Gluten Allergy Symptoms???

[Grantsmommy]

My ds just turned 8. I had him tested for IgG & IgE allergies about a year ago. He tested positive for IgE: eggs, fish and IgG: gluten. I cut out most of the gluten (we had already eliminated the eggs and fish), but I didn't see much of a change in his health. He seems to be on a cycle of getiing "sick" every 4-6 weeks. He starts with a runny nose for a day or two, that turns into a fever (around 102), rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, then comes the cough. The cough is the deep chest kind, sort of croupy sounding. After a few days of the cough, he seems fine again. Whenever he starts to show signs - the runny nose - we get very strict with the gluten.

My question is: does this sound like normal gluten allegy symptoms? A cycle? I just want to make sure that there isn't something I am missing. He had severe eczema as an infant. We did not treat it with drugs and it cleared before he turned one. I think he may have asthma...unless it is just induced by the gluten allergy.

Any ideas?

[tanyalynn]

Those aren't the gluten symptoms that we had, but you may want to go ask over in Allergies. Those sound atypical to me, but there have been some really, really odd things that have cleared up for some people after eliminating allergens, and gluten seems like an especially stealth one. The allergies - asthma thing seems pretty common, and gluten seems like it can exacerbate a lot of seemingly unrelated problems. We just bit the bullet and are completely gf and after we got past the learning curve, it's been pretty manageable (not fun, but worth it, yk?).

[Grantsmommy]

Are there any good GF mac & cheeses out there?

[kjbrown92]

It doesn't "sound" like a gluten intolerance. Keep a food journal though, and see if you notice anything right before each episode. Are you careful and get more and more lax until an episode, then go back to strict again. Then when he's better start getting more and more lax? It could possibly be the buildup of the allergen in his system, but I've never heard of a fever caused by a food intolerance. If anyone has a croupy cough that I know, eliminating dairy usually helps, because it cuts down on the mucous.

[krankedyann]

Can you tell more about what you consider to be gluten-free? Does he eat items with trace amounts or run on shared equipment? Do you continue to keep gluten in the house? Since you say 'get strict' I'd assume that he's still getting exposed. Has he been tested for IgA, how about a stool test for celiac? Genetic testing for celiac?

I'd try eliminating everything from the house and all trace exposures strictly for 12 weeks and see what happens.

While I have not personally experienced coughing, I do have a runny nose and fever after exposure. And gluten can induce asthma symptoms, which might explain the coughing.

[Grantsmommy]

He is positive IgE for fish and eggs only. We have not been strict with the GF thing up to this point, but we are now. We'll see how he does. Thanks for the advice.