New allergies dx'd - soy and kapok

[UptownZoo]

Hi Mamas - sorry in advance. I think this might be long.

My youngest DS is 4 years old. He's had his share of respiratory trouble from early infancy and dx'd w/ asthma shortly before his 3rd birthday. Nothing serious, really, and no daily meds for a long time except Zyrtec for allergies. We had a nebulizer at home and albuterol to use as needed. Then last October he took a sharp turn and he had a 911 emergency asthma attack, and several flares since then. Really, he hasn't been completely well since October, though we've added daily controller meds and he's not having the acute flares that he was.

So we finally got in to see an asthma specialist, who tweaked his meds some. He had his allergy tests today. Worst part of that was, no Zyrtec for a week, so his poor nose and eyes! I was surprised by how few things he reacted to during the tests. DH also has asthma and loads of allergies. DS was only allergic to the common trees around here - I don't think there are too many people in this part of the country who aren't allergic to elm, juniper, and mulberry!

So I thought he had no food allergies. I limited his dairy pretty strictly because it seemed to contribute to his nose being so gunky all the time. Turns out, he is significantly allergic to soy, zero reaction to dairy. So here I've been, giving the kid soy yogurt, thinking I was being so responsible! Fortunately he's always had rice milk to drink, but still, he's had lots of soy exposure. Which makes me feel bad, but on the other hand, now that we know, who knows how much his health could improve now that we know to cut it out entirely? It was such a strong reaction (3+) that I'm really looking forward to how his color and his circles might change in a couple of weeks.

But the worst reaction by far was to kapok, which I never heard of before today. It's a plant fiber that's sometimes used as stuffing in toys or pillows. It's got to be in my house somewhere, and I can't find it! We have very few stuffed toys because of mites, but they're all polyester. Ditto all the comforters, bed pillows, the futon, bed mattresses, the couch, I've turned this house inside out reading all the labels, even cut some stuff open to look at the stuffing. All safe polyester filling. I can't shake this awful feeling that there's something in my house that's poisoning my kid, and I can't find it! I'm going to my mom's house as soon as this big winter storm we're having allows it to read all her furniture labels since DS spends some time over there every week.

So I'm bummed about this soy thing, because it seems to be the hardest of all foods to avoid. At his preschool, all the kids take turns bringing snack, but he'll have to start bringing his own every day from now on. He probably won't care; there's another girl who has to do that, so they both might be glad to have a "partner."

So who knows anything at all about kapok? Any clues at all? There's very little info about it on the web except, ironically, that it's heavily advertised as a great alternative for allergy sufferers!

Enough rambling from me. I'll probably be here more in the future to drink from yall's well of wisdom.

[wendy1221]

Wow, I've never heard of kapok. Good luck finding it, hopefully there isn't any! And good for you for doing such a good quick job eliminating his allergens!

[tylertyler]

kapoc

Dear Zoo
Kapoc is used in many asian countries the tree's grow in massive kapoc forests. Pillows are stuffed,bedding.....etc.

The allergies will only get worse if you keep 'suppressing 'them with the meds you have listed. Allergies are the body's way of conmmunicating an imbalance. Something has cause a systemic overload in the body,for instance; Most likely it starts with vaccines,this causes the immune 's first assault. Then we add the use of antibiotics for ear inf,colds,flue,cough etc (useless and immune toxic). Then we add steroids,cortizone,antihistamines for more layers of secondary symptoms like eczema,asthma,rashes.

All of these toxic medication have caused "allergies". This means the body is now too weak to expell any environmental interactions.
Best thing for childrens overall health is to find a Naturopath.
Using allopathic (conventional) prescription drugs can only lead to more and more chronic complications in the future.
Its NOT normal for a person to have allergies,this has been so accepted in this modern day society. www.mercola.com look up allergies in this website searchbox

TYLER

[wendy1221]

Gee, here I am w/ my son, who has never been vaccinated, never had antibiotics, was born at home, never been in a hospital, never had any steroids, and here he is w/ multiple allergies and asthma. Sorry, but your post isn't helpful.

[UptownZoo]

Originally Posted by wendy1221

Sorry, but your post isn't helpful.

Wow, no kidding! Some of the theories out there are :. Like there was zero illness in the human population before modern medicine? I've seen my kid turn blue, tears rolling down his face but no breath to cry. I do as much preventative as I can for him, and I believe in natural healing. I also know there's a time and place for modern medicine, and in my house, being unable to breathe is one of them!

[wendy1221]

My grandfather had several sisters die from asthma before the invention of these interventions. I'm firmly on board the genetic theory train. I'm thankfull that we have interventions like albuterol that keep my son and nephew from going the way of their great great aunts.

[tylertyler]

suppressing asthma

this does nothing for asthma,it only suppresses it not cure it.
It is not a preventative,it is a toxic substance with long term side effects. Its dangerous for the heart.Once you have asthma and take"THESE INVENTIONS" you will have chronic reoccurant asthma for the rest of your life. There is a way of curing it,but not this way,not via modern conventional meds.
www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com
www.mercola.com
Type in the drug and "adverse effects" after the drug.
Seek alternative treatments

Tyler

[wendy1221]

So I guess what you're saying is it's better for our kids to die from asthma attacks than to take medications?

