Allergy Q &A

I've been receiving questions lately about Witt and how we deal with certain aspects of his allergies, so I thought I'd make a post out of them.

A little background for those of you that are new to BRML: Witt is our youngest son (now 2 years old) and is anaphylactic to dairy if he ingests it and breaks out in hives when it touches his skin (contact allergy). He has also tested positive to egg white, egg yolk, and peanuts - but he has never had or touched those so we don't know the exact severity.

His annual testing is in December and last year his blood tests came back negative while the skin tests came back positive. It's always good news to have some negatives when talking food allergies! :)

Right now I can only think of one instance where something touched him earlier this year at a church meal and he had a tiny hive on his face. Other than that, he has had no contact with any of his allergens this year that I can think of.

Now that you are up-to-date... on to the latest questions:

Over on MustFollowRecipes, I received this question:

I have not tried the addition of nutritional yeast because I read the label this weekend and saw the disclaimer on processing around nuts, eggs, and milk (yada yada yada). I noticed in one of your cheese posts that you noted that Witt is anaphylactic to dairy, so I just wanted to confirm your comfort level on the nutritional yeast.

Yes, you are correct, Witt is anaphylactic to dairy. We are very fortunate in that he has never had a reaction to foods with the "processed with/on" disclaimer. So for now, unless milk, eggs, or peanuts are list as an actual ingredient we generally try it. As for nutritional yeast, we have used it for over a year now... again, with no reaction. I think it adds a really great flavor to many dishes. I add it to chicken casserole, chicken salad, spaghetti sauce, and just about anything that could use some Parmesan. :)

What is the difference between Witt's peanut allergy and his ability to drink almond milk?

Almonds are tree nuts and peanuts are not. Witt is not allergic to tree nuts only peanuts. Easy enough. :)

Just a note, though, about almond milk... the Almond Breeze brand (which is the only one I can find) does have soy lechtin in it, so it is not completely soy free. :( I believe Rice Milk is soy free, but I feel like we benefit more from a nut milk instead of more grains in our diet... just my opinion. (Here is more info on my almond milk thoughts.)

Why is the control scratch also so puffy?

(This question came up last year when I posted his skin test results, but it wasn't answered to my satisfaction. Thankfully there was a commenter that was able to answer it recently! )

Hi Becky,

Just happened to see your blog in the net. I'm actually a researcher. If I am not mistaken, the control on the right side of your baby's body, is a positive control whereby regardless if the child has allergy or not, it will swell up. On the other hand, the left control is a negative control, where no swelling is expected. Therefore, if the right control swelled up and not the left, it shows that we can rule out the possibility that there's an error in the scratch test. Which explained by the nurse that the test is 'good'

Hope this is helpful

Michelle

There have also been several people asking how Witt is doing and the current status of his allergies.

I don't really have much to say because I don't know exactly. We won't know anything until his testing in December. For now we just avoid his allergens completely and go about a normal life as much as possible and continue to pray. I "educate" almost everyone I come in contact with about his allergies. I figure it's better to bring it up in the beginning than have a problem later... although, I do get tired of talking about it sometimes and wish I didn't have to.

Please continue to keep Witt and the other allergy families in your prayers. Once I have a date for his testing, I'll set up my being persistent ticker. I hope that every time you see the ticker, you'll be prompted to say a little prayer for him.

Thank you all so much for your questions! If there are more questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below and I'll be happy to do another post with the answers (or answer you privately if you prefer).

Scratch Test Day 2008

Well, there's good news and bad news. To begin with, I want to record what he was tested for.

Milk, Egg white, Egg yolk, Peanut, Fish mixture, Shellfish mixture

We'll start with the good: Witt is not allergic to fish or shellfish. I had them add that to the test list just to be on the safe side. We occasionally have shrimp and crab, but we've always avoided him when we have it. He's only eaten fish once (although I've served it several times). So, the good news is that we have some knowledge that we didn't have before.

The bad news is that he is still allergic to milk and eggs (both the white and yolk). In fact, within 30 seconds of his scratch test, I knew he was still allergic to milk. So it is still quite severe.

The extra news is that the peanut test came back positive (last year it was negative). I requested the peanut because I was never satisfied with the testing done last year. We avoided peanut with him this last year as well because I just had a "hunch". If you'd like the details on my dissatisfaction, you can check it out here.

Peanut had a much larger reaction that the eggs, but less than the milk. Here's the picture of his back 15 minutes after the initial scratching which is when they read the results.

