Talking Allergies

I'm also hoping that living with the allergies will give them the desire to care about what they stick in their bodies. Hopefully it helps them steer clear of drugs and alcohol. Crystal meth is big in our city. I hope they realize how dangerous it can be to put chemicals in your body that have been created in a garage using drano!!!

Hi Connie,

I am new to this website and just read your email. I just had to reply because our situations sound so similar. I have a 31/2 year old daughter who we carry an epipen for now. I am beginning to lose faith that she will ever outgrow this and it breaks my heart. I also agree that people mean well and try their best to understand, but they just don't seem to "get it" most of the time. I find that the general feeling is that I am an overprotective mom and I also find people don't seem to understand the difference between allergies and lactose intolerance.

I have become a ** label reader at the grocery store and have found some good brands of food that I feel comfortable having in the house. We have gone completely dairyfree as a family as that is the only way I can be certain a mistake won't happen.

I could go on and on...if there is anything specific I can help with let me know.

I'm 30 years old and still have a severe milk allergy. You should go to the school, talk to the teachers. Make sure they know how to keep the classroom dairy free...assume they don't know how to read labels. Be sure they know how to use the Epipen and what to do in case of a reaction (lets hope that never happens). Talk to your child, make sure he knows not to eat anything unless YOU give it to him.
I'm so allergic to dairy my airways swell shut if I am even in the same room as a mini pizza being microwaved. I can't even go to the movie theater because the butter in the air from the popcorn makes me break out in hives and my throat swell up. There's a lot that I am limited in doing, but I find other fun stuff to do. Milk is in a lot of foods, so be careful.
BTW, I NEVER trust restaurants. Cross contamination seems to be very high with milk products.

Awesome post! I never thought of it that way.

Right now we are going through some tough times with my beautiful 7-year old who is very allergic to milk proteins. She gets so sad when she can't have the cupcake at the surprise party at Girls Scouts. She hates feeling different. I am starting to feel overwhelmed by the psychological aspects of food allergies not just the physical.

Thank you for giving me a new way of looking at her allergy.

I am 25 years old and have never outgrown my dairy allergy. Recently I have been extremely concerned about the long term effects of my food allergy.

What are possible risks during pregnancy, for example if I was to have an attack? I

What will happen to my bones as I get older bc of the lack of calcium and dairy products?

Do you know of any adults that have a dairy allergy? Have they experienced any adverse long term side effects?

What are the chances of me passing on my dairy allergy to my children?

Any information or advice anyone may have would extremely help!

Thanks

I am only responding tp the question I know about. I hope others will respond to the other questions.

What will happen to my bones as I get older bc of the lack of calcium and dairy products?

Don't give up on strong bones simply because of a milk allergy. Milk is not the only source of calcium. DId you know that there is more calcium in 1 cup of collard greens than in 1 cup of skim milk? Resistance exercises also promote bone density.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionso ... lcium.html

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

I agree with Susan 100% about getting calcium from other sources, including supplements. Dairy is not the only source of protein, fat, calcium, etc in the world - so you just need to make sure you are getting those things from other foods or supplements. The North American diet is very dairy-focussed, but the diets of other cultures are not, and I'm sure they are just as healthy as we are. (Maybe even more so! I have my own feelings about the obsession with dairy in our NA diet...)

Obviously there is a chance that you could pass on your allergic tendencies to your children, because there is a definite genetic link. But from what I have read, specific allergies are not passed on from parent to child.

There is a nice little article called Inherited Allergies on Sesame Street Parents that gives a very basic overview of allergies and genetics that you might want to check out. My understanding is that if one parent has allergies (of any kind), a child has about a 30-50% chance of having allergies of some sort. If both parents have allergies, that number rises to 70%. (Someone correct my numbers if you have heard otherwise.) Remember though - it's allergies of some sort. A parent with ragweed allergy could end up with a child with food allergies, or vice-versa.

Anyway, there are lots of other things we can pass on to our children (including our good looks and charm ), so I really wouldn't stress too much about it. Unless you specifically choose to not have children in order to avoid having kids with allergies, there is not much you can do about it! I will be honest - when I think of all the things that could have happened to my children, I am fine with getting the allergy card. It's a challenge, but it's do-able.

