Could your child's symptoms stem from a food allergy?
- By Lisa Soesbe
- •
- 19 Apr, 2018
- •
How I learned my son was allergic to wheat and tree nuts
Yesterday I met with a friend and as we were reminiscing about the last time she saw my children, something occurred to me. If I hadn't done my research , my son would currently be on medication after medication to treat a symptom rather than avoiding the actual thing that was making him sick, wheat.
When my son was little he would get sick about once a month if not more than that. This child was not getting sick from other kids in a daycare either because although we did lots of activities with other children, I was a stay at home mom. I was constantly wondering why my son was always so sick. When he did get sick he would have breathing issues. It was a constant cycle, he would get sick, I would take him to the pediatrician and the pediatrician would tell me it was a virus. After this went on for a little while, my son's pediatrician suggested I get a nebulizer and give him breathing treatments for this. So I followed the doctor's orders and did just that. Although this would help the symptoms for a little while, he was still getting sick consistently. Because of this constant cycle, the doctor wanted to put my 2 year old on a steroid to "prevent breathing issues when he got sick" so now I would have to give my two year old, not one but two medications. After reading the package insert to this medication, my intuition told me that this was not the answer to my son's problems. I knew that there was something causing this and as his mom, I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
I started taking my son to the chiropractor when he would show the first signs of wheezing and it helped his breathing immensely! However, we was still getting runny noses all of the time and seemed sick a lot. Though the chiropractic care worked, he was still having issues. During this time, I met my coauthor of our children's book, Tooth Ahoy!: Pirate Pete's Voyage to Healthy Teeth, Dr. Mitchell Kershner, ND. After a conversation with Dr. Mitchell about my son's health issues, he suggested making a few small changes to his diet which I did . However, at that time, I didn't know wheat was the culprit.
Then one day, it hit me, my son was definitely allergic to wheat. How did I come to this conclusion? I was at the grocery store one day with my son and the bakery department gave him a free cookie. (Just because something is free, doesn't mean it is good for you.) By the time I got home, he was wheezing so badly, that at one point, I contemplated taking him to the emergency room. It was a scary moment and one I needed to experience to wake up. Luckily I was able to help him without another trip to the doctor. I think this was when Dr. Mitchell suggested I cut out wheat for 3 weeks to see if it was the culprit.
When my son was little he would get sick about once a month if not more than that. This child was not getting sick from other kids in a daycare either because although we did lots of activities with other children, I was a stay at home mom. I was constantly wondering why my son was always so sick. When he did get sick he would have breathing issues. It was a constant cycle, he would get sick, I would take him to the pediatrician and the pediatrician would tell me it was a virus. After this went on for a little while, my son's pediatrician suggested I get a nebulizer and give him breathing treatments for this. So I followed the doctor's orders and did just that. Although this would help the symptoms for a little while, he was still getting sick consistently. Because of this constant cycle, the doctor wanted to put my 2 year old on a steroid to "prevent breathing issues when he got sick" so now I would have to give my two year old, not one but two medications. After reading the package insert to this medication, my intuition told me that this was not the answer to my son's problems. I knew that there was something causing this and as his mom, I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
I started taking my son to the chiropractor when he would show the first signs of wheezing and it helped his breathing immensely! However, we was still getting runny noses all of the time and seemed sick a lot. Though the chiropractic care worked, he was still having issues. During this time, I met my coauthor of our children's book, Tooth Ahoy!: Pirate Pete's Voyage to Healthy Teeth, Dr. Mitchell Kershner, ND. After a conversation with Dr. Mitchell about my son's health issues, he suggested making a few small changes to his diet which I did . However, at that time, I didn't know wheat was the culprit.
Then one day, it hit me, my son was definitely allergic to wheat. How did I come to this conclusion? I was at the grocery store one day with my son and the bakery department gave him a free cookie. (Just because something is free, doesn't mean it is good for you.) By the time I got home, he was wheezing so badly, that at one point, I contemplated taking him to the emergency room. It was a scary moment and one I needed to experience to wake up. Luckily I was able to help him without another trip to the doctor. I think this was when Dr. Mitchell suggested I cut out wheat for 3 weeks to see if it was the culprit.
