OK ladies first kick my butt and get me back in gear and OP! Then I need help with figuring out what to do with Keilyn's allergies. Food alternatives..........

OK she is allergic to milk, on the list it says milk. I am to assume this means dairy. I really hated this allergist doctor and WILL be finding another one but I have an appt to see my PED on Monday to get some full answers. OK so she is allergic to milk, what is her alternative? She is allergic to soybean, so soy milk is out. Whats an alternative? She is allergic to fish and shellfish, that I can handle, she is allergic to wheat, so here is my dumb question, what is the alternative to wheat? Does even white bread have SOME forum of wheat in it??? She is allergic to eggs, peanuts, tomators, pecan's and strawberries and those I can just eliminate from her diet but this wheat and milk thing is worrying me alittle. I do not know a single natural food store around here.

She is allergic to cats, dogs, feathers, house dust and dust mites. OK so has anyone tried any great products on their pets to control hair and dander? What dust dust? Anyone used any great cleaning products they would reccomend??? The tree, weeds, molds and grass allergies there's not much I can do for her there except kept her on her meds.

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!!

YIKES!
I would talk to your pediatrician about milk alternatives. She may just need to supplement calcium and vitamin D in other forms. What about goats milk? Human's are the only mammals that drink milk from another source once they are weaned. So I think she'll be OK. As for wheat, talk to Susan. Be careful... tons of processed foods have wheat and milk or soy. You will be amazed. even some of the fruit snacks (gushers, roll ups have wheat...not sure which brands though.) Try to stick to non processed foods. My theory as to why so many Americans have developed food allergies is the amount of processed foods we consume from early on....I do it too. It will be an adjustment but in the long run you all will actually be eating healthier. It will be realitively easy for her now because she is so young, it becomes a challenge as they get older with things like pizza, cake etc. How severe are the food allergies?
As far as pets...that also depends on the severity of the allergy. Obviously keep the Dog out of her bedroom and off the furniture. I am mildly allergic to cats and have had them my entire adult life. I take Flonase and that keeps it in check. I know one of my friends son has the dust mite thing and she got special matress and pillow covers for them...not sure where. Also you can use the attachment on the vacuum to vacuum her matress when you change the sheets and vacuum the house more frequently (just what you want to hear I am sure). If it is really bad you may have to invest in an air filter. Poor baby! I will be praying for her and you!
Allie

I am a very low-maintenance allergy person. I can give you some cleaning tips for the air-borne stuff:

I have never found a solution for pets, sadly. I take a Benadryl if I have to visit someone with a pet but I really can't have one.

I use a Swiffer duster frequently but usually wipe things down about every two weeks. I switched all of my curtains to PVC blinds that I can just hose off in the shower when they get too dusty. I got sick of washing and ironing curtains! I also empty the linen cabinet regularly to wash everything. It has made me adopt a more minimalist aesthetic- I am not dusting little knicks-knacks and elaborate wall decorations! I also switched to a decorative vinyl shower curtain that I just replace and white towels, bath mats, etc. that I can bleach.

I do the old-fashioned spring and fall cleaning. In the kitchen, the fridge and stove get pulled out for a floor scrubbing and I wash out all cabinets and everything in them. I also wash my walls- just a swipe with a rag and some Murphy's Oil Soap works fine unless you smoke. I also wash my windows, screens and window sills 2-3 times per year- you would be amazed at how much crud is between your windows! I try to make the spring cleaning before everything is in bloom and the fall cleaning after everything is dead.

I also clean my upsolstered furniture (OK, I pay a guy to come do this because it is a pain) 1-2 times per year and vacuum it regularly.

Clorox wipes, Windex wipes, and spray Murphy's Oil Soap are my favorites... if they don't kill it, move!

Well I already buy the more expensive filters for my house, we have 5 filters that need to be changed, I buy the really expensive ones and I also have a Dyson vac and we vaccum the house every other day, may need to do it every day now! Theres a website the allergist gave me for some supplies, like mattress covers and other supplies, just not sure how much better these items are compared to what you can buy at a store for mite and allergy control. Here is the website for anyone who wants to check it out:

www.allergyasthmatech.com

OK so when I am check ing out food, if she has a wheat allergy do I avoid any food that has wheat listed in it at all???? Can you tell how new I am to this? She has been sick pretty much for a year, ever 3 weeks or so for the last year she breaks out with a really bad runny nose, gooey eyes and it all turns to sinus infection. OK so when they are doing the allergy test, they score you on each item 0 for no allergy 1 for slight, 2 for moderate, 3 for severe and 4+ for life threatening. She was lucky, she only scored mostly 2's so even though they are not severe allergies, something or a combination of all her allergens is keeping her sick. So I am going to start with the house, clean from top to bottom, do everything I can to remove what I can as far as dust, I will vaccum beds, etc................and go from there. I meet with the PED on Monday, so I will talk to her more about the food allergies and what to do for that. I got these wipes and spray from Petsmart, you spray it on a dog, wipe the dog down with the wipes, to clean her and get off dander and other pet allergens. I will see how that works inbetween grooming visits. Also, does anyone know how often is TOO often to have a dog bathed? Our dog is 1/2 lab 1/2 boxer, short haired of course, I take her to the groomers once a month for a good bath and a good toe nail climping, was thining maybe try it twice a month but someone told me that was way too much. What do you think?

Depending on the severity i would avoid it completely. Check with your pediatrician though! I know my friend's son has 4+ for wheat and peanut and 3 for milk, dairy and soy...

