Need advice with 2 year old that has allergies that disrupt his sleep.

[Athora80]

My son is 29 months old and it seems he has allergies....just like his mama and dada! o.o.

It has been bad on and off since last March (2011) and his old doctor was useless on the subject, he just told me to give him Zyrtec. He was too young to use meds in my opinion so I tried some homeopathic stuff and that didn't work. We had a dog and I thought he was allergic to her, but she has a new home and my sons allergies are NOT any better. I am desperate and I am going to choose between D-Hist Jr with Quercetin or Chewable Claritin. First, I am going to cut out dairy for both of us (I am allergic and think he may be too). But if an elimination diet doesn't work he needs something to help him sleep. He cuts his nose with his nails from rubbing it so much, he can't sleep on his back because I am assuming he is congested. His nose does not run but he has constant red rings around his eyes, he also coughs once or twice at night when he is sleeping. My question is, what would you mamas trust, the OTC Meds or the D-Hist Jr with Quercetin? I know Quercetin is natural but there aren't any tests done on the safety for children. And I am sure the Claritin has a whole bunch of nasty junk in it. I always take natural routes first and I don't like drugs. What are my options? I would love to hear your advice and your stories.
 

[GreenVariety]

Hi there, I was just responding to another post in the Allergy forum and saw yours in the side bar. I figured I would refer you over there in case you didn't see it.

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1373523/elimination-diet-for-an-older-child-food-intolerance-testing

I also wanted to see if you had looked into the connection with allergies and vaccinations (not sure if you vaccinate or not and not looking to start a discussion on it but, especially with males, there are a lot of connections so I thought I would throw it out there!)

Another thought, you may not see any results, or enough results, by just removing one allergen. If he has allergies and you are seeing symptoms it's because he's overflowing. Our bodies can handle a certain amount of irritants (like a rain barrel) and we start seeing symptoms when we are overflowing (like a rain barrel). So you might see an improvement temporarily but any allergen in excess will put him "over the top."

Good luck!

[Athora80]

I just read your other post, great info! My son will be 30 months at the end of Feb and he has never had one vaccine. All he had was the Vit K shot after he was born, which I regret. He has maybe been sick twice in his life and only once went to the doctor, it was Roseola. I ended up trying a homeopathic allergy liquid that did nothing and recently tried dye free liquid claritin which also does nothing for him, his sleep did not improve. He definitely doesn't have constipation issues, he goes 3-4 times a day. 

But he was a fussy baby from the time he was born although he slept better even a year ago before his allergies manifested. He is getting frequent diaper rashes and he will say it "burns" when he poo's, it also leaves a red ring around his bum hole :(. His poo's are also frequently not as solid as I think they should be. I actually was so close to doing GAPS, had the book, the cooking DvD...supplies to make Kraut, etc but I started reading how being on such a restrictive diet can be harmful and someone almost died from being on GAPS. That freaked me out so I sold the book and DvD online and didn't look back. Although, being desperate to heal my G.I issues I have thought about venturing there again. My gut is in poor shape and so is my sons I think. I give him probiotics but don't notice any changes. I do know he loves Sauerkraut and broth...I am lucky there! But in other respects he is picky so I worry about such a restrictive diet. He is quite lean, he's 29 months and 25 pounds but he is very, very tall for his age. I just wouldn't want him to lose weight...perhaps it would have the opposite effect! :) The only problem with attempting GAPS is my husband would not be on board to do it and we are broke right now and grassfed/organic/pastured eggs are pricey. Some other little tidbits I  should include are:

*I am still breastfeeding

*he is teething with all 4 of his 2 year molars at once

*He has enamel erosion of part of his upper one year molars that his dentist said looked like what you see from Acid Reflux although he was never diagnosed (but I have GERD myself)

*We recently battled Oral Thrush for the first time ever and he asks for sugar all the time (I crave it myself)

[GreenVariety]

I mentioned the constipation simply because it was part of my sons individual profile.

One person died of the GAPS diet? Interesting. That's still one out of thousands so that may be worth re-assessing if you are comfortable. Or just trying one of the others. He shouldn't loose weight as long as you are getting a lot of easily digestible nutrition in him. If he does you could add in a low allergen "grain" like quinoa or white rice ... a lot of people do well with millet as well.

You do not need to do grass fed to get started. Do the best you can with where you are at. Getting him off the key allergens will go a long way and the pastured can come later. Check out the family over at The Paleo Parents. We set our goals and work towards them. Set the goal of maybe grass fed eggs to start, or eliminate eggs and just try one grass fed meat meal a week. Depending on where you are located you may be able to find a buying club.

For yourself, I would highly recommend checking out the autoimmune information on "The Paleo Mom." With GMO's being in our food supply nearly 20 years now, I suspect there are a lot of us running around with undiagnosed "issues" that would fall under autoimmune. Yours sound very familiar. 

Make you if you are breast feeding you are removing everything from your diet that might trigger him. This is how I learned what all (well I think all) my issues were. I don't respond as badly as he does to some things. But if I pay close attention, I do find I have a negative response.

