Possible Allergies?

[aaahmyeye]

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out if my dd is showing signs of allergies.  She is almost a year and eats solid foods at every meal.  We are still nursing as well.  Last Weds I noticed red spots on her chest/back - almost like little bug bites.  They seem to come and go, but are still showing up today - almost a week later.  She also has a rash on her chin - again little red spots that come and go, but never fully disappear.  That's been there awhile -  4 weeks maybe?  I initially noticed it while she was teething, and just chalked it up to drool, but it's still there. Her skin is dry in patches and reddish. It's very faint, but still there.  At times she has dark circles under her eyes.  Her sleep also stinks, but is markedly better if I hold her, so I'm not sure that that's related.

Does any of this sound like allergies?  If it is, I have no idea what to do with her diet.  She eats pretty much everything.  We haven't given her soy yet, or nuts, but she eats eggs and has for awhile.  What things should I eliminate?  How long does it take to see changes?

Thanks.

[aaahmyeye]

Anyone have any thoughts?  I stopped giving her eggs and wheat about a week ago.  Does anyone know how long it would take to see improvement if that's the problem?
 

[BabySmurf]

It does sound like there is an issue there...unfortunately the only way to deal with it is to do the diet experiments.  If it's multiple foods contributing, then you would likely need to eliminate all of the culprits to have consistent improvement.  It's hard, I'm there now, and have been for almost two years ...My best advice is to keep a food journal of foods and possible reactions/sleep patterns, etc.  When first figuring out issues with DS, I realized that the reactions would build for a couple days, be the worse on day 4 after exposure, and then it would break.  The skin issues may or may not be related to environmental factors too.  Good luck!

Also, I think the most common offenders are the wheat, dairy, soy (very similar to dairy, so its wise to eliminate together and challenge separately), eggs, corn, nuts, shellfish...and then you can also consider preservatives, oils, "natural flavors", food dyes, etc, since all of those can most definitely trigger symptoms too. 

ETA: Dairy takes the longest to get out of her system at about 3 -4 weeks (2 weeks to clear your system, 2 weeks to clear hers), and everything else will take less time....Most other things you should see an improvement relatively quickly though, like maybe a week or two, and sometimes immediately. 

[aaahmyeye]

Thanks BabySmurf.  Oh it seems so overwhelming. :-(  So many things to look for.  Her chin rash shows no improvement, but her hives seem gone from her tummy/chest.  Thanks for the idea of the food journal.  I will have to try it.
 

[Shanny2032]

Have you noticed any changes in her symptoms since her diet changes?  Have you talked to her doctor about having her tested?  Make sure you are changing you diet as well!