Red Dye #40

We have finally figured out one of the reasons for L's hives. Red Dye #40! It's everywhere...in toothpaste, juice (or I should say "juice"), hand soap, shampoo, vitamins, candy, everywhere! Avoiding it for a child with peanut, tree nut, milk, and egg allergies is hard because ....that means no skittles, starbursts and other go to treats. Halloween is shaping up to be an all out trade if for a Rice Milk Chocolate Bar. The Candy Bar is good....but we shall see how it goes:) I read somewhere technically you can't be "allergic" to Red Dye #40 (which is made from Coal Tar, yuck!). It is technically an "intolerance". But, you can have hives, breathing trouble and possibly anaphylaxis. This is serious business. So we were planning to skip our annual trip to the allergist. But, in light of this and also the gelatin allergy. As well as possible seasonal allergies and reactive airway business, which means nightly breathing treatments.....I think we will take Luke back to the Allergist for a little follow up, some testing and a good plan to keep L safe, happy and healthy!

Vitmain without Gelatin

We have recently discovered L is allergic to Gelatin. This explains his hives after he got his chicken pox vaccine, his coughing while eating certain cereals (Lucky Charms, Frosted Mini Wheats (All Varaties), and his more recent stomach upset and general hives when taking a daily vitamin. Almost all daily vitamins contain gelatin, as well as some fruit snacks, soft drinks, and canned meats. Make-up also contains gelatin, luckily as a boy this should not be an issue. Gelatin is made from animals. So we have had some luck in finding Gelatin-free vitamins. Vegans don't want Gelatin in there diet, and either does L. This is a blessing. I don't think L needs a daily vitamin, but B does need one. L wants to be included in the morning vitamin fun and thanks to Lil Critters he can be. I found the vitamins at Target. Random place, but I am grateful to find them there and not make a special trip to the health food store.

GELATIN

It took me a long time to figure this out. But, L is allergic to gelatin. I began to suspect this after little things added up. First, he had a terrible reaction to his Chicken Pox Vaccine. Second, every time he ate Frosted Mini Wheats he would cough and cough. Then, it happened again with Lucky Charms. Finally everyday he and B take a daily vitamin. L began to complain about his tummy hurting and refused to eat much of the time. After label reading, I cut out gelatin and life is much better. L has not had official (expensive) allergy testing. But when you know you know. He can be tested in his next annual allergy doctor visit. L has been very involved in this discovery and feels more confident eating when he knows the ingredients of his food and plays in active part with me in making sure his food is safe.

I would have a harder time with this discovery, except when I told the doctor I though there must have been egg in his chicken pox vaccine because he had hives for two weeks following. She said "it may have been gelatin." sort of thinking out loud. I am so glad she did. I have since read that there is more likely to be a reaction to gelatin than eggs when vaccinations are given.

SOY

Somehow B's allergy to SOY was overlooked and not tested in his first round of testing at 13 months old. Now at 2 we know he is allergic to soy. He was not experiencing hives when he drank soy and I was missing it. He instead sounded like a made case of bronchitis all the time. I worried about him so much. It was a huge answer to prayer when we discovered his SOY allergy. Since eliminating soy he is much better, happier, and more energetic. L continues to drink and eat soy as a main part of his diet. It gets a little more complicated as what they are allergic to changes and goes in different directions. But, with extra planning and label reading we are doing just fine.

Dairy-Free Margarines Butter Substitutes

Parkay Squeeze Butter
Blue Bonnet Light (comes as sticks and in small containers/tubs)

Kindergarten is around the corner

I can't believe Kindergarten is around the corner for our oldest child. I have been researching a lot about schools, our school district and others. Sadly we did not move into the district in the area with Peanut-free elementary schools. If only we had known what challenges lay ahead before we bought our home!

The school our children will attend serves a peanutbutter bar everyday for breakfast and a PB&J everyday for lunch. Sad:( But, they have a peanut-free table. They have a nurse 4 out of 5 days a week and they have 10-12 students this year with nut allergies. Our kids will certainly not be alone at the nut-free table! This is encouraging because the school staff is already familiar with the needs of children with peanut/treenut allergies. I felt less anxious today after talking with the nurse at the school. She answered the phone after 2 rings and she let me ask lots of questions and rattle on all while being completely patient with me.

Baseball Game

We decided against taking the boys to the game. The Reds are in first place, so I knew it would be crowded and there would just be too many peanuts! The boys were happier to stay at home with grandma and watch cartoons and play games and my husband and I had a worries free date night. It was really a win-win.