Life Embrace (video)

lists of foods and food families

http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Articles/English/botanical.htm
lists of foods and food families can be handy when dealing with broad category-based restrictions, as is often the case with young children until enough info is available to narrow the list to specific foods.

facebook networking / coping

joined a facebook group in support of the Zero8 resto-bar in montreal a few days ago. Today I get a friend request from this mother of three children of which one has severe food allergies asking me to check out her blog (http://aproposdesallergiesalimentaires.blogspot.com/).
1. Didn't really expect to start networking that way, but I'm logging her blog address here anyway for future reference.
2. Never suspected there might be so many different groups and websites trying to help people with food allergies. Kinda makes sense though, since (a) we each have to learn quickly to deal with it and we want to help others through that struggle (coping mechanism/empowering), (b) everyone's set of allergies is different so each feels like their case is special and what may be good for others isn't good for me so we're cautious/not trusting of other's claims, and (c) advocacy becomes a necessary part of our daily lives. Interesting.

kiwi challenge ok!

We're taking the little one on a Caribbean cruise in a few weeks' time, and wanted to be sure he wouldn't react to kiwi. Results were negative when skin-tested year and a half ago, but we wanted to be sure before the trip. So, last night, after making sure all important stuff was done and we could spend the next few hours in hospital if anything happened, we offered him a piece.
"No, don't want dis" was the automatic reply.
We pursued.
"No, don't like dis" he insisted.
Ok, that's a little more concerning. We pressed on anyway, though a little less sure of ourselves. Turns out what he didn't like was the whitish middle part of the fruit.
He ate the rest of the piece (approx 1cm cube) and we gave him his promised reward. That was 18hours ago, and I'm so pleased/relieved that everything is still going well. :)

birthday parties

preparing safe food for them is going to be a lot of work...
Anyway, he kept playing in the living room while the other 3yos smooshed their food everywhere at/around the table, then he popped over in time for dessert (special chocolate cupcake with Dairy Free ice cream). All in all worked out quite well!

beef

lucas has had issues with beef ever since we first tried introducing it. the skin prick test was negative, so he's not considered allergic to it. however, every time we've tried feeding him some, it would bring his entire meal right back up. we held off for a few months (frequency of vomiting was creating concerns with burning away the enamel on his teeth). we tried again last week, and he managed to eat a little bit and keep it down without any bad signs. yay!
his skin, however, flared up with eczema for the next few days, almost as bad as when we (didn't know any better and) fed him milk and/or soy-based formula as a baby. it was also some of the driest days of the year. coincidence? i suspect not. sigh. we're in no rush to try beef again.

like a ball and chain

Left home yesterday morning to ring in the New Year in Montreal. When we arrived, we realized we somehow managed to leave the diaper bag - with antihistamine, salinex, epipens, medicare card, etc - at home. So, since large family parties with lots of food and other kids is not the safest place for him to be allergy-wise, off to the nearest pharmacy I went to buy more of everything. argh (at least it wasn't my family's party that I was missing).

allergist visit no.2

For a while now we were suspecting Lucas was allergic to onions and garlic - he'd break into hives, and/or scratch his neck, and/or his eyes would puff, and/or he'd throw up. We stopped all those things completely for a week, and he was great! Then we challenged him with onion/garlic soup, and he stayed great. Which is good, but we still didn't know what he was reacting to, so we went to the allergist again today.
He confirmed very highly allergic to EGGS and DAIRY, and not onions or garlic. He also noted a medium reaction to legumes. His conclusion? Most (if not all) the reactions were most probably due to hidden dairy and/or egg ingredients, or other hidden sources such as contamination on food preparation surfaces and equipment.
Oh and apparently Kosher certification is NOT a reliable indicator for hidden allergens.
It's difficult for us to diagnose allergies because it is a hit-and-miss process: a combination of history, skin tests and blood tests, none of which is highly reliable. What makes it even more difficult for us is that "his system is so primed for an allergic response he might react even when there is no trigger at all."

allergies - confirmed

Lucas was seen by an allergist today. His arms did indeed light up like a xmas tree.

TOTALLY AVOID PEANUTS. ANAPHYLAXIS IS POSSIBLE. USE EPIPEN AT FIRST SIGN OF ANY ALLERGIC REACTION ON EATING OR SUSPECTED EATING, EVEN IF REACTION IS ONLY MINOR, AND PROCEED IMMEDIATELY TO NEAREST HOSPITAL. AVOID ALL FOODS LABELLED "MAY CONTAIN (TRACES OF) PEANUTS" and "PROCESSED IN A PLANT THAT ALSO PROCESSES PEANUTS." Contaminated foods are just as dangerous: this could be as innocent as jam jars if a knife was ever used in the PB jar, PB cookie crumbs in an old cookie tin, PB caked onto a utensil after the dishwasher, etc.

TOTALLY AVOID ALL DAIRY, EGG YOLK, EGG WHITE, GELATIN, JELLO, SOY, LAMB, and prolonged contact with CATS. ANAPHYLAXIS IS LESS LIKELY, BUT POSSIBLE depending on amount eaten. Use Benadryl if a minor allergic reaction happens on eating these foods accidentally. USE EPIPEN IF THE REACTION WORSENS OR IS SEVERE (e.g., body hives, facial swelling, trouble breathing, etc) and proceed to nearest hospital.

Avoid these foods as a precaution: NUTS, SHELLFISH, FISH.

These foods are unlikely to cause an allergic reaction, but if it occurs, stop the food: Flax, sesame and other seeds, beef, veal, wheat, barley, canned tuna, canned salmon, soy oil, soy lecithin, and soy sauce.

sigh

So, at least now we know (exactly) what we're dealing with, and we also know what we don't have to deal with: strawberries, capsicum (green peppers), corn and beef are all ok, as are dogs and rabbits. Nothing to report on environmental issues, like dust mites, spores and such either.

Luckily, there are a few decent recipe sites like http://www.fastq.com/%7Ejbpratt/recipes/allergiesintol/desserts.html that can help us find safe alternatives to everyday foods. It'll be hard on us though, when he'll ask why he can't have what other kids are all having...

allergies

Since we stopped giving him milk and soy products, his eczema has cleared up completely. There are other foods that we have to be very careful with, though, since he broke out in hives all over after a vaccine (which contained albumen, so we are assuming he's severely allergic to eggs) and had an anaphylactic reaction after another vaccine (which was supposed to be non-allergenic). We've also completely refrained from introducing any wheat products, honey and all peanuts/tree nuts, just in case. You can imagine that doing the groceries is a little challenging, but we found some interesting everything-free things today. Wouldn't you know it, though, he started getting hives and vomited a pile of mucous, which he hasn't had since we figured out what he was allergic to. So, either he's allergic to something previously considered safe, or he accidentally ingested something "bad" (either from the floor or from our hands contaminated with something). Great. Luckily it was a mild reaction, because we have an allergist appointment tomorrow and can't give him any antihistamine for 48h beforehand so the tests can work. I'm half expecting Lucas to light up like a xmas tree after the testing. Sigh. At least we'll have a better idea.

barley relief

Lucas had broken out in hives at a playgroup about three months ago. We suspected it was caused by the barley cereal we had given him for the first time that morning. We have been avoiding barley ever since until this weekend. Well, we "re-challenged" him twice with Barley and he did great, which means we're back to no known allergies! :)