My Food Allergy Kid

Joseph was born in March 2010. We self-identified his allergies via food elimination technique, and then in April 2012 had them confirmed via the skin poke test. Here is a list of foods he reacts to, as well as what happens if he eats them.

• Dairy – It used to be that if Joseph even touched cow’s milk he would break out in hives. The first time he drank cow’s milk formula, his hives were so big I was afraid he was going to have anaphylaxis. Thankfully, that has never happened. The size of the hives has gone down as he’s gotten older, but if he eats it, he will get diarrhea and pretty bad diaper rash. In the past, he has not been able to tolerate milk in baked goods, but our doctor has encouraged us to try again.
• Gluten – While the allergist only tested Joseph for sensitivity to wheat (which was positive), when he ate barley (which also contains gluten) he got cranky, the eczema on the backs of his knees and around his ankles flared up, and he got constipated, which are the same things that happen when he eats wheat. So we avoid all gluten. The next time he sees the allergist, I will ask them to test all gluten containing grains. Thankfully, because this appears to be an allergy and not Celiac Disease, it appears that he will have a chance to grow out of it, though it may take a few years.
• Nuts – Joseph tested positive to almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, pinenut, pistachio, and peanuts. Though he tested negative to brazil nuts and macadamia nuts, we feel it safer to just avoid all nuts. That way we avoid cross contamination, and forgetfulness. I have never seen anaphylaxis when he’s been exposed to nuts, thankfully, but he has broken out in hives, and gotten really bad diaper rash after eating them. (As a side note, while coconut is classified as a treenut, he eats it with no problem, so coconut shows up in my recipes quite a bit)
• Eggs - Even though Joseph tested positive to egg whites, he can tolerate them in baked goods, so my blog is not egg-free. But when he eats scrambled eggs, he does break out in small hives, and then he’ll refuse to touch them. So I will not have any low cooked egg recipes (custards, omelets, etc) on this blog unless he proves able to handle them.
• Soy – Until Joseph was two years old, whenever he ate soy, his eczema would flare up and he would get diarrhea. So, my first year of posts on this blog are all soy-free. However, his allergy test came back negative to soy, and now when he eats it, his eczema does not flare, although he does get constipated. So, I will be bringing soy back occasionally to my blog.

Of the remaining allergens in the big 8 – we know Joseph can tolerate fish, so that will be occasionally showing up on my blog, and we have never tried shellfish, since we eat it so rarely.

(Last updated May 2, 2012)