Claudia has entered the world of solid foods now, and she is coming up on the age that Bryan was when he was first diagnosed with his food allergies. She is also experiencing some of the same growth problems that Bryan had. Her pediatrician has ordered some tests, and we are going to go see a GI specialist next month. My worry is that the GI doctor will recommend that we supplement her diet with formula. (Fateful words in my experience.) Soooooo... what do we do? Do we start her on regular formula or go straight to soy? And what happens as she gets older, and it's time to move beyond strained green beans and rice cereal? Do we introduce foods that may contain eggs or milk? Or do we put her on the Bryan-safe diet as well?
Most of the recent research indicates little evidence for higher occurence of milk or egg allergy among siblings (there does, however, appear to be a higher occurrence of peanut allergy). And Claudia hasn't had some of the other signs of food allergies that Bryan exhibited (no eczema, no random hives). However, I'm leaning towards keeping the Bryan-safe diet through her first birthday, then asking to have her tested for the "Big 8"- milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. (These 8 allergens account for 90% of all allergic reactions.) I don't want to be the pushy mother, but I also don't want to go to the emergency room if I can avoid it.
So what do I do? I guess I have about 6 months to try to decide...
Most of the recent research indicates little evidence for higher occurence of milk or egg allergy among siblings (there does, however, appear to be a higher occurrence of peanut allergy). And Claudia hasn't had some of the other signs of food allergies that Bryan exhibited (no eczema, no random hives). However, I'm leaning towards keeping the Bryan-safe diet through her first birthday, then asking to have her tested for the "Big 8"- milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. (These 8 allergens account for 90% of all allergic reactions.) I don't want to be the pushy mother, but I also don't want to go to the emergency room if I can avoid it.
So what do I do? I guess I have about 6 months to try to decide...
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing Tonyamas. What a scary experience. I've seen what adults go through in Sebastian's aunt's severe shellfish allergy - but at least she knows what she needs to do to avoid foods and deal with reactions. However, restaurants are still a challenge and the lack of awareness and ability to deal with food allergies seems prevalent.
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