Do you have a child w/ asthma yourself? Have you ever witnessed a child in the midst of an asthma attack?

[WC_hapamama]

Originally Posted by wendy1221

So I guess what you're saying is it's better for our kids to die from asthma attacks than to take medications?

Hospitalization and death are much more serious side effects of NOT taking asthma medications than the vast majority of the side effects of the occasional use of albuterol.

Guess what folks, being medication compliant, using the preventative medications that come before needing a rescue inhaler really reduces the amount of albuterol and prednisone that you end up needing.

I'd rather not use my kids as guinea pigs for herbal stuff on life threatening things like asthma and anaphylaxis.

[wendy1221]

Originally Posted by WC_hapamama

Hospitalization and death are much more serious side effects of NOT taking asthma medications than the vast majority of the side effects of the occasional use of albuterol.

Guess what folks, being medication compliant, using the preventative medications that come before needing a rescue inhaler really reduces the amount of albuterol and prednisone that you end up needing.

I'd rather not use my kids as guinea pigs for herbal stuff on life threatening things like asthma and anaphylaxis.

ITA. I tend to do wait and see and use herbs for other ailments, etc (but I WILL take my kids to the ped if they don't help, he's very conservative w/ meds) but for the allergies and asthma, there is no such thing as wait and see. It's either take the med or watch your kid struggle to breathe.

[tylertyler]

Yes my husband had asthma his entire life as a child.
Since he has been on homeopathy he is cured of asthma,no inhalers,no steriods,nothing allopathic.......................nothing not even a relapse!
He is only ONE example...................
I'm not here to argue,do as you please,i'm just showing you there are other options.
Tyler

[HypnoCin67]

Asthma Confusion

Hi Moms,
From what little I understand about asthma, some people just seem to "grow out" of having asthma or Reactive Airways Disease, which what my 7 yo was diagnosed with when she was 4 after contracting bacterial pneumonia. I've met many people who claim to have grown out of having attacks or any respiratory issues at all, w/o using any homeopathics or naturopathy, only taking the scary Western meds (steroids et al) until they stopped having attacks, usually around 18 or so.
It's frustrating to me, becauseI feel that my daughter's RAD or asthma began 3 months after having the MMR immunization at 4 years of age. We waited to immunize her with that one, after hearing all the horror stories. In Maine, we were also allowed to separate the vaccines into Measles, Mumps and Rubella, which I was told are easier for the system to deal with, but we were only ever able to get the Measles part of the vaccine, and finally resorted to the whole deal at 4 yo. She had no fever when she got the vaccine, but the next week, she had the worst cold of her life (she'd only had about 3 colds, very mild ones up until then, believe it or not!)
The cold never seemed to get quite better, and the next month, she had a worse cold, which I now believe may have been mild bronchitis. THAT too never quite went away, but the doctor said coughs can linger, and didn't feel it was a problem.
# months after having the MMR vaccine, my daughter contracted a severe case of bacterial pneumonia, whereupon she was diagnosed with RAD and they piled on the "preventative" meds like steroids, albuterol, singulair, etc.
After having her allergy tested for over 100 things, we discovered that she has just 4 allergies, but they're all doosies: dust, dust mites, dogs and cats. Bummer. . . We've done what we can to make our house less dust filled, and we don't have a cat or dog, but still the asthma-like condition continues. It sounds like we have it easier than some of the moms here, and for you, I'm sorry--it's terrifying to see your child unable to breathe. I commend you for doing whatever it takes to keep them well.
Last year, we started seeing a naturopath in our area, and taking all the various supplements and cod liver oil, etc, that he recommended, has helped greatly in many ways, but alas, STILL the asthma rages on.
I ordered liquid homeopathic (or allopathic?) dust mite and housedust from England (the only place I've been able to find them) to try to help eradicate the dust allergies before we try the allergy shots that can cause so much discomfort each time a person has the shots, or at worst case scenario, anaphylaxis or death. I hope the homeopathics help, because our naturopath and doctors all agree that house dust and dust mites are my daughter's worst enemies--she's healthy all spring, summer and early fall with nary a sniffle, but w/in a week of closing the windows and doors to the cold, the colds and asthma begin anew.
My point in all of this is that I am so confused by the whole thing--why she has these allergies in the first place, why our kids need to suffer with this, how to treat it, whether to give the steroids that suppress her immune system and seem so counter-intuitive to me. (I do when it's necessary, believe me!) All I want is to see my daughter be able to grow up healthy and free of illness and asthma. And I'm worried that having had 4 pneumonias in 3 years could be scarring her lungs. Does anyone know what the truth of that is? Sorry for the long post. I was excited to find a whole thread devoted to asthma. Be well everyone!

[wendy1221]

We have the homeopathic remedies for indoor allergies as well as some food allergies, and I do give them to ds. They do help, but it is minimal, and not enough that he can go without albuterol when he's wheezing. We also take probiotics, digestive enzymes, vitamins, fish oils, etc. He's never been vaccinated, never had antibiotics, yet he still has allergies and asthma.

