Michi8

The condition of finger and toe nails is very much related to health and diet!

There is a list of nail problems and possible related health issues here: Open Original Shared Link

According to the arctilce, nails which curve under can be due heart, liver, or lung / respiratory problems.

Michelle

Michelle,

It took me a while to read the response. How is he doing now? It is funny because when my son would get D from the Miralax he would say, "yay, Diarrhea". We are in another bout of C ourselves right now. Thought we were past it as we had 2 good months (something we haven't seen in over 2 years). Starting the end of Sept. we have gone through 3 cycles of pooping ok, to starting to back up, to no pooping for up to 6 days. Very frustrating and the GI acts as though this is "just" constipation and give him an enima if I have to. I can't imagine he has to live his life receiving enimas every week or so. I can't believe there isn't a way to stop this cycle. Maybe time for another opinion.

Nicole

He's about the same. We haven't had him come home sick from school since going dairy free, but even so, he still complains of tummy aches. The doctors have told us that, with the degree of constipation and resulting problems, it will probably take about 2 years of treatment with laxatives to get his distended bowel back to normal (what ever that is!) I still think it's related to food, and will keep pursuing it.

Michelle

We did talk to our pediatrician about the possibility of it being from zyrtec and he basically said anything's possible, but he doubts it. We love our allergy dr., so maybe I'll run it by him again. He thought they'd go away after a few weeks of both zyrtec and singulair,so I guess I should let him know it's not helping. Thanks for your input.

Zyrtec is supposed to help with hives, so I can see why he doubts it...but anything is possible! My daughter is taking Reactine (Zyrtec is the US version of Reactine). It seems to help with her itchiness, but doesn't help much with keeping her eczema at bay.

Michelle

Given that the hives started after taking Zyrtec, it's possible that it is the cause. The side effects listed for the drug don't include hives, but your son could also be reacting to one of the components of the medicine besides the active ingredient. It's worth talking to the pharmacist and your doctor.

Michelle

Michelle, in my experience, ALL eczema is caused by food intolerances. You may want to have your daughter tested, or try an elimination diet, to clear up her eczema.

We've done some allergy testing already. No foods showed up at this point (but I am aware this could change). She is allergic to pollens, mold, mildew, animal dander, etc. Her flare ups tend to happen more in the summer months...so I suspect that environmental allergens (especially grasses) play a large role. We also have carpets thoroughout the house, and the previous owners had a dog (couldn't find a house without pets...dog dander was easier on my asthma than cat dander, and we cleaned the house top to bottom before we moved in.) We can't afford to change out the carpet yet, but it is in the plans.

She also has the start of asthma that flares in the fall (molds are suspect.) That said, our 1st dermatologist said that eczema is not related to allergies (yeah, right!) and that she'll just suffer with it for the rest of her life. We've since switched to a new, well respected dermatologist (who is also an internist) who has confirmed it's eczema, but thinks that she'll outgrow it in 1-2 years. Personally, I've always thought there is something dietary at play, and we're working out diagnosis...I'm doing testing, my eldest child is going through testing, and so will my daughter. Unfortunately, it's a lengthy process...I'm hoping that everything really starts falling into place once I have my biopsy done at the end of November.

Michelle

I'm with pixiegirl on the issue with allergen policies in elementary schools. The problem with allergies is every one has a different level of reactivity, and doctors cannot predict who will have a "milder" anaphylactic type reaction and who will have a more severe reaction. So sometimes people look at parents of allergic children as "paranoid" because it seems like they are being overly-cautious----but the reason people who are allergic get so scared at the smallest hive after injesting something is one never knows how far a reaction can progress or how quickly. There is a much better chance of survival if medication is administered immediately.

When I had my worst reaction, it actually seemed *mild* at first to what I was used to---my throat was itchy, but barely, and I felt nauseous but did not actually throw up. Reactions can escalate quickly and by the time it is an actual emergency it might be too late to do anything. When I did get to the hospital, the first dose of adrenaline + other meds + oxygen had absolutely no effect--I could still barely breathe. Fortunately the second dose kicked in! I had had *a lot* of reactions before, but never like this. I learned the hard way that allergies can be unpredictable.

