Soy Allergy

[adilcher]

I was suspicious of a cow milk allergy in my 12 month son when I started to supplement breast milk at this age so I put him on soy milk during the day and mom's milk at night. Since then he has had nasal congestion almost all the time and once a month gets bad congestion in his lungs (asthma?). The peds always treat it like asthma but it seems we are treating the bad symptom rather than the cause. At 15 months we weaned completely to soy milk. That month he had a worst cold which lead to his first ear infection. He recoved after taking progressively stronger antibiotics. He just had another asthma bout and someone suggested it might be a soy allergy. The doctor dismissed this quickly but I thought I would ask if anyone had kids with soy allergies and what symptoms they had. Anyone??? Thanks.

[leafylady]

I don't have any experience with a soy allergy, but I'm sure others have talked about it here before. If your library has it, get the book "Is this your child" by Dr. Doris Rapp. It lists many different possible allergens and effects. It's a great book.

Soy allergies are supposed to be very common too, although not quite as common as dairy. You may as well do an elimination diet to test out the soy allergy. Think how easy it would be and could possibly solve your problems. Try the fortified rice milks instead.

Doctors are jerks when they immediately dismiss allergies, especially when the allergy can be so easy to test for. Our first doctor also told us that dairy products had no effect on mucous production and congestion. You are the mother. If you suspect a possibly soy allergy, do the easy test by cutting it out of his diet for 2-4 weeks and see what happens.

[LEmama]

Right on, leafylady! Couldn't have said it better myself.

I second the idea of eliminating soy for 4 weeks and using fortified rice milk instead. Getting tested for food allergies often involves blood work and a prick test (and can provide questionable results!) An elimination diet is the best way to determine if soy is causing your son's problems. Good Luck!

[MamaMae]

Yes! DS definitely had a sensitivity to soy and brown rice, two things that I would have NEVER guessed to be the culprit! We tried eliminations diets (but never eliminated those two things, of course!), and finally took him to a chiropractor for NAET treatment. The Chiro believed it was soy and brown rice, worked on it in two sessions, and here we are three months later with no signs of an allergy rash anymore! Yeah!

My ped had told me that soy was not likely either. He was wrong! A lot of people actually have soy sensitivities.

Is this Your Child is an excellent book. Hope it helps you out!