Wheat allergy

asha_karthik · Jul 14, 2010

I think DS is allergic to wheat. The first time (at his 8m or so) i tried a broken wheat recipe on him, and was in the 4-days wait & watch..4th day evening he threw up whatever went in, some 3-4 times. He has never been a child who threw up stuff.. so took him to the paed and she prescribed vomikid; it was better. doc said it could be coz i kept feeding him this food for all 4 days.. she asked me to try something new, leave him for 4 days and then again try. so i must have tried broken whea on him only some 3-4 times after that, and in very less quantities (and lot of cooking).

Like i said in another thread here, i am going quite slow with new food intro for him mainly coz of his repeated wheeze since march this year. not sure if its allergy-related food intolerance or cold infection or the genetic wheeze. After all tests, we ruled out certain other causes. But more or less around the time i try these wheat food, he also gets his wheeze attack. Doc says it couldn't be anything to do with food allergy, not with any specific reason but she says food allergy dont predominantly cause wheeze - it might cause diarrhea or rashes. but this mommy's mind wouldn't agree fully.

Last sat i tried whole wheat bread on him (in small quantities); he started having diarrhea for 2 days after. Then yesterday, the creche caretakers told me that he snatched a piece of chapathi from an older kid's box and chewed it.. then they had to force him to spit it out coz i have strictly instructed them not to feed anything apart from his boxes. Now this afternoon again i see loose stools (quite watery this time as against the last saturday when there was just frequent normal stools). Now am really thinking its something to do with the wheat.

I dont give him curd every day. but around the time i am regular with curd on him just to make it in line with our family food, he seems to pickup cold/wheeze.

I hate watching after his food so much even now, after he has turned 1. His wheeze attacks are quite common that its hard to rule out whether its something to do with his tendency to catch cold, or to do with wheat or with curd. I did great with DD's food, and she was pretty much on everything when she turned 1. its not even 50% of it with DS.

Now any brickbats welcome for confusing you all... do you think am thinking sane?

(rushing for a meeting; haven't re-read the post.. will come back and check)

ilite · Jul 14, 2010

Dear Asha,

I would just say, go with the maternal instincts. If you feel, it is the wheat may be it is the wheat even though you cannot come up with explanations for that. Go easy on the wheat or completely stop it over the next few days, and see the progress. Another thing to check for is that may be he is getting new teeth. Happens with my DS (Diarrhea and vomitting ) when he gets new ones.

As for the yoghurt, my SIL belived my nephew had cold whenever he ate it. Don't know if it is the cause, but we used to avoid giving him since she believed it. Besides there are other substitutes for wheat and yoghurt.

No brickbats here. If you think you are insane, well join the club that already has a huge membership here ;-).

"Now any brickbats welcome for confusing you all... do you think am thinking sane?"

All the best!

asha_karthik · Jul 14, 2010

Ilite.. thank you for your quick feedback.
DS threw up last some 4 months back and just this week he had his first tooth (still half way thru). so the diarrhea on saturday could be teething, but not the one earlier.
I doubt how even with a fresh home-made curd (made in the night, used in the morning or reverse) would give cold.

Reiterating.. all that i am thinking (with wheat, curd) could be purely my imagination coz DS picks up cold/wheeze quite often (diarrhea/vomit not so much), almost around every other food introduction. I sometimes feel i shouldnt' care for symptoms of cold after a new food coz it isn't enough a symptom for us... is it ok to go that way?

ilite · Jul 14, 2010

Asha, LOs throw up and have diarrhea sometimes for unexplained reasons. Could be because of food or anything else. Unless, it is persistent , I don't worry about it. In my case, I stick to basics (obvious reactions to food, irrespective of what the paed says) and feed them pretty much our daily food in addition to their routine, but watch out for reactions. My LO gets diarrhea even with a little piece of mango (all the time), so I don't give it to him or when the older ones give him some without my knowledge(they love to share with him) I expect him to have it.

Since in your case the LO has wheezing , I would not give him these things even if it is just my doubt, or give it in little quantities( a tsp of youghurt, tbslp of wheat etc) to let his system get used to it.

For wheezing , did you try removing the allegry triggering factors at home. No carpets, cotton quilts instead of blankets, cotton curtains (no blinds or layered curtains), keeping the home dust free seemed to help my DS. Also, try to add good amount of onions and garlic in his food. I believe this helps.

In addition try this, cut an onion and few garlic pods, put them in a sock, keep it on his chest and keep a warm compress on it. I know its smelly but helps with the wheezing. Anything to keep them healthy!

regards,

mridusudha · Jul 15, 2010

Asha,

I am not sure about yogurt but your DS could be allergic to wheat atleast that's what it sounds like...

Yogurt is supposed to be good for anybody (babies, children and adults) because it has good bacteria..

Dilchahtahai · Jul 15, 2010

Asha,
My DS is allergic to wheat and now as he is approaching 3, I think he is out growing it. Here in US we have tests that would make it easy to conclude. I am sure you would have them in India too. Ask them to do it..
DS is allergic to dairy too so no yoghurt for him. But allergic kids and wheezing go hand in hand. So it is quite possible that even if he is not showing any outward sign of dairy allergy, he is mildly allergic..
My DS eats SOY yoghurt and loves it. However, he can not eat it in winter everyday as it makes him wheeze. So I alternate the days I give him.
You want to try that?

loonypooh · Jul 15, 2010

asha, no expert here... so i cant tell u about wheeze and allergy, but i personally do not believe in cold inducing foods/foods inducing heat... the days i baby has mild cold, she is fed yogurt and i hv seen it doesnt aggrevate her cold at all...

asha_karthik · Jul 15, 2010

thank you all ladies !

ilite - home is reasonably dust free as i have strong allergy to mild dust too. will try all your home remedies. thank you.

sudha/poonam - didn't mean to say curd causes wheeze coz its considered to trigger cold. i dont believe in it too. and unless its freshly prepared one, i dont give them to kids. but am still wondering the coincidence. dairy allergy? i introduced curd prior to wheat itself, but can't really say if the wheeze that followed was due to it.

Dilchahtahai - good to know your child is outgrowing his wheat allergy. how did he react to wheat in the beginning? and what was the test sample/test name? i ll check with my paed this sat/sun. if things get confirmed, i ll try soy. thank you for the pointer. but oh.. one more top allergen? am already tired girls. btw Dilchahtahai, how often do you check if your son has outgrown the allergies or not? esp if the reaction was severe, you wouldn't dare try it often.

tikka · Jul 20, 2010

If you think your kid is allergic to wheat (the protein is gluten), you may have to be careful with other foods with gluten too. Oats, Rye, Barley all belong to the wheat family. I would say rule it out with tests if you believe there is a link between wheat and his wheezes. An allergy diary may help to make the patterns clear.

asha_karthik · Jul 20, 2010

Krithika - not sure with what you mean by "An allergy diary may help to make the patterns clear. ". . help pls !

ds is on oats for a long time.. one of the first few stuff that i introduced on him. no obvious reactions; as anyways he has frequent colds.

after the last course of a/bs exactly a month back, he has no major wheeze episodes so far, except a real quick one a week back after we put him on wheat bread.
today there is a doc visit.. will check about the tests.