Need advice- should I be seeing an allergist?

[mamatowill]

Ok- I have always wondered if DS2 has allergies but never pursued it. He has GERDs and is on a pretty high dose of Zantac with no end in sight. When a newborn I removed all dairy from my diet but introduced it back in. He has dairy also.

Anyways- He is, at times, an aggressive kid. He gets constipated easily. He have removed milk drinking (he had that at school). He has recently been waking up screaming in pain. This I thought was due to his GERDs and trialling phasing out his meds. I am now concerned cause when I had my epi pen training the nurse said that when kids that don't talk have a reaction one of the symptoms can be scratching at their tongue. I have seen DS2 do that- I thought it was weird at the time but that maybe he had gotten a dog hair on his tongue. He sometimes has a rash around his mouth but that could be from the soother.

What do you think? Should I be taking him to an allergist?

[SpottedFoxx]

Absolutely

[kjbrown92]

It could be an allergy/allergies, or it could be food intolerances (my kids screamed out in pain at night from various things that weren't reflux, but were food intolerance related: stomach pains, leg pains, etc.). My DS also has gotten a rash around his mouth from food intolerances. But because those symptoms could also be from food allergies, I would rule that out by seeing an allergist. But if negative, I would by no means stop there. Have you tried a food journal? The top 8 allergens are pretty well known. The top 4 intolerances are dairy, gluten, soy, and corn. And yes, they're in pretty much everything (though we're off them and still find plenty to eat).

[mamatowill]

Ok- self refered to an allergist. I have a question I know that he can't drink cow's milk but my DH is saying to substitute with goat's milk. Is goat's milk ok with someone with a sensitivity to cow's milk?

[kjbrown92]

Many kids who are sensitive to cow's milk are also sensitive to the other milk's (sheep, goat, etc.). While you're trying to figure out if that is the culprit, do not add goat's milk. If you get to baseline (no symptoms) with no cow's milk, then you can add in goat's milk and see if it's tolerated. But while you're trying to figure it out, it's not a good idea. Some of us here at our house drink hazelnut milk (Pacific Foods makes an awesome chocolate hazelnut drink that is sinfully good), almond milk (Silk's tastes the best), and rice milk. There is also hemp milk, oat milk. And many kids who are sensitive to cow's milk are also sensitive to soy, so if you substitute with that, you might not get good answers either.