Allergies in breastmilk question?

[Heavenly]

My 11 month old daughter had a bad reaction to tomatoes the other day. I have never noticed any reaction to my consuming tomatoes but I don't really know what to look for. Should I be avoiding tomato products now?

[copslass]

What kind of bad reaction?

[Geofizz]

I'm allergic (probably sensitive is the proper term) to fresh tomatoes. My mouth goes numb and I get sick to my stomach.

Tomatoes is on the list of foods to avoid giving to babies before a year because of allergy problems. Never heard of a problem in transmission through the breastmilk, though.

[DaryLLL]

Did you give her tomatoes, or did she suddenly have a reaction thru breastmilk to some you consumed?

[UlrikeDG]

Originally posted by Geofizz
I'm allergic (probably sensitive is the proper term) to fresh tomatoes. My mouth goes numb and I get sick to my stomach.

That sounds like an allergy to me! Have you ever been tested? It could get worse. If it were me, I'd see an allergist, get tested, and if the test is positive, carry an Epi-Pen! Allergies can turn life threatening.

[Heavenly]

She got a horrible bleeding rash on her bum and red bumps on her skin and watery eyes.

[hoffmas5]

allergens DEFINITELY pass thru breastmilk!!! I am an expert on that My son has so many allergies & things he isnt allowed to eat until he is 3 b/c of strong possibility for reactions that I quit breastfeeding early & cried for a month b/c I wasnt eating anything at all & just couldnt survive any more!!! I have to say he was actually better off - we couldnt pinpoint every single allergen in my breastmilk he was reacting to & so was a very, very sick boy

about your child.... from the experience I have had with allergies & BM, I say AVOID ALL TOMATOES!!! even if you dont see a reaction immediately, he could be having a gut reaction, which means you are damaging his intestines everytime you eat tomatoes. this will make it worse (possibly even life-threatening) & decrease the chance of ever outgrowing that allergy. beware of other potent allergens to, watch for reactions- in susceptible children many begin to react to new things with recurrent exposure. most allergists/pediatricians recommend staying away from the major allergens while breastfeeding if you have a susceptible child ( I always took out dairy & peanuts at least)

acidophilus will help heal any gut damage he may already have & watch out for solid foods until you have avoided for quite some time, as gut damage will allow leakage of proteins into the bloodstream leading to further allergic reactions to new foods. (didnt catch how old your child was.. dont know if this pertains or not!!) a great place for info is babycenter's bulletin boards. I know, I know, they are sooooo mainstream but, the moms on there really know their stuff when it comes to babies & food allergies & many of them breastfeed & live on a VERY limited diet! so quite a few are really dedicated

anyways, my point was just this ... I would avoid tomatoes if I were you !!!

[Meli65]

Just a note about allergies and breastmilk -- my ds reacted to both wheat and dairy products when I ate them when he was still exclusively nursing and I had to avoid them for many months. We found out later from a regular ped that he was also allergic to soy, oats, and eggs! After that we went to a homeopathic doctor and since then he no longer seems to be sensitive to anything but dairy. I include this note because I know how frustrating and scary it can be to have an allergic kid, and the homeopath was really a big help (and the MD was not).

[UlrikeDG]

Originally posted by hoffmas5
<snip> acidophilus will help heal any gut damage he may already have <snip>

Acidophilus makes a huge difference for Nadia! I squirt some breastmilk onto a baby spoon, then dump the powder from the capsules into it and stir it up with a tooth pick. I didn't start giving it to her until 6 months, though, and even then, it took her a while to grow into spoon feeding (no solids here).

[hoffmas5]

Melissa...

what kind of things did your homeopath have you do to cure the allergies? I know there can be a huge difference in treatment from one homeopath to another, I went to a naturopath but wasnt impressed too much with treatment. No matter what we do my son just keeps reacting to new foods. We already have a really long list of things he cant have & it sure is frustrating. I have been searching for something to help for a long time. He is a very healthy child, but we have to really watch what he eats to make him stay that way. I'd be very interested to hear what kinds of thing you did, maybe it will help in my search for a good homeopath in my area. I've looked into alot of natural treatment methods, like NAET, but am scared to put forth the $$ it takes unless I'm sure other people have really had success with it.

Thanks for any info!!
Stephanie
Paige 6-01 & Aidan 5-02

[Meli65]

When we first went, we spent about two hours going over everything about Miles, including his physical symptoms and personality and emotional behavior. Based on this, they determined that sulfur is his "constitutional remedy" -- that is, this is the remedy that can be used to get his system back into balance and to eliminate the allergy symptoms.
He did have a reaction to the first dose of remedy (an "aggravation") which is a sign that it's working, but it was trying as his symptoms got worse for a while (which included fussiness and not sleeping). The wheat allergy (which was significant) cleared up in just a month or two. As I said, dairy is still a problem.

I was new to homeopathy then and am still not 100% sold on it but it makes sense intellecutally to me, and I like my doctor a lot better than any MD I've ever had (also, not immunizing is not a problem). There is a lot of trial and error which is sometimes frustrating. However, he has had a couple of allergic reactions that were frightening, and the remedies (when we figured out which was the right one) did clear things up almost immediately. You can email me offline if you need any more info. Good luck!