The sugar is feeding him by giving him easily assimilated energy. It's already fructose. His body is having a hard time digesting and knows that sugar will give him energy. It's how our bodies "deal." Children also like sugar. I manage this with my son by keeping maple syrup on hand (which is already glucose and much easier on me) as well as dates (which he adores and also give him lots of nutrients). He doesn't do real well with apples, and I don't tolerate much fruit real well. 

You may think a diet like this is restrictive but when you think about all the stuff you are potentially feeding that is providing him no nutrition (just benefiting the taste buds) it's really not that restrictive. I let my son eat as much meat as he wants. If you see the food forum where they are talking about budget I have a really long post there. I buy in bulk. I save, and then buy. I ran a buying club to get better prices so I could get the food's we wanted/needed.

Natural News just had an article about GMO's being in probiotics, so that may also be something to check out. Maltodextrin is a corn derivative and may actually do more damage then good (depending on the probiotic). Check out those resources. Look into the GAPS supplements (or SCD but they don't have a probiotic). And remember, nutrition in just a few food items versus a diverse diet with no nutrition is a very real thing. Our nation is obese and that obesity is literally a symptom of malnutrition (based on some of the research).

Good luck!

[GreenVariety]

Their podcast is wonderful, so I'm sharing it. Notice that they have a 3 part series on Autoimmune conditions and diet...

http://paleoparents.com/the-paleo-view-podcast/podcast-episode-archives/

I also have their cookbook "Eat Like a Dinosaur" - it's wonderful and has lots of kid friendly recipes.

[Athora80]

Thanks so much!

Quinoa and White Rice (and couscous) are actually things he loves and never tires of them. I am not sure if someone died from GAPS, but I read an article or blog post and someone becoming deathly ill and in the hospital from doing it, I believe she had low potassium or an electrolyte imbalance. But you are right, that's one story out of thousands of success stories from GAPS. I know I could benefit, my G.I tract is full of inflammation and my appetite is allllll screwed up, I need a reset! lol.

I am actually fortunate enough to have a small farmers market 2 minutes from me with pastured eggs $5 a dozen, raw honey, pesticide free fruits and veggies. We also have a close source of Grass Fed Beef from Novy Ranches and we usually buy their ground organ meats or ground beef but not lately, due to money. But our financial situation is finally looking good after a year of being terrible so I am hoping to be able to afford to change a few things and replace the "bad" meats with the "good" ones. My husband wouldn't touch the ground organ meat but me and my son loved it, haha! My son is also getting older and a little less attached to me so taking on these changes will be easier than it was a year ago. I also want to have another baby in a year or 2 so I MUST get my body in a better state. I will take a look at your resources and that podcast. I am feeling a whole lot more positive about the situation now :D
 

[GreenVariety]

Well then you may find this interesting. I read Ramiel Nagiel (sp?) book "Healing our Children" a while back and decided that I was going to wait until I was healthy to have my next. After a crazy stressful move and relocating 12 hours from where I've been living the past 7 years I was in my little slice of heaven. I had been paleo for about a year probably by then (with GAPS and SCD before that). We got pregnant by total hapenstance. We were not trying at all. And with my first pregnancy we tried for what felt like a milenia. We were raw vegan then and I would easily have relapses of health issues if I strayed even a tiny bit. So I am confident that my health is improving. I can even have "no no's" on very rare occasion without much of a reaction (can't make it a habit though).

As far as GAPS, I have a number of friends that have been on it for years or on and off it is probably more accurate. They go more paleo/primal after doing the intro diet. You are nursing so neither you nor your son could do the intro diet. That would leave a lot more options. But that being said, I had a lot of benefit, then I plateaued and then there were a few drawbacks. I wasn't healing like a lot of others. I have another friend who experienced the same. The result was some tweaking and figuring out that nightshades were a "no no" for us. It took a LOT of observation. Tons. EC'ing really helped me pick up on a lot of this stuff early.

As far as the organ meats, make meatloaf and mix in a little. Your hubby will never be the wise. I can't tell you how many women I know that do this. I also worked with a farmer that mixed a small amount into ground and sold it that way as a "value added" product. It was fantastic. I wish more farmers would do that.

I do smoothies every morning with coconut milk kefir, egg yolk, chicken liver (this must be from a clean source as I'm sure you are aware) and some berries (usually raspberries). It's super economical and I can make over 3 cups with those ingredients in different proportions. I have not had any cravings and feel fantastic during this pregnancy. I was eating a lot of fish prior to starting that but this is a lot less expensive and I am getting a wonderful nutrient dense drink. My son LOVES them and you could potentially "hide" stuff in it. The liver is raw and frozen when I put it in (I shave it off a block with a knife) and in small proportion. I usually do 4 egg yolks. 2 cups kefir. You can get kefir grains and make your own real easy. I make my own coconut milk too. Works like a charm. I make coconut milk yogurt for my son (I do have the benefit of a dehydrator and make large batches but you don't have to have one).

If you think about a lot of traditional cultures, their diets don't vary nearly as much as our's do and they get a lot more "bang for their buck."