It can take very little to cause a reaction---Sabrina Shannon (for whom "Sabrina's Law" is named) died after eating french fries in her Ottawa school cafeteria that should have been safe. They now think that maybe it had gotten contaminated with cheese since poutine was also served on that day and she was anaphylactic to milk. She did not know that she was having an allergic reaction--she thought it was her asthma. So she ran to the office with her asthma meds but without her epipen. Any delay in administration of adrenaline can mean the difference between death and life---it took too long for the staff to rush to the classroom to get the epipen. Hence the need for a carefully thought out emergency plan for every student who is at risk for anaphylaxis.

I'm not familiar with "Sabrina's Law," but will look it up when I have time later. But milk is one of those things that would be next to impossible to ban. I would expect that kids with anaphylactic reactions would be safer not to buy food from a cafeteria at school.

An emergency plan for the students is important. There are plans in place at our school for anaphylactic kids. Those kids carry their epipens, and there is a second epipen stored in the office. My son carries an epipen for penicillin allergy. I worry, though, that it may get used in the wrong case though...after all, it would be very difficult to accidently get penicillin at school. It would be more important for my son to have a medic alert bracelet instead, so that his info is always with him.

I never had problems with having reactions in school that weren't due to me eating things that I shouldn't have (so far, my worst contact reaction has just involved hives), but some people are very sensitive to contact and to inhalation. It is very rare, but it does happen. (My sisters are like this.) And even for those kids who aren't as sensitive, ingestion can be dangerous---ingestion can involve as little as putting one's fingers in one's mouth after touching, say, a contaminated grocery cart (I've heard of kids going into anaphylactic shock in the grocery store). Even rubbing one's eyes can = ingestion can = anaphylaxis.

It does make things difficult when there are multiple food allergies---I know that some parents with children who are anaphylactic to milk don't necessarily advocate for a ban. I think in those cases it is reasonable to restrict some foods like cheesies or any cheese-covered finger food which can make a real mess and to supervise handwashing after eating. I do think in general reducing the number of food-related activities in the classroom is the way to go. Not to mention the fact that kids would be healthier--I have a feeling that cake is served in the classroom more often than fruit and veggies.

Restricting cheeses & cheesies would not be going far enough. Unfortunately, milk is in the vast majority of prepared foods (we're finding this, since we're doing an elimiation diet for milk right now!) There just wouldn't be a practical way of keeping milk out of the classroom.

The food related-activities do need to be curbed at our school. We have one grade one teacher that likes to reward kids with junk food. Drives me absolutely nuts. Aside from the allergy implications, I just plain don't agree with rewarding expected behaviour with food...especially cookies, brownies, ice cream, lollipops, etc. I'm really glad my grade-oner doesn't have her for a teacher this year!

Michelle

i have mixed feelings about the nut free school issue, mostly at the elementary level if there are children with peanut allergies like my daughter's then I support it. My daughter had reactions almost every day in her elementary school, they would give her benadryl and then she would sleep thru the afternoon (whether in class or at home). It got to the point where she hated school because she got sick there almost every day. It wasn't a fun place to be and she certainly wasn't learning much being in the nurses office constantly.

It was interesting because the school wouldn't go peanut free but they were latex free (for one highly allergic child). And when you say the "if you make a school peanut free then people get complacent" ... I'm not buying that, I can tell you for sure that most parents with a daughter like mine NEVER get complacent, you just can't. However when peanut butter isn't smeared all over the school you just have fewer reactions over all.

I didn't mean that those with allergies or those with children with allergies become complacent. I meant that the teachers, students and other parents (who really don't understand the allergies to begin with) become complacent. The assumption is that the school is automatically safe with the "nut aware" policy, and I'd bet that there are still parents secretly sending products with nuts, or not ensuring their kids have clean hands before going to school, or are sending foods that may have been contaminated in the home.