My ped doesn't call ds's asthma asthma. He calls it RAD as well, which is the exact same thing. He says he won't call it asthma unless ds fails to outgrow this. It started w/ a bad case of RSV when he was a young infant, which probably scarred his lungs. But from what I've read, there is no way of telling which came first, the chicken or the egg, they just know that kids w/ allergies tend to have lung scarring from RSV, causing RAD, and the same kids tend to develop asthma even w/out RSV (RSV can cause pneumonia, btw.) Lung scarring can and will heal eventually, might take months, might take years, might take half a lifetime.

Most kids w/ asthma get better as they get older. This is for the same reason as above, plus adults aren't as prone to allergies as kids are. Not as severe allergies, at least.

Sorry if you felt attacked, but so did I. I just get so sick and tired of people telling me I'm poisoning my child w/ medications when they have no idea what I've tried and what we're going through/have been through. KWIM?

[tylertyler]

asthma

more info on alternative ways of dealing with asthma
www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com
go to searchbox;type asthma

here is a good article on asthma and homeopathy;
http://homeopathic.com/articles/research/asthma_t.php

Tyler

[UptownZoo]

Originally Posted by tylertyler

Yes my husband had asthma his entire life as a child.
Since he has been on homeopathy he is cured of asthma,no inhalers,no steriods,nothing allopathic.......................nothing not even a relapse!
He is only ONE example...................
I'm not here to argue,do as you please,i'm just showing you there are other options.
Tyler

Now, see, this is the problem. There's a big difference between sharing YOUR experience and what has worked for you and your family, vs. telling me that what I'm doing is BAD, i.e., the meds I use for my DS are toxic, I caused his allergies w/ vaccines and abx (and where did you get the idea that we had used either?), etc. That's what's hurtful (and argumentative). I wouldn't have been at all bothered if you'd posted something along the lines of, "We treat my son with homeopathic x and herbal y, and we've avoided vax and abx, and it's worked very well." But your post was very critical and hurtful. I have access to all the same information you do; I've read all the sites you listed. I made different choices from the ones you made, and I don't regret them. My kid nearly died less than 5 months ago. If I hadn't had albuterol in the house, who knows if he would have survived till the ambulance got there? I doubt it. He was severely hypoxic and barely conscious. That wasn't a day when homeopathic medicine was going to work for him.

So all I want, anywhere, anytime, is at least acknowledgement that I'm doing the best I can with the information I have, and I don't make my decisions out of ignorance or blind faith in modern medicine. We're not playing here; many of our children have life-or-death allergies and keeping these kiddos safe is a big job. And MDC is not a place where people are unaware that there are alternatives! You'd be hard pressed to find a crunchier crowd!

[wendy1221]

I definitely get where you're coming from, mama.

[tylertyler]

Dear Zoo
In the case of an emergency of course parents cannot think clearly. All of this research must be done without the state of panic.
Having a backup system via naturopaths,homeopaths,acupunturists will be of great help in the future time of caos.

Long term treatment is not via inhalers,steriods,cortizones.............again there are other ways that are more conclusive towards a nontoxic holistic healing path.

Preventative actions need to be practiced such as change of dietary toxins. Starting with no dairy,no sugar.

Yes asthma does occur with babies without vaccines,true but in these rare cases its due to a hereditary miasmatic predisposition,even MORE difficult to erradicate by means of inhailers,steriods alb............etc. These only suppress the DEEP SEATED imbalance.

Sorry my post come across so harsh,i am a user of alternative methods of medicine. Have left the TOXIC world of allopathy behind for over a decade as it has ruined my entire families health including my own,so yes i do know where your comming from,yes i have a child,i would dye for him,as all mothers would. This is why i have educated and dedicated my life to holistic healing.
I have great compasion for extremely sick children. As i do homeopathic volunteer work in poor countries like India and Indonesia. I cannot stand to see babies/children sick,there is no need to be suffering if you have the means and background information it must be shared,so others will not suffer.
We learn from each other dont we? I have already been on this path of allopathic suppressive chemicals i'm almost 50yrs old prob. older than most of you first time mothers. I have seen horrible things in many slum health clinics,most would not want to see.
Tyler

[WC_hapamama]

I understand enough of the immune response that causes my kids's allergies, eczema and asthma that I am completely comfortable using conventional medicine to treat those conditions.

[HypnoCin67]

Thanks so much for your intelligent reply! Initially, when my daughter was 4 and had her 1st pneumonia and was diagnosed w/RAD, they suggested that the pneumonia might've caused scarring, but then there's been no more mention of it w/3 subsequent pneumonias and countless attacks, and it worries us (my husband and I.) I am so glad to have found this thread where people share my concerns and some of you have much more info than I do! RAD is a major struggle for so many children, and I wish there was one easy, straightforward method of curing it, as one poster has suggested, but I'm afraid it's a different path for each child. Hopefully all of our children will grow up healthy and happy, NOT having RAD or asthma as they become adults. Be well all. . .