We also had blood drawn for the RAST test which will be done for each of the items from the scratch test. These results will be back in about a week.

{Let me just say, Witt could not have done better with the blood being drawn. He cried when she stuck him with the needle, but he calmed down and just watched as she filled 5 viles (not full). She gave him a matchbox car when she was done. Then Witt and I traveled to the health food store for some milk-free, egg-free, peanut-free cookies. :) I also stocked up on Vegan Gourmet "cheeses" (for pizza!) and Veganaise (egg-free mayo). I also bought some rice noodles to try out just for fun.}

ALLERGIST'S COMMENTS

Witt still falls in the percentage of kids that "should" outgrow their allergies - especially the milk and eggs. Only about 20% of people outgrow the peanut allergy; those that do are the ones that acquired the allergy at a very young age. SO... he is also in the category in which he "should" outgrow the peanut allergy as well.

The latest information that I have read about milk allergies is 80% outgrow by age 6. Last year it was 80% by age 4. (I don't remember where I read this, but remembered the age difference).

MY REACTION

I must admit I am disappointed. Of course I am. No matter how much I tried not to get my hopes up, I did. It's natural. I know. I haven't broken down in tears, although I almost did. I have chosen a different attitude though... the attitude that I can do this. I've done it for a year... nothing has changed. I've already been avoiding milk, egg, and peanut. Today is the same as as every other day this past year and we made it through just fine. Better than fine.

It's not like I'm starting over with something new. I don't have to change yet another item in our diet or figure out a new substitution. It's all the same. Sometimes SAME is good. I'll take it! :)

There is still more for me to learn about nutrition and cooking from scratch. I enjoy both of these and I have a reason to continue perusing it beyond a want. (If you know me well, you know that I need some boundaries and a good push to make changes. I'd say food allergies are a good boundary and a good push.) I hope to make more lasting and healthier changes to our diet.

THANK YOU

Two months ago, I posted a request for prayers for Witt. Let me just say that I have been OVERWHELLMED with the response I have gotten. Comments, emails, cards, phone calls. Thank you all so much for you support and prayers. I cannot express how much it has meant to me knowing so many are sending so many prayers on his behalf. Thank you! Thank you!

Obviously God's answer is "No" or "Not now". I'm truly ok with that. I have faith in God's will, even if it doesn't match my own. I trust and believe that He will take care of my family. It's my choice on how I react. I choose to be thankful for thisfaith-building road I've been put on. Not only has my faith grown in Him but also in the people around me. I have a beautiful life and it is filled with loving, warm, caring people. I could not be surrounded by better.

Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you for your support. I ask that you continue to pray for Witt - that he will be allergy free at his next appointment. I know I'll be having a conversation with God everyday for the next 365 days. Maybe if I knock long enough and hard enough, He will grant my request (or maybe He won't), but I'm still going to be persistant... join me?

Pre-Packaged Dairy-free Egg-free Peanut-free Goodness

(Whew... what a title!)

I admit it... I was a big pre-packaged cooker before Witt's allergies hit us. Yes, allergieS. The dairy allergy was obvious and then the egg allergy was confirmed when he ate something with egg in it... I don't remember what it was, but I do remember him scratching terribly about two hours after ingestion. Poor little guy. I have not tried barley again yet as I just haven't had the time to pay close enough attention. So, at least two confirmed allergies... possibly a third.

Now that Witt starting to eat more table food, I must be more careful now than I was before; so, I want to start a log of pre-packaged foods that he has eaten so I can keep a reference. I hope this list will also help others and verify some of the foods that "appear" to be dairy-free egg-free. By appears to be I mean that there are so many milk derivatives that it is sometimes hard to keep them straight. Also, some things have the same labeling, but might not be milk-derived (ie "caramel color" can come from milk or other places - I have to call the manufacturer to find out). It's a very tedious process of reading labels (many, many times) to keep Witt safe.

Some of these might appear obviously dairy-free, but you just never know... we found dairy products in toddler toothpaste!!!

Although I am do a lot more "from scratch" cooking now, here are the prepackaged foods that Witt has already had without reaction (this will be a living list as I will add as we go and is in no particular order):


UPDATE: Dec 2008 - Witt also tested positive to peanuts this year, so this list will also include peanut free foods he has eaten.

For Milk Allergy Mom's list of tried foods: click here.

I Can't Believe It's Vegan also has a huge list of dairy-free egg-free prepackaged foods.

