DD, 16 months, has shown a definite intolerance to a few specific foods ~ so far it has been blueberries (around 8 months), tomatoes (at 15 months, after being fine with them until that point), and beef (just figured it out pretty much for sure this week, though I've noticed the reaction before, maybe 3 months ago). She was EBF until 6.5 months, when we started BLS, but didn't really take to solids until ~13 months.
With the blueberries, it was very definite ~ spitting up within 20 minutes the first and second times she had the reaction (though I'm pretty sure she'd had them before), and while she was eating the third time (this was in yogurt, but we ruled out any other ingredients), along with a skin reaction the third time. Since then we've not tried them again.
With tomatoes, she was eating them fine (raw and processed) for a couple of months, and then we noticed a skin rash one time from a raw tomato, followed by a more severe skin rash and diaper rash the second time, and now it's a bleeding diaper rash and eczema like face rash with even a little bit of any tomato product.
With beef, I noticed a diaper rash after eating beef stew. I tested some on her skin and it caused a rash, too. Same sort of eczema reaction as from tomatoes.
So all that background to ask this question:
What is the difference between an allergy and an intolerance? She doesn't have an anaphylactic reaction (or hasn't yet, at least) to any of these things. She's also had no reaction to the common ones (milk, corn, peanuts, tree nuts). Based on what I've described (skin reaction, diaper rash, possible GI upset) does this sound like an intolerance that she'll outgrow? Or an allergy that we should continue to avoid forever (or at least for a very very long time)? At what point is it safe to reintroduce any of these? Tomatoes definitely seem to get worse with each exposure, to the point that we can pretty much tell that night or the next day if we've accidentally given her something with tomatoes or anything related (like tonight
we're trying to settle her tummy with bland foods but she's having a rough go of it).
I know that we have it much much easier than most of you ladies, but I'd appreciate any feedback
With the blueberries, it was very definite ~ spitting up within 20 minutes the first and second times she had the reaction (though I'm pretty sure she'd had them before), and while she was eating the third time (this was in yogurt, but we ruled out any other ingredients), along with a skin reaction the third time. Since then we've not tried them again.
With tomatoes, she was eating them fine (raw and processed) for a couple of months, and then we noticed a skin rash one time from a raw tomato, followed by a more severe skin rash and diaper rash the second time, and now it's a bleeding diaper rash and eczema like face rash with even a little bit of any tomato product.
With beef, I noticed a diaper rash after eating beef stew. I tested some on her skin and it caused a rash, too. Same sort of eczema reaction as from tomatoes.
So all that background to ask this question:
What is the difference between an allergy and an intolerance? She doesn't have an anaphylactic reaction (or hasn't yet, at least) to any of these things. She's also had no reaction to the common ones (milk, corn, peanuts, tree nuts). Based on what I've described (skin reaction, diaper rash, possible GI upset) does this sound like an intolerance that she'll outgrow? Or an allergy that we should continue to avoid forever (or at least for a very very long time)? At what point is it safe to reintroduce any of these? Tomatoes definitely seem to get worse with each exposure, to the point that we can pretty much tell that night or the next day if we've accidentally given her something with tomatoes or anything related (like tonight
we're trying to settle her tummy with bland foods but she's having a rough go of it).I know that we have it much much easier than most of you ladies, but I'd appreciate any feedback
(I'm not sure what size your DD started out at, but we went from 97th percentile to 7th.)
