Children's Allergies

Abigail went to the allergist Saturday morning and was a brave girl during the SPT.  (We promised her a Webkinz if she cooperated;o) )

I wanted her checked for enviro/seasonal allergies because her eczema has recurred (after being eczema free for 4 years) and her asthma has been minimally controlled for 2 months.  (She was hospitalized 2x with asthma, been on oral steroids for 3 weeks and still needs Xopenex approx 2 x per week.)

Good news:  All pollen, animal, weeds, mold, dust are negative.  She has no seasonal/enviro allergies.  The allergist ordered a RAST to confirm this.

Bad news:  She is allergic to mustard (a category 4 SPT).  Mustard shows up in deli meats, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, spice packets, pickles, barbecue sauce,  baked beans, seasoning mixes, salad dressings, Miracle Whip etc. 

I haven't had to deal with a non Top 8 allergy before, except for poppy seeds.  I am contacting manufacturers to try to find which foods are safe.  In the meantime, she's eating soy yogurt, oatmeal, fresh meat I prepare and fruits/veggies.

Instead of outgrowing allergies, she's gaining allergies as she gets older.  So in 5 days, we have added 3 foods to our family allergy list (mustard, sunflower - James, grapes - James). 

Thanks for letting me whine.

Anne

Hugs!  I understand how you feel. I usually feel like a short order chef working around all the allergies. DD 5 has all the FA, DD2 needs to avoid a few things that bother her, like strawberries.  DH ended up being allergic to barley and milk when tested this spring. His doctor put him on a gluten & diary free diet and it really hasn't made life/preparing meals for the family any easier.  Our "normal" here is grilled/baked meat, brown rice, steamed broccoli & fruit.  If you ask my 2 year old what she wants for breakfast she says "broccoli." LOL

I did a pot roast in the crock pot last week with water, salt & pepper, onions, carrots and potatoes,  I could have done it with just water and the meat. Everyone ate the meat, the kids wouldn't eat the veggies, though.   

It's a full time job isn't it?  

Anne,

Feel free to WHINE ANYTIME! I know your pain. I made Nic Eggs, chicken and put apples on top on Sunday. This was 'special' for her since well that's all the foods she can eat. I am going to try to make her a 'veggie' omlete in the microwave since we can't do any oils with her. I feel so bad for her, we took her to an open house on Sunday and she was carrying around her bottle of 'milk' and she was all happy. My heart hurts for her sometimes!!

Katrina

Do you live near the Canadian border or happen to visit Canada at all? The reason I ask is because Canada just passed legislation to now label foods that have mustard in them. It was recently acknowledged in that country as a top allergen that required labeling. I guess that wouldn't help you in the immediate future since the labeling likely hasn't happened yet, but if you're ever there, you might have an easy time food shopping because the mustard will appear in the labeling (rather than the generic "spices" that many foods use).

Sorry to hear about the new FA. We're probably adding soy to my DD's list, so I understand your frustration. Whine away. :)

Yes, it definitely is a full-time job!  I spent yesterday emailing and calling companies to find out which products are mustard free and which are not.  We lost Hunt's tomatoes and all Swanson/Campbell products because they refuse to say whether their products have mustard or not.  The Swanson/Campbell rep was really rude too and and got really snarky.  My allergist's office called, and they were rude to the nurse too!

I have more companies to email and call today.  I need to find safe broth/stock and canned tomato sauce/paste. 

Anne