I also question the need to go totally nut free as opposed to peanut free. I do support making the school safe from peanuts (I was a peanut allergic child myself, and would have appreciated not worrying about peanuts when I was in school too!), but is there really a need to be completely nut free (meaning all other nuts aside from peanuts?) It certainly would be good for my family if we could add more nutritious choices to my middle child's lunch. He has such a short list of acceptable foods, it would be nice to be able to add something like almond butter to his lunch, rather than having cheese sandwiches every single day (he won't eat meat!) Not to mention the list of nuts we got from the school included items that aren't really nuts, and was missing a couple of types of nuts...gives me the sense that the administration doesn't know what they are doing and don't really understand the allergy at all...they're just blindly following some program.

My daughter spent one year in a peanut free school and not once did she have a reaction. I'm sure occasional mistakes were made but again there wasn't peanut butter smeared all over the lunch room. You asked why they don't ban gluten, I'm not sure it often causes anaphalactic reactions. And according to our allergist the number of children not only with peanut allergies but also with severe reactions requiring the use of an epi pen has gone up dramatically.

I can't argue the stats on allergy severity and epipen need...I don't know the numbers. I do know that awareness has increased though. I know that banning gluten is an impossibility, just throwing it out there.

Again I think at the elementary level we need to do what we can to keep our kids healthy and safe at achool, as a child gets older, like my 15 year old they do need to learn how to manage it themselves. But we never let down our guard, with medi alert bracelets, epi pens, benadryl, cell phones, etc.

Susan

I do think that there is a point in elementary school when the kids are old enough to manage their allergies. I believe that kids are capable of it at a much earlier age than given credit for.

Michelle

Hi, my daughter who is almost 3 is having terrible trouble sleeping at night. Luckily my husband can function on less sleep than I can, so he is the one who gets up with her. I feel terrible for both of them! Long story short, she started having all these symptoms at age two, not sleeping well, diet change, ect. Recently diagnosted with Celiac she emdiatley went on the diet and was a changed little girl. We then had more issues and went through all cleaning supplies, soaps, shampoo, ect. Another big impovement. After about three weeks completely gluten free she slept through the whole night! Lasted only a week. It seems to be worse when she as accidently come into contact with gulten. Now she is waking up every hour to hour and a half to sleep with my husband on the couch. He then puts her back to bed and she gets up again. I guess to get to the point, we are out of things to try and wondered who else has gone through this since it seems to be linked to the Celiac. I also have had sleep issues all my life. Not nearly as bad since going gluten free. Any suggestions would be a blessing!

Thanks,

Amy

I wish I had an answer for you. My daughter (now 4yo), used to wake up every couple of hours to eat when she was still nursing ('til 2yo). The wakeful times spread out a bit after weaning and as she got older, but she still has a tendency to wake at least once in a night...and I either end up in bed with her or she comes to my bed. I do know that she has trouble with itchy skin (eczema) that would wake her frequently. Giving benadryl along with using Protopic helps a lot. I think, though, that she is also just one of those people who wakes up at night, and probably always will.

Michelle

I'm charting my husband's temp. He averages 97.5. Doesn't sound too low but he is tired, aches, "feels cold"

Physical stimulation helps for a short time, so do hot showers, today we found that food helps.

I'm trying to talk him into letting me chart blood sugar. He watches me stick myself every 2 hours. Hopefully he will be a willing spirit soon.

I have a good doctor finally too. He is in intergrated medicine. Food for thought in your quest to find someone who's good and can prescribe.

I began tracking my temp to see if I could define better what I called sweats.

I found that my temp is normally 98.6 but everyday maybe a few times a day,

I feel hot, sometimes sweat running down my face soaking my hair.

The thermometer reads that my temp goes crazy during these episodes. Up a degree and down and up every few seconds. It is a miserable feeling. I can't seem to pinpoint the triggers if they exist.

Am I the only one with this?

Perhaps try taking your basal temperature...it is a more accurate view of your body temp, because during the day your temp can shift based on activity levels. You'll need a basal thermometer (it gives more accurate readings). To get an accurate basal temp you need to take your temperature upon waking before you get out of bed. It is important that you get a minimum 4 hours of uniterrupted sleep before taking your temp as well.

If I recall correctly, my basal temp was often below 97F. It's been a long time since I've bothered taking my basal temp, because after having kids I rarely got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Michelle

Because of that he has not been helpful in finding a multi vitamin without iodine, and blames me for not getting better because I am not taking a multi vitamin as he advised.

