Coming and Going Allergies

Living with food allergies can be extremely difficult but should be approached

in a positive, proactive way.

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Jan 7 2017 - This week one of the news items has been about introducing babies to peanuts as it has been found that most of them will not develop an allergy to them like so many   between our children and grandchildren have. This allergy has gone to the point that schools and other places where children hang out have forbidden peanuts and peanut butter.

We have a grandson with an allergy to nuts now but it is not the first allergy this child has had.

  

When he was under a year old his mother noticed he had a reaction to cake mix and this is what developed then

 

Nov 2007    (revised in Jan 2017)  

I’ve been given a new challenge, an egg allergy, to learn about. 

It is our young grandson that has the allergy. We are concerned of course but especially because we often have him on his own.  Thus we need to understand this possible life threatening allergy.

The ingredients of packaged foods and recipes have been scanned for years for such things as fat and sugar in all their forms but eggs is a new one to me…

Didn’t realize that so many things can contain eggs and that they come under so many names… Found out that even Grandad’s favorite cookies are a no-no… best not to have them in the house as a temptation to the child let alone Grandad ;o)  That’s one of the harshest yet simplest ways I’ve found of controlling my hubby, The Junkie, and the food shopper for our household.

 

 It is a plus that the child is only eleven months old and not very mobile yet.  His food is controlled by adults, formula and homemade baby food.  It won’t be long though before he’s into people food and begging for whatever we are eating because he loves his food.  

Wonder what’s in the dog’s food because the child is very interested in the mutt and follows the fur ball round on all fours.  Soon we’ll likely find them head to head in the dog’s dish.

We have a bit of time to prepare ourselves, the panty, dog food  and Grandad’s junk food to make sure the child isn’t mistakenly given eggs in any form.  In the meantime there’s Dimetapp on hand and a free EpiPen Patient Starter Kit, on its way.

Now it’s off to scan the ingredients of the dog’s food.

(EpiPen has never been needed - touch wood)

The four pictures above his first birthday cake,  Halloween, he want to be a dog for 3 or 4 years, And he missed it buddy our dog so cuddled with the toy dog I got to put our dog’s collar, tags and neckerchief on after he went to wait at the Rainbow Bridge.

Albumin/Albumen	Ovolactohydrolyze proteins
Conalbumin	Ovomacroglobulin
Egg substitutes, e.g., Egg Beaters®	Ovomucin, ovomucoid
Globulin	Ovotransferrin
Livetin	Ovovitellin
Lysozyme	Silico-albuminate
Meringue	Simplesse® (a fat substitute)
Ovalbumin	Vitellin
Ovoglobulin

Possible sources of egg to look out for include the following:

• Alcoholic cocktails/drinks (such as sweet Marsala), eggnog, foam/milk topping on coffee
• Baby food
• Baked goods, baking mixes, confectionary (e.g. candy, chocolate)
• Battered/fried foods
• Creamy dressings, salad dressings, spreads (e.g. mayonnaise)
• Desserts (e.g. custard, dessert mixes, ice cream, pudding)
• Egg/fat substitutes
• Icing, glazes (e.g. egg wash on baked goods, nougat)
• Lecithin
• Meat mixtures (e.g. hamburger, hot dogs, meatballs, meatloaf, salami, etc.)
• Pancakes, waffles, French toast
• Pasta (e.g. egg noodles)
• Quiche, soufflé
• Soups, sauces (e.g. béarnaise, hollandaise, Newburg)

BACK TO Jan 2017

I made a first birthday cake for him and it was a challenge because the substitute egg used makes a very different consistency – the challenge came when it was iced as it was not as solid as cakes with eggs which help to bind the ingredients for one thing.

He outgrew the egg allergy although as far as I know he doesn’t like eggs now.

 About three years ago we were at his home and while his parents were busy he and his sister were playing with a dish of mixed nuts and not listening to their grandparents when we asked them to stop, possibly because it was Christmas Eve.   Within minutes his face started to swell and his eyes were itchy. Out came the Benedryl, (the latest medication to calm his allergic reactions), and he spent the rest of the evening in a very mellow state.

Once again he was tested for allergies and the nut allergy was found as well as an allergy to dogs.  Great now we had to watch for nuts and dogs.

Honey Nut Cheerios breakfasts are out and  peanut butter sandwiches for lunch.  Not sure peanuts which are a legume not a nut are part of his allergy  but rather than taking chances we stay clear of peanuts.  Forgot one morning and give him Honey Not Cheerios. Soon his eyes were itchy and his face a little puffy. A dose of Benedryl was needed and we pretty well lost him to drowsiness until it wore off.

 

And the dog well, we have a different dog to the one he followed around and eventually imitated. However, although she is part poodle he still reacts when he is here so we have special chairs that she has not been in for him to sit in and he has to splash water on his face when his eyes start to itch and/or go outside away from the dog. His father our son is also allergic to the dog - wasn’t when he lived at home but now he is. Both of them have a harder time in the winter when everything is closed up but we are always on the watch in case allergies flare up.

We got fooled into buying a Cockapoo because our son had developed his allergy by the time we were on the search for another dog. We soon found out that yes a curly haired dog is not as bad but it is the dander that causes the allergy not the hair – but curly hair more of less traps the dander in.

There is no such thing as a non-allergic dog just some that are not as bad and our dog does not shed her coat like most so that too makes a difference. 

This child also has asthma and so does his father. Didn't know his father was asthmatic until he was in his teens and went to a doctor as he needed a chest x-ray to work in a camp kitchen. When he was  a child and to this day if there was anything the affects the chest  around he is sure to get it. He also had croup well into his late childhood and his son too has suffered with it... Both seem to be in a pretty mild point of asthma and/or croup right now so here's hoping whatever is going on continues.

 In the meantime having food and dog allergies in the family prevents them from getting any type of furry pet. His sister who loves dogs more than he does now wants a pet so badly she is coming up with ways to have one.
 Lately she has focused on our dog. Her latest plan was only to take care of her when we go away - one day she told me I could drop my four legged pal off at their house when we go away and she will take care of her. Try to explain to an 8-year-old that won't work even if the dog is kept in a room the guys don't go into. However that plan was mild compared to what she was going to do a few months ago.

 She has been concerned about what will happen to our dog when we die, (no concern about us dying though because we are old after all :o)

 Her plan was that she, her sister and their mother would move to our house and the guys with the allergies could stay in their house. I just went along with that plan with a smile on my face knowing there is a very slim chance of it ever coming to that as we plan to live to a good old ripe age and even if the dog does, she'll not be here when our bodies give up.  Mom squashed her daughter's plan so then the 'drop her off at our house' was next. 
None of us want to tell her that her pal likely will not need anyone to care for her down the road. Nor do we mention that you can buy horse meat.

                                                                             Becoming friends with each other

 “Animals are such agreeable friends―they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”
                                                          George Eliot