For nearly three weeks, I cut out all wheat from my son's diet which meant no more processed foods. During this time, I noticed he had no skin issues, no breathing issues, etc. Then one day, my husband didn't think too much of it and bought my son a chocolate munchkin from Dunkin' Donuts. Even though I was slightly annoyed with my husband at that moment I figured the three weeks was almost up so, I let him have the donut. Literally within 30 minutes after eating the donut he developed an eczema rash on his face. This was confirmation for me, so I took him to an allergy doctor and sure enough he was in fact allergic to wheat. During this visit, I also found out that he was severely allergic to tree nuts and was grateful that I had never given him a nut.
Finally! I had gotten to the root of the problem. How did I do it ? I listened to my intuition as a mom. I would encourage more parents to do the same. While I feel that there are times when we need medication, there are also times when we don't. I cannot imagine what state my son would be in right now had I not gotten to the bottom of this. I mean how crazy would it be if I had him on a steroid constantly because he was allergic to wheat. Why give him the steroid when I can easily cut out the wheat? Such an easy solution.
If you or your child has any of these symptoms, they could also be allergic to wheat or one of the most common allergens (eggs, cow's milk, wheat, peanut, soy, shellfish, fish, and tree nuts).
Here are the most common symptoms of food allergies that many times people don't link with the foods their children are eating:
-Runny nose
-Mouth itching
-Headache
-Congestion
-Hives
-Eczema
-Skin itching
-Upset stomach
-Fatigue
-Loose stools
Many people do not think of the fact that the food they are putting in their bodies could be the cause of these symptoms. Sometimes these foods cause a delayed reaction so most people don't recognize it as a possible food allergy. If you suspect your child has a food allergy, it is helpful to journal what they eat to help you rule out certain foods. Written records are very helpful to a doctor to fully understand your child's history. It is up to us as parents to advocate for our children and paying close attention to these things is important.
Finally! I had gotten to the root of the problem. How did I do it ? I listened to my intuition as a mom. I would encourage more parents to do the same. While I feel that there are times when we need medication, there are also times when we don't. I cannot imagine what state my son would be in right now had I not gotten to the bottom of this. I mean how crazy would it be if I had him on a steroid constantly because he was allergic to wheat. Why give him the steroid when I can easily cut out the wheat? Such an easy solution.
If you or your child has any of these symptoms, they could also be allergic to wheat or one of the most common allergens (eggs, cow's milk, wheat, peanut, soy, shellfish, fish, and tree nuts).
Here are the most common symptoms of food allergies that many times people don't link with the foods their children are eating:
-Runny nose
-Mouth itching
-Headache
-Congestion
-Hives
-Eczema
-Skin itching
-Upset stomach
-Fatigue
-Loose stools
Many people do not think of the fact that the food they are putting in their bodies could be the cause of these symptoms. Sometimes these foods cause a delayed reaction so most people don't recognize it as a possible food allergy. If you suspect your child has a food allergy, it is helpful to journal what they eat to help you rule out certain foods. Written records are very helpful to a doctor to fully understand your child's history. It is up to us as parents to advocate for our children and paying close attention to these things is important.
Have you ever bribed your children with sweet treats to get them to do something? Let’s face it, we have all done this before. I’ll be the first one to say I have done this until I realized why I should stop the cycle.
In schools, sporting clubs, and other activities where children are involved, people reward children with candy and other unhealthy snacks. There are even popular lesson plans used in schools that include using M&M’s or Skittles; after the children use the treats for their lesson, they get to eat them as their reward. In American society, this has now become the norm. Go to the barbershop and Johnny gets a treat because he sat so nicely for his haircut. Go to dance class and little Mary gets a piece of candy at the end of class. Go to the bank and Joey gets a lollipop for being a good boy in the bank. It goes on and on. The people that assume that this is okay think, “What’s the big deal?”. This may even be you! I will tell you why this is such a big deal. This is affecting our children both physically and emotionally.
