7 month old had an allergic reaction... what do you think it was?

[Taryn237]

We do baby led weaning over here so I just feed DD whatever I happen to be eating.  Last Friday I had lasagna for lunch and gave her some.  About an hour later she was covered in a rash with bright red, very swollen eyes.  I gave her a couple of doses of benadryl and by the next day she was fine.  No trouble breathing.  I obviously don't want her to have a worse reaction next time but I can't figure out what might have caused it.

Ingredients in lasagna: fat free mozzerella (skim milk, vinegar, salt, xanthan gum, artificial color, enzymes, vit a palmitate), 1% cottage cheese, Italian seasoning (onion, garlic, oregano, basil, marjoram, spices), tomato sauce ( tomato puree, onions, salt, olive oil, garlic, onions, spices, basil, natural flavor), egg whites, no boil lasagna noodles (semolina, durum flour,niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid).

She has had eggs in bakes goods numerous times so I'm not convinced it was the egg whites (but that was my first thought) and has had pancakes since then.  Ideas?

[scsigrl]

Dairy?  Has she had any before?  That would be my first thought.

[Taryn237]

Small amounts in other things.  She loves the Madras Lentils I get at costco which have 'cream' in them.  Butter in mashed potatoes. 

[txtarheel]

I'd think the top potential culprits would be dairy, egg and tomato.  There is a lot more dairy in the lasagna than "a little" butter in mashed potatoes and if it's an escalating reaction, that could have been enough to trigger it.  Also, egg in baked goods have undergone chemical changes in the process that likely hasn't happened in a dish like lasagna.  One of my DS can't eat mayo, scrambled eggs, french toast, but is just fine with baked goods in small amounts.

[heatherdeg]

Yeah, that's a good one; but I agree that milk, egg and tomatoes would be my first thoughts.  And I might actually think tomatoes or eggs first just because that reaction is so strong and I haven't seen so much of that with a dairy reaction (not saying it can't happen because I KNOW it can, but that level of sensitivity you'd think you'd have seen at least a mild reaction before with the prior exposures--but totally not ruling out dairy as a possibility).

And the reality is that the ingredients list is ripe with plenty of potential irritants.  Artificial colors are a HUGE irritant (some countries have actually banned a few that the U.S. still allows).  "Natural flavors" are not always what we think they are (did you read the article about a beaver's anal gland used as a natural flavoring for strawberries--or something like that?  Crazy... I think it was a 60 Minutes episode recently).  In some cases, even vinegar or xantham gum could be an irritant.

I might isolate each of these things in future eating to see if one of them alone causes a problem.  That's a scary reaction.

[redvlagrl]

My little ones often get red rashes on their faces from the tomatoes in the pasta sauce simple because of the acid in the food, not an actual reaction at all. Maybe try swiping some on their arm (canned tomatoes) to see if this is the case? That said, my DS is anaphylatically allergic to peanuts, so I am certainly aware of the dangers.

[SweetSilver]

Severe dairy allergies are usually pretty immediate, within minutes.  My daughter's is so severe we have an EpiPen Jr. and nearly used it twice from accidental ingestion.  Both times the reaction began immediately on contact and became severe in under 5 minutes.  This observation was confirmed by her allergist as being typical of dairy reactions.

So, while the type of reaction could easily be from dairy, the time frame skews it away from immediate suspicion.  Egg is the next suspect, and severe reactions are usually within the hour.  I think I would test this first, even though she has had egg in baked goods.  I agree with txtarheel that the egg is lasagna might not have undergone the chemical transformation it does in baked goods.  

Yes, definitely try swiping the skin at home, on the inside of the forearm.  The next spot is just under the lower lip.  For milk, use whole milk because it has the most casein in it compared to other milk products.  For egg, use the white, raw and cooked.  (Both milk and eggs undergo a chemical change when baked that makes it less reactive for many people.)  

Wheat, tomatoes are both possible culprits, and don't discount garlic, though I've never heard of that kind of reaction with it personally.