Introducing myself

[okudaisi]

Hello everyone, i came across this website on searching the website for different definitions of milk/ diary as my son has a diary intolerance as well as having a high IGe Level (over 2000) therefore he reacts to much things.

My son (David-Anthony) is ten months old but looks about six, he has refused to take solids but at nearly 11 months has decided to eat

Just to cut a long story short, started to wean him at four months with the normal stuff- baby rice, apple, pear but he is allergic to all of them so you can only guess if he is allergic to that what else will he be allergic too.

Have done some research into foods that dont contain diary but since he hasnt been eating i have forgotten most of it so will need help on that

I was researching into cereals that dont contain diary so if anyone knows i would be really grateful. Also what other names is milk known by? e.g. lactose (that kind of definitiion) so that i can avoid these foods.

anyways talk soon!

Toksy and baby D-A

[Copper]

If you go to this part of this site you will find Lan's list of milk products

http://www.dairyfreeuk.com/forum/article.php?a=2


What is IGe? My daughter eats Kellogs coco pops as they do not contain dairy but do please check the ingredients on the box. Does your son have an allergic reaction to soya? You need to be careful what you use as a substitute for dairy because too much soya could make him allergic to soya eventually. I hope that makes sense.

[Nic]

I don't know anything about weaning babies, but I eat porridge made with water (though you can make it with soya/rice/oat milk) every morning for breakfast. That would be one way of having a definitely non-dairy cereal, as there's nothing in it but the oats.

Its particularly nice with one of the Alpro soya yoghurts stirred in - the mix of hot porridge and cold yoghurt is really good. And it would be sweeter, which might make it more attractive to a baby.

Or how about Weetabix (or supermarket ownbrand equivalent)? Last time I checked, Weetabix were fine. Though I suppose you'd need to check salt levels etc for a baby.

Hope these ideas are helpful - and welcome to the site.

Nic

[Pen]

What is IGe?

A food allergy occurs when a person's immune system mistakenly believes certain foods are harmful. In an effort to protect the body, the immune system makes antibodies (called IgE) to those specific foods. These IgE antibodies sit on the surface of allergy cells found throughout the body. When the IgE antibodies detect the food, they alert the allergy cell to release chemicals and histamines, resulting in the symptoms of an allergic reaction.
http://www.foodallergy.org/Research/antiigetherapy.html

[okudaisi]

hiya Copper and thanks for the post!

RAST testing (radioallergosorbent test) detects the presence of an antibody called IgE in the blood. IgE is the substance that causes allergic reactions. IgE to an allergen is not normally detected in the blood and is only produced when a person becomes sensitised to a substance. Substances that cause allergy (called an allergen) produce a specific IgE that is unique to and will only react with it. This reaction between IgE and the allergen is like a lock and key. IgE, when combined with the allergen, causes cells to release chemicals (e.g. histamine), which cause the symptoms of allergy. A person may have specific IgE to more than one substance and may therefore be allergic to more than one substance.
Result for IgE testing are expressed as a grade that indicates how much IgE specific to the substance you tested for, is present in your blood. The higher the grade the more likely you are to be allergic. A negative test, however, does not 100% rule out an allergy. In a similar way a small proportion of allergy sufferers will still have a positive IgE test but will have outgrown their allergy or not yet developed symptoms.

[okudaisi]

D-A is really sensitive, tried oats on him and he did come out in a rash also tried weetabix (tescos bran biscuits) and we ended up in hospital as he his neck sweleed up. the funny thing about the latter was that he only got 2 on the RAST test so he shuldnt have reacted to it in that way but then again these tests are not 100%!!

Regarding the oats i will introduce them to him agian as the consultant at the hosptial said that i should give him a balanced diet even if he reacts to it and only exclude food that causes him a severe reaction like the weetabix

[okudaisi]

A food allergy occurs when a person's immune system mistakenly believes certain foods are harmful. In an effort to protect the body, the immune system makes antibodies (called IgE) to those specific foods. These IgE antibodies sit on the surface of allergy cells found throughout the body. When the IgE antibodies detect the food, they alert the allergy cell to release chemicals and histamines, resulting in the symptoms of an allergic reaction.
http://www.foodallergy.org/Research/antiigetherapy.html

Oh thanks Pen, didnt see your reply! :D

[Copper]

Ok I understand that now - very scientific. I certainly understand the lock and key part.

I do feel sorry for you and your poor baby. It must be a nightmare at feeding times and a constant worry not knowing what reaction there might be.

