Help...they gave him wheat!

[pokeymama]

Long time no post!

My 14 month DS has an IGg sensitivity to wheat among lots of other things. Has eczema. Well, he got about 10 Goldfish today at his first time at church child care (my first time going). I had mentioned he couldn't have wheat, but in passing. I didn't put a moratorium on food.

So, he's stuffier than he's even been in his life, and getting red rapidly. He fell asleep on the way home, and we noticed the patches appearing on his face (he had been pretty well managed on a rotation diet both he and I are on, I'm still BFing). His heart is rather fast, and he's hot, but I think that was me trying to suction his nose and not being able to breathe through his nose, impeding his nursing. No fever acc. to the thermometer.

Any advice, or just watch and wait. We don't have any homeopathics on hand, so gave him Benadryl (he's also on Zyrtec for the itching).

I'm kicking myself for not bringing him food, or at least telling them not to give him anything. :

He sounds a bit better now, anyway...no crying. Playing with Daddy!

Thanks for listening, anyway!

[ASusan]

Aawwhh, poor baby. At least you have the Benedryl and are willing to use it - I do think that will probably help slow the rxn (does this work only with IgE rxns?).

I think we also had a wheat encounter on Friday with meatballs at a reception - bot DS and I chowed on them. Red cheeks, stuffy nose, fever, rashes in new places, TONS of scratching and itching in the middle of last night (kept us all awake, and I had to walk the floor with him for an hour like he was 6 weeks old). Do you think the fever is related to the allergic reaction? How about the stuffy nose? (I wrote the fever off as teething-related, and the nose to his environmental allergies to mold, etc.) DH nixed the Benedryl idea. (I was pro at 1am - and I am quite anti-meds, in general.)

We do better when we tell caregivers, "no food," and provide some snack for him. Just yesterday, I mentioned his wheat allergy...and the woman immediately offered him a cracker.

Hugs to your LO.

[kjbrown92]

I always tell people "no food" even if it's only for 5 minutes. In Dr. Rapp's book she says to use baking soda dissolved in water. But I don't know how much for someone young. For us, we used Gripe Water whenever the kids got into something they shouldn't have, and it at least lessened the reaction (ginger, fennel, chamomile, and a little baking soda). It didn't effect an eczema reaction though, just stomach/screaming reactions.

[Baby Makes 4]

Ack, how frustrating. We're still dealing with itching from "just one spoonful" of ice cream that was given to my 3yo DS by a well meaning relative last week. There isn't much we can do but ride out the reaction and let his body cleanse itself.

[Chinese Pistache]

We also give the no-food rule because people just. don't. get. it. I told a friend of mine "no food" for dd and stupidly mentioned a few of her allergens (corn, soy, dairy). My friend was really just trying to help, but she thought she could navigate our allergen list. She gave dd some store-bought crackers that had EVERY ONE of her allergens. It's just way to much to expect other people to figure this stuff out.

Also, is there a reason you think your ds's reaction is IgG? To me, it sounds more IgE (quick reaction, skin reddening, all the congestion stuff), and possibly worth getting an epipen over. I know that IgG and IgE symptoms can sometimes overlap, but better safe than sorry. Also, I think that some people are actually IgG and IgE reactive to some foods.

[pokeymama]

How to make this into a short post?

His lips turned blue. His lower lip was quivering, he was shivering/shaking. He vomited. We high-tailed it to an after-hours pedi - he wasn't having any problems breathing, and an ER visit is a $100 co-pay (refunded if admitted, perhaps). Got a script for an epi-pen.

They ended up calling 911 when a was nearly non-responsive for a short period of time; he was falling asleep and was just exhausted, I think. But, due to an earlier oversight that resulted in a hospital stay, we erred on the side of caution and allowed him to go to the hospital in the ambulance; doc thought he needed observation.

At the ER, doc wanted to give him oral prednisone. I agreed reluctantly and sadly, considering the severity of the reaction. Doc was open to the thought that I might just give him the one dose rather than 3 days worth.

He came home after 5 hours of mostly waiting. His behavior was wonderful and normal. He ate then fell asleep.

Gonna go back to the church, but will always bring snacks for him.