Sorry if this is going off-topic...

Budew, is there a reason to take a multivitamin? Can you not take the necessary vitamins/minerals separately?

Michelle

(who also can't take multivitamins, because of allergies/sensitivities )

But I currently am a substitute. There is no district allergy training program, and so far as I know, there is no district policy as far as subs are concerned. As yet I have never been sent to a nut-free classroom to substitute. If the school or classroom I happen to be sent to tomorrow were peanut-free, I am sure they would not tell me before arrival, giving me the opportunity to bring in what they would consider a "safe" lunch. And I'm sure there is nothing in the school that I can eat if they tell me my lunch is not suitable, nor can I work all day without eating. I'm sure they'd fire me if I told them I was leaving the premises to eat my lunch someplace safe.

So I'm conflicted.

With our "nut aware" policy, the substitutes are supposed to be informed of the policy before they come into the school. Whether this happens in practice I don't know. I do wonder, though, how much going "nut aware" has to do with the per-allergic-child-funding the school receives (for additional classroom aides) rather than with protecting the children.

As an aside, one of the teachers (she is my son's teacher this year) is celiac. She discourages outside treats for birthdays in the class. Instead, once a month she prepares a gluten free (and obviously nut free!) cake to celebrate that month's birthdays. My son commented on how tasty the cake is. It really is nice to see her educating the kids on gluten intolerance.

Michelle

Interesting....is this common to have the allergy to the other things associated with it? If he's allergic to peanuts and all tree nuts, which fruits should I be concerned about?

It's not uncommon to cross react to foods. There are the foods that cross react with birch pollen (alder pollen is closely related too,) there are foods that cross react with ragweed pollen, and those that cross react with grasses. I really wouldn't be concerned about any cross reactions with fruit until you come upon it. Do check out this info on the allergenicity of foods, it is helpful in determining how & when to introduce foods to babies and toddlers: Open Original Shared Link

Michelle

Many people never develop anaphylactic reactions to allergenic foods that they are sensitive to. It's best not to continue exposing him to it, but it means that you don't have to be as paranoid about, for example, someone in the same room eating peanuts, so long as he doesn't eat any. I don't have any suggestions of substitutes, other than looking into different types of food - maybe hummus?

Anaphylaxis is still a rather "rare" reaction to allergens. Allergies seem to be on the rise, but I don't know if true anaphylactic reactions are, or if allergist are treating allergies with more caution now and prescribing epipens "just in case" reactions become severe.

I knew I wasn't anaphylactic to peanuts, my parents never bothered to have me officially tested as a kid and my school could have cared less about allergies (I had to fend for myself to avoid reactions, and so knew how to carefully avoid allergens.) It wasn't until I did some testing as an adult that the allergist insisted I carry an epipen. I thought it was overkill...my allergies never did get worse...and I eventually outgrew the peanut allergy. It used to be thought that outgrowing peanut allery was rare, but, from what I've read, it's actually quite common (in the case of non-anaphylactic allergies.)

My kids' elementary school is now "nut aware," and I think it's a cop out. We've gone from being careful on a class by class basis (used to be no nuts or nut products were allowed in a classroom with an allergic child) to outright banning nut products from the school. Personally, I believe that it causes complacency...that there is an assumption that the school is now completely safe. However, for children who are truly anaphylactic, the risks are higher because the risk of cc is still there. How many kids have their lunches prepared in a home where nut products are everywhere? How many kids eat peanut butter for breakfast and have it on their hands/clothes and are bringing peanut residue into the school unknowingly? If a child then does have a reaction, how does the source get traced? And how does the allergic child learn to watch out for themselves? There will come a time when their school or workplace is not "nut aware," will that child know to suddenly start watching for risks of exposure?

Finally, what about the kids with other severe allergies? So, the nut allergies are supposedly taken care of. But milk & egg proteins are in everything. There are celiac kids in our school...we don't see gluten being banned. There's got to be a better solution.

Michelle

My husband posed an interesting question that I didn't know the answer to, but was hoping somebody here would !

