Could my daughter have an undiagnosed food allergy?
My daughter is 8 years old and has been struggling with allergies for a couple of years. Her pediatrician has not tested her specifically but claims that she is most likely allergic to pollen and dust. I have even tried taking her to another family doctor, but all they do is tell me to give her Claritin each night before bed and some kindof nasal spray. Some days are better than others for her, but overall, things seem to be getting worse instead of better. She doesn’t seem to get much of any relief from the congestion and constant feeling of something being in her throat (she clears her throat every minute or two throughout the day and I’m conerned about the long-term effect on her vocal chords). It doesn’t seem to matter whether I give her the Claritin or not, she still is miserable with these symptoms most days. I have been told by a couple of people that she may have an undiagnosed food allergy, such as to milk. Does that sound possible? Is there a way I can figure this out
at home without doing the whole panel of testing at an allergist’s office? If I want to eliminate milk from her diet, for example, how long do I have to do that to determine if milk is the culprit? Any websites that explain how to go about doing this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
In addition, she is borderline overweight and no one can seem to figure out why. The doctor has been telling me for two years that she will have a growth spurt and get tall and skinny, but it’s just not happening. She’s in third grade now and a girl in her class told her the other day that if she hoped to get a boyfriend, she needed to lose some weight. 
I’m wondering if she is allergic to some food and it’s adversely affecting her digestion and causing her to gain weight unnecessarily? Could this be? Her doctor won’t look into this. How can I find out what’s going on??? I can’t keep switching doctors over and over. Where should I take her? She’s miserable and I need to figure out what’s going on with her.
Tagged with: Allergy • Could • daughter • food • undiagnosed
Filed under: Food Allergy Relief
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Try a week of say chinese food without anything but water to drink then try itailian for a week and so on. Im allergic to diet soda so nothings impossible in that category!
If the culprit is a food allergy as you suspect, which is a distinct possibility, the wait depends on the severity of the allergy. I’d eliminate milk for a few days and see if there is a reaction, if not then it’s obviously not the milk. But make sure she gets enough D and calcium for the days you’ve eliminated milk products, definitely don’t want her to have insufficient vitamins and minerals. Be careful to not give her milk products of any kind; ice cream, yogurt, cheese, etc.
She may have an intolerance instead of an allergy. But the only true way to find out is to have her tested for food allergies specifically. Which means convincing her doctor that the tests are needed.
Edit:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/foodintolerance.html
This website seems to sell a food intolerance kit. Couldn’t hurt to try it.
This web site is very comprehensive I hope it helps…the easiest way to figure out if it is milk or wheat is just to eliminate it from her diet but you have to do it completely or you won’t get a true read. Take away one food at a time if you see an improvement you will have found your culprit.
http://www.medicinenet.com/food_allergy/article.htm
I fought for 3 years for my doctor to refer me to an allergy specialist as he kept telling me less than 4% of people really have a food allergy etc… but i did get referred and as soon as i had tests they diagnosed me with such severe allergies i now need to carry an epipen with adrenaline in it! if i have an allergic reaction to something i eat my lips get bumps on, the inside of my ears get itchy and my throat gets all scratchy (i also develop swollen eyes, a hot face and breathing problems but mine are very severe!)
IF YOU ARE WORRIED INSIST they test her for allergies. you can even get a RAST test which is only a blood test but they can test over 4000 things with it, or traditional pin prick tests or the skin tests on your back. stay well clear of anything testing your hair or urine… there is no scientific reason why those would work. none ive read anyway!
i need to take antihistamine twice a day, and they are NOT all equal, if claritin doesn’t work get them to try a different one- you also get immune to them sometimes so be persistent in getting them to try new things. there are different type and doses. also, if she has allergies she may be asthmatic… asthma is afterall an inflamation in the windpipe/bronculus. An inhalor might give her relief from an itchy throat.
if i want to see what im reacting to i will avoid it for 4 weeks which is what my dietician recommended, but you can only do it effectively if you use whole food groups. so for example, when i did it i ate only rice, lamb, potato and apples for 4 weeks, then added one food group every 2 weeks after and waited to see if i noticed a difference. Its very hard… i can tell if i’m properly allergic to something minutes after eating it tho.
the other thing to be aware of is that there is such a thing as desensitivization which you can have in hospital, where you are literally desensitized to the things that you are most allergic to.
anyway hope all this helps.
as it happens i have a birch allergy so am allergic to all raw fruit and veg, especially green veg, wheat, eggs, nuts seeds, additives and preservatives, shellfish and seafood, plus pollen, dust, hay. mould, dogs, cats, and intolerant to dairy it makes me vomit- so i know what i’m talking about
i’m allergic to everything.
Have you ever had a claritin tab? theyre pretty much just mints they did nothing for me. Find yourself a place that maybe specializes in allergies, maybe a dermatologist and have them test her for common food allergies, corn, beef, dairy, it could be anything, it could be the silver forks and spoons also, I think if she was having a food allergy she’d be having worse problems, my throat closes up when I have peanut oil. but yeah could be something in your home, like the air freshener, could be a pet, could be something completely normal like that,just ask about the allergy tests
my mom found out a lot about my allergies that way i hope that helps some i know what its like to feel miserable all day
With her symptoms it is highly likely she has a food allergy, but it also could be something in her environment.
You are also correct that a food allergy can affect her digestion causing her to retain weight (could be water/bloating or fat). So can Celiac, and you may want to have her tested for that as well as it can cause “food allergy symptoms”.
You should get her into an allergist. If you need a referral for your insurance, stand up to your doctor and let them know that you mean business and you want allergy testing done by a professional. You have more than enough reasons for wanting allergy testing done, and should be well within your rights to sue for negligence if they refuse to do it or refuse to write a referral.
Claritin is good for environmental allergies, but not food allergies or people with severe allergies. Many people with food allergies have commented that Claritin is like taking water. Zyrtec or Benadryl will be much more effective, so you may want to try those.
For testing foods with her, you’re first going to want to start a food diary. Where you write what she eats every day, and any symptoms or things you notice.. sleeping, not sleeping, irritability, throat problems, nasal issues, etc. This way you can look back and see “eating this” = “this symptom”
Rotation Diets are helpful in diagnosing allergies, but are really cumbersome to manage. She will need to be off of a food that you want to test for at least 4 days.. preferably 1-2 weeks. You should see improvement after 4 days of avoidance, but you may not. Many people with food allergies go through a withdrawl period when the allergen is removed, so she may get sick or get cravings for her allergen when its removed.
When re-introducing her allergen, use as pure of a form of it as possible. And have some liquid benadryl handy, just in case. Make sure to note any symptoms you notice when you challenge her with the food, as these will be helpful in getting the medical profession on your side.
Since she has problems daily, there are a few foods that I would do an avoidance then challenge with her on… or a few foods that I would suspect to be allergens first, such as: Wheat, Eggs, Milk, Corn, Beans/Soy/Peanut. These foods are extremely prevalent in the diet so she’s probably getting them for every meal which might be why she has constant problems if she’s allergic to one of them.
The throat problem though is the most scary, as if it is a food allergy it could at any time close her throat if the irritation is caused by swelling. The throat issue could also be irritation due to constant nasal drainage and mucus in the throat.. which isn’t much better as too much mucus can restrict breathing as well. Her vocal chords though probably are not in danger.
Do look into this though, and have at your doctor. Allergies should not be blindly diagnosed and medicated. The first cause of action with allergies should always be avoidance, and you can’t do that if you don’t know what to avoid.. aka need testing.