As for risks during pregnancy - that is a good question for your allergist or an obstetrician. I would specifically ask: what would happen if I were pregnant and experienced an anaphylactic reaction? Are there risks to my unborn child? I think those are valid concerns for someone at risk of anaphylaxis.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Hi I'm new...I am looking for other parents that have children with severe milk allergy. I was reading other comments and feel exactly like some of you. My 2 1/2 yrs old daughter has severe allergies to milk, beef, eggs, pork, and peanuts. I just started looking around for preschools for her. I am terrified of leaving her and having someone else responsible for her. People don't get the milk allergy. They understand the peanut allergy. I have not met or talked to anyone with children that are allergic to milk. I am afraid that the school/teachers/parents will make a mistake and give her something she can't eat. I can't expect a 2 1/2 yrs old to understand that she can't eat what all of her friends are eating. I just hope I can find the right school that understands how serious this allergy really is. How do I let her go and trust other people to watch her as closely as I have these last 2 1/2 yrs?

Morgansmom wrote

Talk, talk, talk. Do they listen? I would rather leave my child with a provider who was scared and listened to me that one that cut me off by saying, "I know all about that."

Get an auto-injector trainer and find teachable moments.

Share information, concerns and help to problem solve.

Make the rules simple and easy to understand. I send everything and please don't feed her anything else.

Be available. Get a cell phone so they can reach you.

Teach your child. You would tell her not to touch a hot stove, tell her not to touch her allergens. Play tea party and act out scenarios.

Join a local support group. Why re-invent the wheel? Network to see who they use and what they have found helpful.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

My 3 1/2 yr old son is severely allergic to dairy,along with egg,peanut,treenut,soy,wheat,fish,legumes...and the list goes on.His dairy allergy has progressivley gotten worse over the yrs,from ingesting it causing vommitting and touching a drop to his skin causing hives to the smell of a yogurt now causing SEVERE hives all over his body and his eyes swelling shut.THe allergist says its only a matter of time before the "smell" of dairy causes anaphylaxis.I am in the process of trying to register him for JK and I dont have any idea how to make it safe for him except by banning dairy.If i can even get dairy taken out of the class,I am terrified how to deal with the battles from teachers, parents, even my sons dad who seem to all not beleive the seriousness of this allergy.I am online searching, as you are, for someone with answers.Good luck!

My daughter is nearly 14 and has had Anaphylaxis to dairy since birth. It has only gotten worse since she was a baby. I doubt she will outgrow it but I have hopes that my prayers will be answered. Remember that only you know how severe your child's allergy is and that you need to stand up for him at school. Many teachers and parents will not understand the severity. I met with teachers and discussed an action plan. They would not ban dairy but would send a letter to parents urging them not pack any yogurt, cheeses, doritos or spilly milk products. Cookies, breads and other non speadable milk products were fine. My daughter had a table that was cleaned each day and it was hers for lunch. She was allowed to ask friends who didn't bring milk products to sit with her at lunch. It was actually fun for her and kids would refuse to bring anything with milk in it so they would get picked to join her table group. Each year, starting in kindergarten, I would talk to the principle and teachers about her allergy and they would set an emergency plan in place. I repeated it every year as I knew they would forget. Also, I had a prepared speach that I would give her class at the beginning of the year and educated them on her allergy. What she could and could not have. It was a little interactive when she was young as kids wanted to yell out what had milk in it. As she got older, the kids all knew my daughter so it was basically just a run threw conversation in front of the class until grade 5. Middle school was tough as she was embarrassed and didn't want me to go in front of all those strangers to discuss her. I prepared a letter for her teacher to go over in front of the class and my daughter said she did a good job. She is in grade 8 now and I only talk to the principle and make sure they have an action plan in case of a reaction. She still carries her medicine bag (coach purse) everywhere. If I see her without it, she will be grounded.

I worry about the teen years to come with drinking and kissing. I remind her regularly that she has to be so careful and never to eat at friend's houses or at the mall. We can't hover forever but hopefully you will give your son the tools to take care of himself later.

Hope that helps.

Daughter with Anaphylaxis to Milk, hay fever and issues with cats.