Isn't caramel color supposed to be avoided as it could possibly have glutens/dairy in it? He mentioned that oftentimes soda contains caramel color and was wondering if he should avoid it. I don't drink soda myself except on an extremely rare occasion (blech) so avoiding it is no problem for me!

I'm not sure...according to one manufacturer (D D Williamson,) their caramel colour is derived from corn. They have a letter to customers re: gluten free diets here: Open Original Shared Link

Michelle

Hi I was wondering if anyone has had a negative reaction to quinoa pasta. I have been really careful following the gluten free diet, and last night, and still today I've been really sick. The typical pre-dianosis symptoms of gas, the big D, really nauses. I've narrowed it down to three options...either the quinoa pasta, or a Starbucks carmel apple cider, (which according to many sources is safe), or a tummy virus. Any comments regarding the pasta?

No comments on the pasta, but do wonder about the Caramel Apple Cider. Do you have any problems with dairy (lactose or casein intolerance)? Carmel is made with milk/cream.

Michelle

Ok so @ my hubby's job they r now making him share a computer with someone else (her in the am him at night). She eats at her desk (glutaneous evilness). He's gonna get a keyboard cover (tmw b4 work!), but what about the mouse? I haven found a mouse cover. Could he purell his hands (he already does semi obsessively) or lysol it or something? What would work do u think? Thanx

What about having his own mouse? It's easy enough to switch. He could unplug it and put it away (or take it home) at the end of his shift.

Michelle

DD will be tested this Thursday, but for now I'm getting concerned about variety in her diet. She's almost 1 and I feel I should be adding protein to her diet. However she has reacted to both chicken and beef. With fish, eggs and peanuts being high allergens I'm afraid to even try introducing them this young. Any ideas on how to get protein in her?

Since she's not quite 1, the bulk of her nutrition (including protein) should still be coming from breastmilk or formula, so I wouldn't worry about having to get high protein solids into her...eating foods is still a learning process at this point. Milk and cheeses should be added after the age of one. If you are worried about allergies, then hold off on egg and fish until after one year (note that the MMR shot has egg in it. If you are choosing to innoculate, you may want to try egg before that shot...or put the shot off until later.) Peanuts, tree nuts, chocolate and seeds should not be introduced until after 2yo...or ideally after 3yo for peanuts & tree nuts.

Michelle

You could try almond butter because you did not list almonds in the list and my friend (also a celaic) who is allergic to all nuts, can eat almonds, they are supposed to ebe hypoallergenic but i am not sure it probably varries from person to person

No such thing as a hypoallergenic food, let alone nuts. Almonds and hazelnuts (filberts) are quite closely related in terms of allergy...and, as well, those nuts are related to allergy to tree fruit, which can be related to birch tree pollen allergy. I am severly allergic to birch tree pollen, and so have a cross reaction with all those foods...I can eat all of them cooked (including the nuts) but not raw. Lucky me.

Michelle

My 2 year old is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, hazelnut, pistachio and sunflower, but I never would've known had he not been tested. He had been eating peanut butter on crackers, toast, sandwiches, etc. for at least 6 months without any noticeable symptoms and having it almost every day as it was one of the few things I could count on that he would eat and that would pack on some calories for him. He tested moderate high on almost every nut though in his blood work.

Does everyone have symptoms or are some just not noticeable than others?

Do you all carry epipens? Our allergy doctor said he doesn't have anaphalactic levels to any of his allergies and the epipen was not brought up at all. Should I revisit this with him? I've had him off nuts for 5 days now, but have not been reading labels close enough to see if he could still be getting traces somewhere.

Has anyone symptoms gotten worse over time?

Do you read labels for these and avoid things that might have traces of nuts in them?

Are there any peanut butter substitutes when he's allergic to all of this?

Thanks!

I had peanut allergy since early childhood. My reaction was always itchy lips, mouth, tongue, throat and ears. I never developed an anaphylactic response, and eventually outgrew the allergy as an adult (though sometimes I still get a slight reaction to peanuts...I suspect I'm more sensitive to raw peanut than roasted/cooked. My peanut reaction is the same as my other food allergy reactions...my allergist calls it "oral allergy syndrome." A friend's child had peanut allergy since infanthood. They avoided all peanut and nut products, and then re-tested at 8 years old. He outgrew the allergy already, and now eats peanuts to keep the allergy at bay.

