Thursday, January 3, 2008

Allergy Testing

OK!!! SO I really don't understand.....and this is probably one of those afternoon "mommy problems" to research......

I have 2 kids that are allergic to milk....it was very obvious when they nursed. When I would partake of some yummy dairy treats, my little ones would spit-up! It was like clock-work....I could almost guess after which nursing they would spit-up the most, or if at all. Lydia has pretty much been the same. I've had to pretty much eliminate all dairy from my diet (with some quick cheats, very once in a while). I also noticed early on that she was reacting to peanuts.....so I completely eliminated them with NO cheating.



Because it's getting to be time to wean her soon (I'm ready)and the pediatrician is pushing the flu shot, we decided to go ahead and get her tested for food allergies, expecting milk and peanuts, but testing eggs b/c of Christopher. We usually do the skin prick test just because it's soo much easier to keep a baby still for a prick....I can't imagine drawing tubes of blood for an infant!!!

The results are immediate and are in.....her tests are negative for ALL three. How can this be??? She has both siblings and possibly her Dad allergic to milk and she is still spitting up when her Mommy has dairy! I think the allergist warned my husband that tests can have a false negative and the age of Lydia might cause it to not show up. (But Christopher and Lydia were both tested young, 9 and 11 months, and all of theirs were very obvious.) So I'm not going to start her on milk....but maybe I can test dairy and peanut products on her skin (if I have any in the house).

Wouldn't it be strange for three siblings to have all different foods in their diets just because their different allergies?? And why the difference, cold it possibly because I was a lot more cautious with problem foods with Christopher and Lydia than Anna? Anna's allergies are a lot more sensitive (the allergist remembered Anna's skin's reaction to peanuts).


BTW......we made our gingerbread house icing with an egg-free recipe!! It was a lot more runny and it was a challenge to put the houses together...but it worked!!! We had to let them dry over night and then use glasses to prop them up during the construction. Oh, and Grammie had to add a TON of extra sugar to make it thick enough to hold the walls up :) but it's egg-free and Christopher could stick his fingers in it and eat some....which I think is worth it. Grammie left the recipe here:).....I don't think she was impressed.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Im wondering if its because Lydia hasn't been exposed to any of the "suspected" allergens. It will be interesting to see what happens when you start experimenting. I'd try eggs first especially if you're going to give her the flu shot. Isn't that vaccine developed in egg whites?

The "egg-less" royal frosting recipe is in my head in case I ever need it. Thank goodness its so easy, corn syrup, powdered sugar, and a little water and I'm so glad it worked for Christopher's sake.(I just wished I had made the gingerbread without eggs and butter,OOPS looks like Kelly will be eating alot of gingerbread) I probably won't use the recipe to do gingerbread because it takes too long to set. The sessions I have with large groups are usually completed in a couple of hours where this frosting takes two days before the house can be moved without fearing that the walls will come tumbling down:( Now I'll experiment with finding a good egg and butterless gingerbread recipe so we can continue with our traditional gingerbread at Christmas project:)

In Everything said...

Yep! The flu shot is developed/grown in eggs. The pediatrician will not give in to Christopher...but the allgerist will in super small doses at a time when we found a batch that he wouldn't be so sensitive to.

Ohhh, the frosting was a royal pain in the botom to use b./c it didn't set and it dripped everywhere!!! But that is just the world of cooking with allgeries....no recipe is exactly right ;)

Erica said...

maybe you will get lucky and Lydia will be fine after her birthday. you know all my kids are only sensitive for that first year, and then we never deal with allergies!! wouldn't that be a blessing? though you're cooking that way anyway....

:)