How long to tell if you have citrus allergy?

[True Blue]

How long do I have to eliminate citrus to see if it affects eczema?

[kjbrown92]

Did citrus come up on some test or do you think it's that or from a food diary or what? I'd say a couple weeks, since skin seems like the last thing to clear around here.

[True Blue]

The Dr wanted us to give it a shot, along with dairy and gluten. I know the latter need 6-8 weeks, but can't find anything about citrus.

[kjbrown92]

Just curious about the reasoning, since there are other more likely culprits (soy, corn, eggs) for eczema. My kids react for 3-10 days for things. But again, clearing the skin seems to take the longest. And if it has to get out of your milk too, then that adds 4 days, so I still think 2 weeks is a good time period. Also, as long as you're eliminating things, start keeping a food journal and note any kind of symptom (sleep, skin, poop, etc.) and you might notice another trigger.

[True Blue]

Thanks. He actually has environmental allergies and eczema is mostly gone, but some remains, so we are trying to see if there is a food culprit. DS is 8 so no milk issue . I am however eliminating along with him to see if anything changes for me (I get headaches a lot) and DD2, whose behavior has gone out the window and I need to see if we are dealing with an extreme 2 year old or a 2 year old with an intolerance. I was thinking citrus is not likely her problem though.

[kjbrown92]

Have you looked at the elimination diet in Dr. Rapp's book "Is This Your Child?" It adds food back in too quickly but we used it as a basis to figure out DD2's intolerances. A good food journal is key in any elimination. And if things get worse, it usually means you're eating more of the culprit. Except in the case of gluten, when you can actually have withdrawal (my DS had it for 3 days).

[lyterae]

Depending on what the environmental allergies are they can represent in different fruits/vegetables.

DD has a ragweed allergy and as result cannot have watermelon or cantaloupe.. bananas and cucumbers seem to be fine though.

For her eczema we noticed a difference within a week of taking out dairy and now (besides the stomach ache) it will pop up if she accidentaly gets some.

[True Blue]

Thanks all. No, haven't read any books. I eliminated dairy for 6 weeks when he was a tot and it made no difference. Trying again now though in case it helps the nasal stuff. His environmental allergies are mostly dust mites and mold, with a couple trees thrown in. The mites and mold are the highest, and I saw a lot of improvement in his eczema with dust mite precautions.

I do however think I just made a soy connection, at least for his sister. We saw Dr Tuesday, and went out and got some substitutes...so since Tuesday night, she and I have had soy milk, soy cream from my coffee (she is 2), and soy ice cream. She has been a complete lunatic since Wed. Tantrums, crying, up in the middle of the night (though she has never slept the night), screaming for an hour crazy upset about everything. It can't be coincidence, right? Her behavior has gotten nutty in general lately but I thought it was in relation to moving, her age, etc. She has also always had cradle cap I can't get rid of....so now I'm thinking duh, that's not very far removed from the eczema her brother has, is it???

[True Blue]

Well, 2 days of no soy cleared up DS's eczema. However, we had a bbq yesterday and I let him have some soda (citric acid) and he got a little itchy....BUT he has always had issues with heat and eczema, so that's a toss up. Now he's going to horseback riding camp this week, and with the barn...I'm not sure I will have any answers. Her came home with eczema near his armpit and a rash where his bottom meets his back...all, for me, signs of external factors. He has only lately gotten that bad with dust mites and such.

DD2 is getting back to my normal little girl, I can't believe it!!!!! I can't believe soy was making her wacky.

I'm off to the library in the morning to get a card and some books (we just moved here remember, I do usually have a library card lol!)...are there any others I should be looking for?

[kjbrown92]

citric acid (in soda etc) is almost always CORN in the US. Not citrus. You can call and ask for a source if it's questionable.

[True Blue]

Hmmm. Well that's good to know. I suppose we will then have to wait out the week of horse camp to really find out. *sigh* On the plus side he does seem a little less stuff overall. I'm still a little lost in this whole thing, and he is hating it. I'm not sure how long to let the gluten go if it doesn't seem to be making a big difference. I guess that's why I need a book, huh? I'm not sure how to tell if he and DD2 need to be dairy free either. We are definitely keeping soy out of the house.

[True Blue]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Have you looked at the elimination diet in Dr. Rapp's book "Is This Your Child?" It adds food back in too quickly but we used it as a basis to figure out DD2's intolerances. A good food journal is key in any elimination. And if things get worse, it usually means you're eating more of the culprit. Except in the case of gluten, when you can actually have withdrawal (my DS had it for 3 days).

Book came today and I'm flipping through the pertinent parts for now (yea, h I have no patience sometimes LOL). We have eliminated soy, dairy, and gluten completely, and it will be a week on Friday. I know I haven't gotten rid of EVERYTHING, but I don't have the energy at the moment to go complete all at once, so I guess that makes it a hybrid diet lol. Anyway, I was wondering what part of the diet you think adds foods in too quickly...only waiting 8 days, or adding a new one every day (bc I'm kind of thinking adding a new one everyday is too much, but I'd like to hear experienced opinions.)

[kjbrown92]

I think adding one back in a day is way too fast, since food intolerances can take between 1-4 days to show symptoms. So if you add gluten back in on Tuesday, corn on Wednesday, and potatoes on Thursday, and you react Friday morning, you don't know which one caused it. A good food journal is immensely helpful as well. And when we did it we started out eliminating what Dr. Rapp said, and then kept eliminating until we got to baseline (no symptoms). And then rechecked each food (for us, it took a few months since she had so many intolerances).

[True Blue]

Thanks. However what if you don't realize there are symptoms? For example, DD2's allergies came as a shock to me. I was testing DS, not her...kwim? I'm really thinking about asking our Dr for an IgG to get some ideas, though I know it's not totally conclusive. The IgE was not very helpful, DS only tested positive for sesame on that one. I need to call for DD2's, bc I can't find my copy but I don't think they tested food on her at all.

[kjbrown92]

well there were some that I didn't realize were symptoms until they went away. I thought DS just had a needy personality, was a mouth breather/snorer, and took a couple hours to fall asleep each night. When he went off all the foods (we did the ALCAT food intolerance test), he would breathe quietly through his nose at night, falling asleep about 10 minutes after he went to bed, and his tantrums/crying dwindled down to almost nothing. And I went, huh. That's why when I say a food journal, I mean it pretty detailed for "symptoms" (tantrums, skin/rashes, poop - frequency and difficulty, etc. - temper/fussiness, etc.).

[True Blue]

Cool thanks. I'm trying to do that. I'd love to find an awesome template for one! I know Rapp has a notebook idea in her book but I'm a big fan of worksheets for myself LOL! Did you get insurance to pay for the ALCAT? The cost of that one is holding me back, but I must say some of your son's symptoms are familiar! He does however have hefty dust mite and mold allergies. But he never sits still, even in his sleep he is all over the place and wakes all. night. long. He drinks constantly at night and so of course pees a few times as well. I feel bad for him, and he is not enjoying what we have eliminated so far.

[kjbrown92]

bedwetting was a symptom for both of my kids, and drinking a lot was a symptom for DD2. I have several excel spreadsheets that I've used for food journals. If you PM me your email address, I'll send them to you. They're in Word for Vista.