[MommaMoo]

My ds has had a red rash around his anus for as long as I can remember. Two doctors have seen it, and one said it was yeast, and the other said that ds just has sensitive skin. I've tried every imaginable treatment for it and it is unresponsive. Ds has also always had dark circles under his eyes. The doctors never said anything about it being a food allergy, even knowing my concern. I have abstained from all the top allergen foods for one week each, with no difference in his condition. If it is an allergy, how long would I (and ds) have to stay away from the food before I noticed a difference?

 

[LEAW]

Initially, a minimum of 3 weeks, maybe longer. Dairy proteins stay in your blood for 3 weeks. For my dd, it took exactly 20 days to eliminate all her symptoms, and when I slip up (or test it intentionally) it can take up to a week for that one slip to resolve.

She reacted to 10 different items, and the primary ones are dairy, soy, pork, and peanuts... the other foods were very low on the allergen scale but behaved like irritants until her body was able to recover from the dairy/soy issues.

If you are able to eliminate the big 8 all at once for 3 weeks, that's what I'd do. Otherwise, I'd eliminate dairy and soy for 3 weeks, and then ALL the big 8 for the 4th week, that should provide a decent result... if it's dairy/soy you'll know and not need to eliminate during the 4th week.

 

[wombatclay]

Heyla mama!

One idea is to cut out ALL the common allergens from your diet (and so from your breastmilk) for at least two weeks. So wheat, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs, shellfish, citrus, and as many food additives as possible. If your little one's symptoms improve keep going! Then, after two weeks (or when you see a clear improvement) add back one food or food group at a time. If symptoms return when you start eating eggs again (for example) add eggs to the "problem" list, cut them out and wait till your babe is happy again (I usually took another week) then try another food group.

It's slow, and young children can display a sensitivity at one age but "outgrow it" later (or be fine with something and develop a sensitivity to it later).

Check out the info on Dr. Sear's page (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T041800.asp) and here at mdc in the health and healing forum, and good luck to you and your little one! He's so lucky you're so aware of the possible allergy and taking steps to identify the culprit! Hang in there...

 

[MommaMoo]

Thanks so much for the timetables. Now I know how long I need to wait it out. I'll start with dairy, but that's going to be hard. It's probably good for me to give up anyway, since I'm so dependant on it

I don't do soy, so that's not it. Possibly eggs, maybe wheat. I'll drop the dairy starting today, thanks ladies.

 

[LovinLiviLou]

There's a lot about this in the "healing the gut" thread over in health and healing if you're interested. We're on week 4 of an elimination diet. It's tough, but has been worth it for me and my little one.

 

[1hotitalianmamma]

hi
Since you don't use soy make sure whatever you are buying doesn't have "SOY Lecithin" in it. (even chocolate has it).You do need to take stuff out of your diet for at least 2-3 weeks. I would stop drinking milk, continue to eat cheese, butter, & yogurt and get off of WHEAT/GLUTEN. My 2 1/2 yr. old has an issue with it & so do I & my DH. We figured this out after she had an awful time trying to have a bowel movement. The pediatrician reccommended being Wheat/Gluten Free. And so far, we are all fine. Of course, need to make sure that liquids are enough in this heat-plenty of water & I use Recharge flavored drinks a little just to make sure she drinks.
Remember, wheat/gluten free-that means no Soy sauce (use tamari), no barley, oats, etc. I miss eating oatmeal, so I just bought (At a natural food store) a rice cereal from Arrowhead Mills & a buckwheat cereal-pretty good.
Good luck.

 

[Kundalini-Mama]

Your child sounds like my first child. http://www.mothering.com/discussions...n+corn+vaccine

He is now 4 yrs old and we are finally getting to the root of the problem, a leaky gut in me and a leaky gut in him.

He is *finally* starting to heal.

I urge you to come visit us on the aforementioned healing the gut thread. http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=493103

I wish I knew about this yrs ago.

 

[MommaMoo]

Thanks, I'll visit 'Healing the gut.' I don't eat any soy lecithin or foods with additives. I am NT and have been for years now. Ds has had nothing but excellent nutrition since way before he was concieved. Perhaps it is a wheat/gluten thing, because ds does seem to have a hard time pooping. The dairy I eat is raw milk and cheese, and plain yogurt. It was my understanding that those products are less likely to cause allergies. I'd really rather pin it on wheat

since I love my raw milk and cheese so much...This suspected allergy is a big let-down for me, since I'm terribly uptight about what I eat and what I feed my family. I thought I was doing everything 'right.'