Common Day to Day signs: It’s not the Weather and It's not in Your Head, It’s Allergies

When my little girl was a mere six months, I began wondering how people with allergies survive. My friend who had allergies, had a daughter not much older than mine, who was at that point exhibiting symptoms that she may also have allergies. I remember thinking “Oh, I’m so glad it’s not me!” I also remember thinking “ok, I get you don’t want your kid to puke, but if she does, that isn’t the end of the world-- it really is no big deal” WRONG! It is a huge deal, and I later came to find out-- it's a BIG FAT WHOPPING end-of- the-world-deal if you have a child that exhibits signs which delay growth, or even cause anaphylaxis. It is a nightmare when it involves your child's well-being, and social growth.

My daughter, even after the drug reaction, but before the second ambulance ride to the hospital, had allergic symptoms, (which I'll list below in bold for easy finding) all along and I was totally unaware. You know there are those fair headed children who have a pink look to them all the time-- I have a few of those-- I was one of them! What I didn’t know is that cute chapped cheek look, and that dry skin, or "cradle cap" that won't go away and the spit-up can all be indicators that you may be dealing with allergies. I didn’t realize that irregularity, vomiting, and diarrhea can all indicate that there is an underlying allergy. I knew snotty noses come all the time with kids, and I knew babies have croupy sounds -- but I didn’t know that when they continue for more than two weeks, that it could be allergy related. Those symptoms are common in kids that are allergy free, that is why it is difficult to find a balance, and get a diagnosis.

All the above symptoms together, or on their own can be an indicator that your child is struggling with FOOD allergies.

This is where I thought it got tricky. It’s obvious if you take a four year old out into the grass, she plays, comes in all hivey, and snotty she likely has pollen / grass allergies. That to me, was a "no-brainer". What I didn’t know is that my baby who was eating peas, and loving it, but then was an incredibly fussy, gassy, pink cheeked, dry skinned baby was highly allergic to peas. Her body didn’t get a rash for a few months, it just looked like someone had kissed her cheeks a little too much. It wasn’t until she had peas for months on end that we finally noticed a few minor blotches that came up (hives). I figured it was a “contact allergy” gave a dose of benedryl one time, and moved on. I didn’t “note it”, and I honestly thought the problem was that she had sensitive skin, after all, her cheeks were always chapped. Then the day came when I fed her peas, fish, and milk (See my previous post). THAT was clear, there was an allergy. I called my dear friend and then my Dr. and eventually 911. I never fed her peas again. To this day, she cannot have beans, peas or any other legume (or dairy/fish either). She tests off the scale at the allergist for them.

Had I realized what the symptoms of an allergy CAN be -- not what they USUALLY are-- I would have possibly been ahead of the game, and not had the experience we did.

*For more information on signs of allergies in infancy see my post "Madness and Mayhem: What Allergies can Look Like in Infancy"

Madness and Mayhem: What Allergies can Look Like in Infancy

There are so many blogs in the world that are dedicated to helping out with the “Major 8”, while I appreciate and have made use of them, please be aware that this is not that kind of  blog. While I will cover the "Major 8", it is not the sole allergy I deal with. We have in excess of fifteen food allergies, intollerances, and sensitivities in my family of five, and out of the 4 individuals with allergies, only 3 share 2 common allergies. If you want madness and mayhem for dinner - my table is the place for it. I know overwhelming in the allergy world, in some respects, far better than most, and thankfully not as tragically as some.
It has been said there is reason to believe that allergies do not "fully develop" during infancy, simply because their little digestive systems are not mature, therefore, a lot of food is difficult to tolerate. Typically, if you test prior to 12mos of age, you are more likely to have false positives. Please know, I am not suggesting that if your child experiences the below symptoms (in bold) they have definite allergies.

I am sharing my story to educate you. If you have a similar story with your baby, I want you to know that considering allergies to be the culprit is a perfectly understandable concern, and I am encouraging you to speak with your Pediatrician regarding your concerns. There are numerous links between colic and allergies in later life. For those of us parents who have experienced colic, I can say we would do anything that we could to help our child feel better, to include limiting/changing diet. I hope this gives insight to you, if you find yourself in this stage of life.

When we first began the allergy life I had no idea what was occurring. I had nights on end with an upset, unhappy, screaming baby that would cry for hours, she was in pain, and there was no help for her. I’d sit and sometimes cry with her, but oftentimes I'd wonder what was going on and why couldn’t I figure out the way to help her. My daughter had colic. She had it for six and a half months, and we had crying stints that would last up to 15 hours. The Pediatrician agreed that it was colic, and there was nothing that could be done out of the normal routines of washing machine sittings, vacuum runnings (we went through three vacuums, by the way), car rides, swaddling, stretching the baby over our knees, as our legs were bent to add pressure to her belly, and those "famous" over the counter drops.

After several weeks of this, she began to have reflux. Like any "good mother", I took my baby to the Dr. hoping for help. Help is what we got. We were given a prescription for an antacid, and home we went. I had high hopes this was the “cure all” and the previous ten weeks of crying would come to an end, and our peaceful nursing sessions could resume to what they were in the hospital. Little did I know this was our introduction to the allergy ridden world we live in today.

My daughter had (in hindsight, and with the knowledge I have now) an unmistakable drug allergy that caused her to be unresponsive for several minutes, and eventually hospitalized for three days. It gave her father and I our first grey hairs, and a deep desire to find out what was going on with her. Once every “preliminary test” had been ran, and she became the normal child she was prior, the Dr's determined that it was an allergic reaction. While it's rare for babies to have such reactions, and we had never had previous drug allergies, we were content with this explanation and hoped that we could find a way around the colic, but we would be doing it in a non-medicinal way. I happily dealt with spit up, and a conscience, unhappy-but-alive baby. At this point she was a formula fed baby because thanks to her allergy related antics mommys body quit milk production. We began the basic formula suggested by our pediatrician and became even more aware of how much of a “spitty-baby” she was. I changed outfits for her nearly 6-8 times a day, until she was about a year old, and just figured it would eventually change as her digestive tract matured.

Fast forward to 13 months of age, I made a delightful, healthy balanced dish of peas, fish, peaches, and milk for my growing girl. My daughter took three bites one of peas, two of fish, and swelled up like a balloon, with bright pink cheeks, the redness eventually spread to her body, she later had difficulty breathing, and was wheezing. At that point I realized that we were in for a bumpy ride, it was to the hospital in an Ambulance, our second one. It carried us further down the Allergy laden road of life. My daughter was on the cusp of Anaphylaxis, and I had no inkling of what that meant to our lifestyle changes we would make.

*For more information on what allergies can look like in Children over 12 months, see my blog post "Common Day to Day signs: It’s not the Weather and It's not in Your Head, It’s Allergies"