[pokeymama]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

Also, is there a reason you think your ds's reaction is IgG? To me, it sounds more IgE (quick reaction, skin reddening, all the congestion stuff), and possibly worth getting an epipen over. I know that IgG and IgE symptoms can sometimes overlap, but better safe than sorry. Also, I think that some people are actually IgG and IgE reactive to some foods.

We had an ELISA test back in May/June and wheat was one of the reactants. It didn't test for IgE, but I agree, this sounds like it is. Would it still be IgE if the reaction didn't happen for an hour or so?

I need to fill that epi pen prescription today!

[mommydancer]

Originally Posted by pokeymama

How to make this into a short post?

His lips turned blue. His lower lip was quivering, he was shivering/shaking. He vomited. We high-tailed it to an after-hours pedi - he wasn't having any problems breathing, and an ER visit is a $100 co-pay (refunded if admitted, perhaps). Got a script for an epi-pen.

They ended up calling 911 when a was nearly non-responsive for a short period of time; he was falling asleep and was just exhausted, I think. But, due to an earlier oversight that resulted in a hospital stay, we erred on the side of caution and allowed him to go to the hospital in the ambulance; doc thought he needed observation.

At the ER, doc wanted to give him oral prednisone. I agreed reluctantly and sadly, considering the severity of the reaction. Doc was open to the thought that I might just give him the one dose rather than 3 days worth.

He came home after 5 hours of mostly waiting. His behavior was wonderful and normal. He ate then fell asleep.

Gonna go back to the church, but will always bring snacks for him.

Oh My Gosh!!!! I am so sorry this happened. When I read your initial post, I thought it sounded kind of scary, and I was glad you'd mentioned giving him the benadryl...although I honestly don't know how well that works as compared to epinephrine. (Limited experience - thankfully.) Glad you now have the epipen script...it does sound pretty IgE to me. Again....soooooo sorry you had to go through this, and hugs to your LO.

[changingseasons]

Oh, big hugs pokeymama. That is so scary. It does sound like an IgE reaction to me as well.

We're going to a new allergist to get new IgE testing done soon (she's only had the RAST done for IgE, and that was when she was about 4mo)... because I have a feeling that we might be dealing with some IgE too, and I'm afraid of that exact thing happening- someone gives DD some food (or more likely, she finds it on the floor) and we have to rush to the ER.

[mbbinsc]

Sorry that this happened at church. We have had issues with the nursery at church for our DD (now 3). I got stickers for her to wear and to put on her cup. I brought snacks, but ultimately never did trust the staff. We even have a meeting with minister tomorrow to see if we can raise her in this church (we love it otherwise), or if we need a new church. She is IgE to peanut, dairy, egg , tree nuts and shellfish.

My goal is to always carry an Epipen, but to never need it.

[Porcelain Interior]

I read your post and was about to say "GO TO THE ER NOW!" when I read that the worst happened.

You can never be too careful, I'd fashion some sort of removable patch for his shirt that says, "Please don't feed me I have life threatening food allergies".

I'm so glad he's ok, how scary. I had it happen as an adult and it's simply frightening.

[lil_miss_understood]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

Also, is there a reason you think your ds's reaction is IgG? To me, it sounds more IgE (quick reaction, skin reddening, all the congestion stuff), and possibly worth getting an epipen over. I know that IgG and IgE symptoms can sometimes overlap, but better safe than sorry. Also, I think that some people are actually IgG and IgE reactive to some foods.

Yes, some are. Ds1 is IgG and IgE to dairy.
I hadn't finished reading through the posts before I posted this and wasn't finished typing (not entirely sure why I submitted before I was done, but whatever).
I'm sorry you had such a scary experience, and at church at that. I agree that this sounds like an IgE reaction and am glad you have the epipen now also.

[pokeymama]

Thanks for all the good wishes, hugs, stories, etc. I never dreamed we would have to deal with this. My step-mom told me last night that she had to give me credit for keeping people from feeding John what they want, and they all appreciate the seriousness now. My ILs, especially FIL I suspect, still didn't quite "get it", but they do now.

I'm just so glad he's ok. His skin is even a bit clearer, but that's the prednisone. We're due to get a big tax refund, and with some of that I want to see a homeopath and see about a constitutional remedy. And I really haven't gotten serious about the gut healing measures...time to do that.