Pea Butter is one substitute for peanut butter. I don't like it myself (neither do my kids!) but some kids find it a fine alternative. There are other nut butters as well, but I wouldn't introduce any more new nuts to your 2 year old yet. I'd give it another year at least.

Michelle

i recently was diagnosed with celiac disease and have been waiting for a biopsy appt for sometime. my blood tests were positive and my osteoperosis got worse in the last year. i'm tired of waiting and have decided to start the gluten free diet-into my 2nd day. do other people feel the biopsy is necessary. do other canadians feel the biopsy should be done before the diet is started or not. have others gone on the diet without a biopsy. thanks for any input. beth.

You don't need a biopsy to go gluten free, but if you are intending on following through on the biopsy, it may be best to not go gluten free until after the biopsy is done. You do have the positive blood tests...you need to talk to you GI to see if there really is a need for doing the biopsy.

I'm waiting for my own biopsy at the end of November (I've been waiting since early August!) But I had negative blood tests, so I feel I need to the gastroscopy and biopsy to confirm, and to rule out any other health issues. My colonoscopy isn't happening until March! Waiting so long is a real hassle.

Michelle

Michelle,

No one suspected my son as having Celiac just based on his symptoms (this was with my original ped gi). He had the distended belly, dark circles, and constipation. Due to my own ignorance at the time, I never mentioned that my dad has Celiac because I knew he had D, I didn't know that constipation was also a symptom. He had been constipated since he was 1 year old and none of the doctors thought Celiac. Once I mentioned my dad (finally ) they tested him just to rule it out. Doc said his antibodies were through the roof. Interesting how the doctors don't want to test unless there is a family history and what is the percentage of Celiacs that go undianosed? Anyway, I know with my insurance I have the right to request a specialist and the primary doc. has to give me a referral to see one. Have you been to a GI yet?

Nicole

No, we haven't been to a paed. GI yet. We were referred to a paediatrician at the children's hospital by our family dr...her reasoning was that it would take too long to get into see a GI directly (the waiting list is quite long) and we needed to help the C right now...so we would start with the paed, and then get referred if we really need to. Problem is that the paed doesn't think it's more than a slow metabolism, and that he'll be constipated for his whole life (meaning he'll need Miralax forever). I, of course, think otherwise, but we'll keep pursuing it! The Miralax was causing some D , so we were told to lower the dose of Miralax. Well, that just resulted in C issues again...my son says he'd rather have D than C! At this point, we've eliminated dairy to see if it helps...we're about 1 week in, and see no improvement yet (just a lot of complaining about not being able to eat cheese!) I think that it's not dairy, but it's good to rule it out.

Michelle

It's possible that you are not consuming enough fat for your body. The human body does need some calories from fat for proper brain and nerve function.

Michelle

I thought it was Merck, but I could be wrong. My info is also a year old--that's the last time I did the research.

Your info is a bit more recent than mine...I last looked into it about 2-3 years ago. I'm hoping you're right.

Michelle

I can't see that it could be a contact allergy - if it was any sort of detergent, why haven't I had it before (I've not changed detergent) and I get it when I'm wearing dry cleaned clothes as well as home cleaned clothes

You can become sensitive to any product/food/chemical/fibre at any time. It happened to me...Tide was fine for me for many years, and then I started to react to it. Don't know if they changed their formula, or if there was something in my body that changed (problem cropped up after my third pregnancy). Dry cleaning chemicals are very harsh for anybody, as well as being carcinogenic.

Good luck in figuring it out.

Michelle

Well....she said on the phone she is confident based on my numerous CT's Er visits, and past med history there is nothing else going on and that shes using it as a baseline, incase I have to have something done later, there is something to compare progress or progression on...

I suppose that would be a valid reason for wanting to do it, but can she not track your progress and diet compliance with the blood tests instead? If you really don't want to do it, then she can't make you. I would do some research to back up your desire for not doing the EGD and discuss it thoroughly with her...if you can suggest other valid methods of tracking progress, then you may be able to change her mind.

Michelle