nursing? As far as I can tell, he doesn’t seem bothered by my milk but I’d hate for him to be feeling sick because of my diet. According to my allergist, there is no risk of an anaphylactic reaction as a result of getting allergens through breastmilk. In fact, he said that the latest research indicated that those small doses of exposure can actually help the child's body learn to deal with the allergen and outgrow it faster. My son is very, very allergic to eggs (both of the main types of protein) and I never cut eggs myself, and he never had any issues.
2) I was SO looking forward to being done pumping but since cow’s milk is out as a replacement, I’m wondering if I ought to keep it up. I’d welcome thoughts on how to fill out his diet without cow’s milk. Not sure as we didn't have to deal with milk. BUT I will say that milk is not really a critical component to a kid's diet, as long as you're making sure that they're getting the protein and calcium they would have gotten from milk from other sources. So it's totally possible that you could just switch to all water, especially if you continue to still nurse when you're together. Also, I know that soy milk is not considered a good option nowadays, especially for little boys, because of the hormones it contains.
3) He’s had three dairy reactions but all we noticed were rashes on his face, so they seemed mild. He had one reaction to some peanut butter that was worse and following the allergist’s care plan to the letter, we maybe should have epi’ed him (though we didn’t have one). I’ve heard that the second reaction can be much worse – is that a real thing or is it just that severity can vary so we shouldn’t be too comfortable about exposure? TRIGGER WARNING: I read an anecdote via Dr Google about a boy who had a bad reaction on vacation without an epi because previous reactions had been mild - he ate some cheese and ended up dying. I think that any allergy carries with it the risk of a much worse reaction at any time (so not necessarily the second). You'll want to plan to have benadryl and an epi pen with you everywhere you go. On the epi pen, I would not leave one in your car as heat can affect them, but bring it in the diaper bag, etc.
4) Any calming words? I am so nervous about this because it can happen so suddenly. I can’t always be in full control of his diet and even when I am in control, a mistake I make could be fatal to him. UGH. I am trying not to freak out. Just hugs. It is REALLY really scary, I know. But over time you'll learn what he can eat safely and adjust so at least your daily routine is easier.
Post by barefootcontessa on Oct 13, 2015 19:40:47 GMT -5
My DD is allergic to wheat, dairy, nuts, and sesame. She basically eats meat and fruit. By the time she was diagnosed (18 months, I had weaned). If I had known she had all these allergies, I would have kept BF. I give my daughter fortified orange juice because that is the only way she get enough calcium. It is rough. She is still allergic at 2.5. I keep hoping they will resolve.
I am sorry you have to deal with this. DD is severely allergic to dairy, we found out when she was 10 months old. I was already on soy formula because she refused breast milk, so I can't answer that part of your question. I can say though a dairy allergy is hard to navigate at first, it does get easier. DD is now 2 and we have become accustomed to reading every label every time. We all now eat much less dairy. We were also told her 2nd reaction will be much worse, thankfully she hasn't had a 2nd ingestion so I can't say if it's true, but we do keep epi pens and Benadryl with us everywhere we go. We also were only given one set per prescription. It is really scary when you first learn of this, but there is a ton of information out there to help figure out how to deal with it.
Hugs. My oldest has a nut allergy and the youngest has nut, eggs, and outgrew a milk allergy at 3. It is tough, but does get easier to handle.
1.Should I be trying to avoid nuts and milk since I’m nursing? As far as I can tell, he doesn’t seem bothered by my milk but I’d hate for him to be feeling sick because of my diet. I did not. Our allergist said specifically not to. There is conflicting information (as seen by posts saying two different things). I would talk to an allergist or pedi to decide what the best approach is for your child.
2) I was SO looking forward to being done pumping but since cow’s milk is out as a replacement, I’m wondering if I ought to keep it up. I’d welcome thoughts on how to fill out his diet without cow’s milk. I kept nursing until after 2.
3) & 4) My kids subsequent reactions have not been as bad b/c we have been able to treat them appropriately right away with an epi pen or Benadryl. The first reactions were in part so awful b/c we didn't know what was going on. We are lucky in that both girls only have a reaction with direct contact or ingestion. Their allergies are not airborne and they can be around the food. The reaction from contact has only been a rash, whereas ingestion is anaphylactic. All kids are different though . I can only give our experiences. Our allergist was such a huge help in knowing how to deal with it and calming our fears.