Are the baby organix foods any good for David-Anthony? I know that they don't put additives etc in the food. See their site here

http://www.babyorganix.co.uk/

[matt]

have they not supplied some stuff from the hospital?

i have conflakes which are dairy free and pretty much most other stuff ie wheat and so on.
make friends with local health food shop. if turns out he's wheat problem aswell you should be able to get stuf on prescription but there's always quinoa. a bit like cous cous but not gluten. or various other types of cereal stuff which is non dairy and non wheat.

must be a nightmare for you. don't forget that you can make a normal meal and then liquidize it. ie veg and potatoes. smash for breakfast! why not try?

[Pam]

The Kelloggs web site has info about which cereals might be suitable
http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/products/
You can either look at particular products and see the ingredients list plus a list of allergens (contains milk, contains wheat etc.) or you can search by dietary needs. Most of the Kelloggs cereals are dairy free.
For Weetabix products see http://www.weetabix.co.uk/frameset.asp and select "Our Brands" then the cow's milk free option. Nestle also have free from lists on their site but it wasn't working when I just looked.

Have you tried baby rice as a starter food? This can be mixed with his normal milk and is one of the purest foods least likely to cause a reaction. I think you then need to start adding new foods cautiously and watch out for a reaction for a couple of days before trying anything else new.

Have you been referred to a dietician? Although they are often not very helpful they might be of some use to you in advising the way forward.

I would also recommend Foods Matter magazine which is available on subscription from http://www.foodsmatter.com/
It is a magazine for people with multiple allergies which you might find helpful. I believe they also try to put you in touch with other people in your situation if you ask and can certainly recommend doctors and specialists in food allergies.

I hope you find some new foods for your little boy to try and don't have too many reactions on the way.

[okudaisi]

have they not supplied some stuff from the hospital?

i have conflakes which are dairy free and pretty much most other stuff ie wheat and so on.
make friends with local health food shop. if turns out he's wheat problem aswell you should be able to get stuf on prescription but there's always quinoa. a bit like cous cous but not gluten. or various other types of cereal stuff which is non dairy and non wheat.

must be a nightmare for you. don't forget that you can make a normal meal and then liquidize it. ie veg and potatoes. smash for breakfast! why not try?

Thanks Matt:)

[okudaisi]

The Kelloggs web site has info about which cereals might be suitable
http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/products/
You can either look at particular products and see the ingredients list plus a list of allergens (contains milk, contains wheat etc.) or you can search by dietary needs. Most of the Kelloggs cereals are dairy free.
For Weetabix products see http://www.weetabix.co.uk/frameset.asp and select "Our Brands" then the cow's milk free option. Nestle also have free from lists on their site but it wasn't working when I just looked.

Have you tried baby rice as a starter food? This can be mixed with his normal milk and is one of the purest foods least likely to cause a reaction. I think you then need to start adding new foods cautiously and watch out for a reaction for a couple of days before trying anything else new.

Have you been referred to a dietician? Although they are often not very helpful they might be of some use to you in advising the way forward.

I would also recommend Foods Matter magazine which is available on subscription from http://www.foodsmatter.com/
It is a magazine for people with multiple allergies which you might find helpful. I believe they also try to put you in touch with other people in your situation if you ask and can certainly recommend doctors and specialists in food allergies.

I hope you find some new foods for your little boy to try and don't have too many reactions on the way.

Hiy aPam,thank you so much for your email.... D-A (David-Anthony) has weird allergies some of them are rice, wheat ( gave him weetabix once and we ended up in A and E) but now that he is older he seems to have gotten much better, like the other day i gave him a baby cereal which contains rice and his reaction was very mild compared to how it used to be!

Yes i have been referred to a dietican AND a skin specialist and they both contradict each other. The dietician siad what you said- introduce food cautiously whilst the dermotologist said give him everything regardless of the reaction but only exclude foods that make him swell up!well you can guess how i felt about that!

Okay now that his diet is more varied i must say he hasnto reacted like when he was younger and he has now started to eat ( he is nearly 11 months now and went off food for like 4 months and that was scary)

Have tried quinoa and i think its great,will definitley not try any other wheat products until we have tests back from the hospital

kindest regards toksy

[okudaisi]

Thanks Matt:)

forgot to mention i have tried quinoa and i like it! havnt really started introducing adult cereals into his diet yet

[matt]

good to hear some solutions have been sucessful. keep at it and keep us informed. we're always here for help and chat and gossip.


well pretty much anything really. gives me something to read at stupid o'clock when i'm online.:D

[Pam]

I'm glad he is improving, lets hope he gets better and better so that his diet is less limited. Keep visiting and letting us know.

[Copper]

As D-A's tolerance to rice has improved there is hope for other foods too. I hope he keeps improving and do let us know how he is getting on.