Hey Laurie - So sorry to hear of Keilyns allergies. Michelle was allergic to milk, soy and eggs when she was little. She has thankfully outgrown these allergies. I don't know if the allergist told you this, but the prick test will only tell you that at some point she was allergic to all these things. She may have very well outgrown some of the allergies. The only way to know is to give it to her and see what happens. In my experience with Michelle, all of her food allergies caused hives and itching. They were not much of a runny nose, stuffiness issue. To me, those symptoms sound more like the feather, dust, hay fever allergies, but that is only a guess. I would eliminate everything for a few weeks and then one by one try adding new items and see if there is any reaction/problem. Each food would need a full week to test its allergy potential.
As far as alternatives, well Michelle never drank milk as a child. But she grew just fine and I never worried about it. I did try to focus on broccoli, bread, OJ with calcium to help, but it wasn't a big deal. If you are truly worried about her nutrition, try pedisure or ensure for nutrients. I also found that if the items were cooked, as ingredients, she did okay with them (ie eggs in brownies or pancakes or waffles, etc)
The only thing that she remains allergic to is strawberry ice cream that has the actual bits of berries in ti. She will get the hives very bad from this. However, she can eat the cheapo pink colored strawberry ice cream with no problems. So who knows what she is actually allergic to! And because she didn't drink milk, she is lactose intolerant, so she drinks lactaid milk now if she has it. And that works just fine for her. In fact, whenever you are ready to "test" the milk, I would recommend you try it with the lactaid milk to rule out a simpler lactose intolerance.
Good luck with it all - I know how frustrating it can be!

Sharon

Ok so if the test only tell you what at some point she was allergic to all these things, why if she wasnt' still allergic, would she of had a reaction? See all this so confusing. No, the allergist didnt' tell me much of anything, that is why I am not going back to him. I am going to find someone knew. As far as the allergies to feather, dust, hay fever etc.... we have no down comforters or feather pillows so thats out, ok dumb question here but I thought hay fever was only like in spring and fall? SOMETHING has been keeping her sick all year long all season's. This is just so totally confusing to me!! I have so many questions for the PED on Monday! She is going to think I am quacko!

I'd check with the groomer. Twice a month seems like you would have a dried out dog. They may also be able to recommend a treatment for the dog.

Hay fever is an allergic reaction and is not, unfortunately, limited to seasons. I can get laid out with one visit to a friend's house without Benadryl- she has two cats. Hay fever is associated with spring and fall because that's when most people are affected. Better to ask! If you know why, you may be able tocome up with better solutions for your daughter!

Good luck!

Laurie,

As far as the wheat allergy goes, I would take her to an upper GI specialist and ask that she be tested for Celiac disease. Celiac can cause a ton of problems and that may resolve all her issues. It involves an upper GI test where they put a camera down your throat and look at the top of your small intestine.

As far as wheat foods -- she will be banned from a ton of foods. No bread of any kind. No pizza. Nothing sweet like cake, cookies, brownies, etc. You are going to have to read every label. She will have to avoid things like Hall's Cough Drops as they have wheat. She will have to avoid soy sauce, teriyaki, anything with vinegar.

Check out www.celiac.com and www.celiac.org. They have food lists you can look at.

All vegetables and fruits will be OK -- except for the ones she's allergic to. Most cheese is OK -- but not cheese like Velveeta. Butter and other oils are OK. Chicken, fish, beef, pork as long as it's not processed or breaded. You have to read labels on anything you pick up -- fortunately, most foods will list wheat as an allergen or in the ingredients. You also have to avoid foods that are processed on the same line as wheat products -- like Lay's potato chips -- they are corn, oil and salt, but they are made on the same line as Doritos Nacho Cheese which have wheat in them.

I'll PM you my phone number and you can call me.

OH geez! Thank you ladies so much!

Laurie,

I typed "wheat free foods" without the quotation marks into google & came up with over 6 million hits. The first page includes stores, diets, and recipes.

Lynn

It was a long time ago when I went through this - Michelle was probably only 2 yrs old and now she is 13. Anyhow, if I remember correctly, the prick test shows the antibodies or something that is in your system? You would have these in your system regardless of whether or not you are still allergic to the food. Crazy, I know! I remember she broke out in hives at 9 mos old from some sort of baby food with spaghetti sauce or tomatoes. The doctor said don't give it to her again for 6 months. By then, she outgrew the reaction. The longer you wait to introduce an allergy causing food to the child, the less of a chance for the allergy. The prick test indicated that Michelle had a life threatening allergy to eggs. And yet she eats LOTS of foods that have eggs as an ingredient. No, she doesn't eat eggs alone - never has. But I firmly believe that she is no longer extremely allergic to them. If she ate eggs alone, she might develope the hives, but at this point I don't think it would be a life threatening reaction. So take the prick test with a grain of salt. It is not the be all, end all answer to allergies.
If she is allergic to dust or grass or dogs or evergreen trees, she would stay stuffy all year. That is why I personally would think the culprit is more in that direction. But I am no doctor - just a fellow allergy sufferer. In fact before I began a daily nose spray regimen, I didn't even REALIZE how stuffy I was each and every day of my life! I am not sure the nose spray would be good for a child, but I do know several friends whose kids go for the weekly shot therapy and it has made all the difference!
Make sure you write down all your questions/concerns for the doctor on Monday - otherwise you will forget to ask something. I have found that the doctors prefer when I come in with a written list. It means I am taking a proactive stance in my healthcare.

Hope all this helps- Sharon

Also - investigate those air purifiers from like sharper image. Those supposedly really help to clean the allergins out of the air. Maybe try one in her bedroom to start?

you can try some different products for milk substitutues. rice milk and one called darifree (potato based milk)