In schools, sporting clubs, and other activities where children are involved, people reward children with candy and other unhealthy snacks. There are even popular lesson plans used in schools that include using M&M’s or Skittles; after the children use the treats for their lesson, they get to eat them as their reward. In American society, this has now become the norm. Go to the barbershop and Johnny gets a treat because he sat so nicely for his haircut. Go to dance class and little Mary gets a piece of candy at the end of class. Go to the bank and Joey gets a lollipop for being a good boy in the bank. It goes on and on. The people that assume that this is okay think, “What’s the big deal?”. This may even be you! I will tell you why this is such a big deal. This is affecting our children both physically and emotionally.
If there is one thing I am good at, it is stretching a dollar. This is one reason I love getting gift cards for gifts. I know that I am great at getting as much out of that gift card that I can by shopping myself. It is like a game for me to see how much stuff I can get with a gift card paired with sales and coupons. Call me weird but it saves me money! I do the same thing when it comes to purchasing groceries. I have standards when it comes to the food I am eating and feeding my family. Food is one of the most important things that you buy and what kind of food you are buying matters in terms of your health. So while I would much rather to be able to purchase good food than sport a luxury purse or designer clothing, I still like to stretch my food dollars as much as possible. If I told you that you can actually get cash back for eating healthy, would you believe me?
I want to share a little hack I discovered a long time ago that I use a lot and pretty much for any online shopping. Have you ever heard of Ebates ? If you are not a member, you are going to want to click on the word Ebates anywhere in this post and sign up today because it will save you lots of money on anything you buy and if you use the referral link, once you sign up and spend $25 or more, you will get $10. If you are not a member you have nothing to lose because it costs you nothing. Do you shop online at all? Chances are your favorite retailer is on Ebates and you will get paid for your normal shopping routine just by signing into Ebates first and then going to your favorite site. Some examples of stores I am talking about are Target, Walmart, Kohl's and even Amazon! You simply must check this out.
Now, let me tell you about how I get cash back for eating healthy. My hack is to log in to Ebates and then shop the sales on Vitacost.com. Vitacost is an online health and wellness store with over 45,000 products. They also tend to have the best prices on most things. This gives me great savings because I can buy stuff like organic coconut milk, raw nuts, soy free chocolate chips, nut butters, and gluten-free flours as well as personal care items like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner from Vitacost when it is on sale and if I am buying through Ebates I will normally get at least 3% cash back from Vitacost. They also offer free 2-day shipping on orders over $49 so I usually order stuff that I will need for the month in one order so that I can save on shipping as well.
I want to share a little hack I discovered a long time ago that I use a lot and pretty much for any online shopping. Have you ever heard of Ebates ? If you are not a member, you are going to want to click on the word Ebates anywhere in this post and sign up today because it will save you lots of money on anything you buy and if you use the referral link, once you sign up and spend $25 or more, you will get $10. If you are not a member you have nothing to lose because it costs you nothing. Do you shop online at all? Chances are your favorite retailer is on Ebates and you will get paid for your normal shopping routine just by signing into Ebates first and then going to your favorite site. Some examples of stores I am talking about are Target, Walmart, Kohl's and even Amazon! You simply must check this out.
Now, let me tell you about how I get cash back for eating healthy. My hack is to log in to Ebates and then shop the sales on Vitacost.com. Vitacost is an online health and wellness store with over 45,000 products. They also tend to have the best prices on most things. This gives me great savings because I can buy stuff like organic coconut milk, raw nuts, soy free chocolate chips, nut butters, and gluten-free flours as well as personal care items like deodorant, shampoo and conditioner from Vitacost when it is on sale and if I am buying through Ebates I will normally get at least 3% cash back from Vitacost. They also offer free 2-day shipping on orders over $49 so I usually order stuff that I will need for the month in one order so that I can save on shipping as well.
How we prevented a potentially bad situation by paying close attention
In the words of Ellen Degeneres, "Be Kind to One Another"
