6 yr old with many allergies

[Kasey Harris]

I see many of you have children with food allergies. My son now 6 had a reaction at 2. I had all ways kinda known that he had a gut problem because I breast fed him and he all ways had loose stools...the Dr said it was because of the breast milk. I would pump and add a little rice cereal to it and he would throw it up. And we lived with it until he was 4.  It really started off as a like an pollen allergy when he was 2, but when I noticed that he was not breathing normal, I took him to the hospital..they told me he had allergic asthma. So after 2 1/2 years I got him an allergy test (our Dr would not do one until he was 4) find out he is allergic to eggs, soy, rice, corn, wheat, oats, milk and cats...and doing my research on these foods and common allergies they cause, nausea, upset stomach, and asthma! I was amazed that the food i was feeding my kid was causing his asthma! But what i want to know is that if he is allergic to rice can he eat gluten free brown rice or gluten free oats? I cant afford to take him to a specialist and I just keep these foods away from him...so the things he loves: cakes, muffins, cereal, & oatmeal he can not eat.  Any suggestions for this stressed out mom!

[elanorh]

We have other moms here whose kids are avoiding that many foods, so you'll get good advice. 

My dd1 was allergic to dairy/soy/egg/wheat/legumes ... she's outgrown all those allergies except the egg which persists (she's 7).  I never had to cook without rice and corn, so don't have recipes to suggest. 

A cookbook which I found helpful was http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Food-Allergy-Cookbook-Ingredients/dp/0761509615/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1304884667&sr=8-6 - she does a good job of describing how different grain substitutes work in recipes, etc.  I actually have used few of her recipes, it was the description of how I could expect unusual grains to work in my own recipes. 

Did the allergist prescribe an epi-pen?

I would avoid oats unless I knew that the oats were certified gluten-free.  There is a contamination risk with oats due to how they're grown and processed.  There are other grains - quinoa, millet, teff, barley, buckwheat groats ....

And if he's allergic to rice, then the brown rice cakes would be a no-no. 

[kjbrown92]

But oats was on the list by itself, so I wouldn't do them, gluten free or not. Quinoa can be substituted for oats in things like oatmeal cookes (which I make without any of those things). There's no cats in any of my recipes! Not corn, gluten (includes wheat), soy, or milk in any of my recipes either. Some of my recipes have eggs and some do not (my son can't have eggs). And he also couldn't do rice for 2 years. Since your son is young, it is possible that he will outgrow some of these allergies if you take them out completely. We've been free of gluten, dairy, corn, soy for 3 years (as well as other foods for my kids, who don't have the same foods). Look at my blog if you want recipes (in my signature). We still eat really well. Last night we had pot roast (with a turkey hot dog for DD2 who can't have beef), baked potatoes (which DS can't have), gravy, cantaloupe, and peas for dinner, and it was a feast! I made granola yesterday. I'm making gelatin today (can't do Jello because my son can't do cane sugar and my daughter can't do beef). We make cake, cookies, and all sorts of stuff. We make creamy buckwheat cereal for a hot cereal (buckwheat is an herb, no relation to wheat). I make buckwheat waffles (chocolate version is my kids' favorite). Etc. Start with a protein (chicken breast, hamburger, turkey leg, etc.), a starch (sweet potato fries, quinoa, baked potato, etc.), a veggie, and a fruit. Then go from there. And read EVERY single label. Every single time you buy it (companies change their ingredients and they don't always say "new formula!". There's So Delicious coconut milk ice cream, buckwheat pasta, and other things out there!

 eggs, soy, rice, corn, wheat, oats, milk and cats 

[Juniper Gerrie-Sue]

My son has multiple allergies as well.

Here are a couple recipes from my blog:

muffin/cupcake

pancakes

[SweetSilver]

I feel for you.  Our daughter was tested at 2, and confirmed her dairy allergy (a big duh!) but it wasn't until she was tested at 4 1/2 that her skin test reflected more precisely: it confirmed her almond allergy finally, but also tested positive for wheat, rice, corn, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, all tree nut.  Luckily no chicken, beef, etc. and she can still eats oats and soymilk.

    Unfortunately for my family, I am allergic to oats and soy as well as many other things but not wheat or dairy!  I laugh quietly to myself when I here parents say (triumphantly, it seems) that kids eat what's put in front of them or they don't eat.  (Or, in my cynical moments, think, Well La Di Da!) Because at my house every meal is done per request.  Once, my husband asked me to fix a veggie burger for him instead of the hamburgers I was making and I nearly went ballistic:  "Fix your own goddamn gardenburger!"  I said, but we didn't fight, it was actually pretty funny and now it makes a good story.

     DD1 eats a lot of potatoes.  Thankfully she has a pretty sophisticated palate, though everything is pretty simple: beef or chicken soup with potatoes.  Pepperoni and dill pickle "sandwiches". Quinoa.  Creamy pinto beans, bacony navy beans, lentils. She loves veggies.  She can have pancakes with oatflour and flaxseed meal.

     I tried 100% buckwheat flour soba noodles, but they gave her headaches, just like rice does.  Raw carrots give her a stomach ache.  It's helpful that she is 6 and can tell me things.  That's how I've been able to determine that a handful of popcorn every 3 days doesn't hurt.

     Gotta go!  Bedtime call for mommy.  I'll check in later.

[SweetSilver]

Part II:  The transition was fairly easy, since her severe dairy allergy prevented her from eating what everyone else was habing when we ate away from home.  Wheat was rough, but it became clear that it was severe and had to go.  How did we not notice this?  When there are so many allergy, it's like you are in a fog, and when you start eliminating them, you notice when a little gets in your system.  In this way we nixed any rice (headaches), which is hard because rice is considered by many to be allergy free; and DD herself stopped eating other things, I think because she started to notice unpleasant side effects (eggs are pretty immediate).  We also figured out  what she can eat occasionally in tiny amounts, and what has to be eliminated in every form absolutely.  

     Things get easier as they get older and become more verbal.  I had no idea raw carrots made her mouth tingle until just last week!  It is an ongoing process, just be diligent.  You can be allergic to anything, so try it out but don't listen when other people tell you you can't be allergic to it...You can!  And if symptoms are mild, allow them now and then.  As a super-allergic adult, I've learned exactly how much how often, though most things are only for special occasions.  A slice of pecan pie for Thanksgiving?  (The only nut that doesn't bother my throat)  Yes indeed, but just one piece and don't make me take any home.  So I know firsthand that sometimes a little can be OK for many things, though not all.

    The road is ongoing.  Be diligent, be patient.