Go Dairy Free has a wonderful list of not dairy free, possibly dairy free, and surprisingly dairy free ingredients.

For other DF Bloggers, check out my Dairy-Free Blogroll.

Cereal/Breakfast

Plain Cheerios
Cinnamon Life
Pop-Tarts: Brown Cinnamon & Sugar with icing
Pop-Tarts: Strawberry (no frosting)
Malt-o-Meal Berry Colossal Crunch
Van’s Wheat Free Mini Waffles
100% Pure Maple Syrup
Lucky Charms
Fiber One Caramel Delight
Kellogg's Frosted MiniWheats (Strawberry Delight)
Kroger Instant Oatmeal Lower-sugar Apples and cinnamon
Malt OMeal Marshmallow Mateys
Bluebird Mini Honey Buns

Cookies/Crackers/Chips

Nabisco Graham Crackers - honey
Cambridge Graham Crackers - honey
Pringles chips- Plain
Best Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Wal*Mart brand)
Kroger Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Ritz Original Crackers
Cambridge Ritz style crackers
Clancy's Pretzel Sticks (from Aldi)
Golden OREOs Original
OREOs
Vanilla MoonPies
SuperPretzels (plain)

Canned/Jarred
Bush's Black Eyed Peas
Del Monte Green Beans
Le Sueurs whole carrots
Plain Applesauce
Canned fruits
Fruit bowls (no parfaits, yogurts, ONLY plain)
Mushrooms

DelMonte Greenbeans

Sauces/Condiments

Ragu Sauteed Onion & Garlic Pasta Sauce
Parkay Squeeze "butter"
Fleischman's Unsalted margarine
Willow Run Vegan Margarine
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Tofutti Sour Supreme / Better Than Sour Cream
Heinz Ketchup
Kraft Creamy Italian dressing & dip
Kikkoman's soy sauce
Red Star Nutritional Yeast
Rachel Ray's Beef Flavored Stock
Heinz Worcestershire Sauce
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Hormel Real Bacon Bits (50% Less fat)
Chef's Cupboard Onion Soup Mix (from Aldi's)
Private Selection Organic Chicken Broth (Kroger)


"Cheese"
I buy online from The Vegan Store:
Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese: "Cheddar", "Mozzarella"
Veganaise Mayonaise
Parmazao Imitations Parmesan

Rices/Pasta

Near East Couscous - Wild Mushroom and Herbs
ASIA Specialties Soy Ginger (from Aldi)
Near East Rice Pilaf Mix - Original
Jehling Ramen Noodle Soup - chicken flavor (from Aldi)
10 Minute Success Boil in Bag Rice
Smart Taste Pastas
THAI KITCHEN Spring Onion Instant Rice Noodle Soup

Baby Finger Foods
Gerber Graduates APPLE wagon wheels
Gerber Graduates mini fruits (dried) - banana strawberry
Kroger Brand Little Comforts Puffs – Blueberry, Strawberry Apple
Gerber Graduates Juice Treats

Drinks
Nesquick Chocolate powder
Hershey's Chocolate syrup
100% Juices
Silk Soy Milk
Rice Dream Milk

Meat

Hebrew National Hot Dogs (of course cut up very small with skin removed.)
Great Value fully cooked Homestyle meatballs (frozen at Wal*mart)
Tennessee Pride mild sausage patties
Brookdale Vienna Sausages
Brookdale Potted Meat
Valley Fresh 100% natural while chicken in water
Ian's fish sticks (GF, CF, DF, EF, SF, NF)
Boca Burgers - original vegan
Hormel Real Bacon Bits (50% Less Fat)
Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage
Banquet Chicken Nuggets
Hormel Natural Choice 100% Honey Deli Ham

Bread

Sunbeam King Thin
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Publix white
L'Oven Fresh white (Aldi)
Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Honey Wheat - see Aimee's comment

Random

Mt. Olive Kosher Mini Dill Pickles (under close supervision/choking hazard... I know.)
Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Tater-tots
Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit

Desserts

Tofutti Cuties (ice cream sandwiches)
Great Value Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Dairy Free Ice “creams” (DREAM, Purely Decedent)
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet (substitute eggs with a little less than 3/4 c unsweetened applesauce)

Fast Food
McDonald's French Fries - see Melissa's comment

Burger King plain hamburger with bun

Burger King french fries

Chicken MeeFun (rice noodles) from our local Chinese restaurant (not at a buffet)
Terriyaki Chicken on a stick from our local Chinese restaurant (not at a buffet)