please help with allergies.......

Alize's rast test results came in today and the GP rang me at work (which was nice of him) anyway turns out Alize is severe allergy to eggs. He is also moderately allergic to peanuts, cows milk and wheat He isnt allow any of the above with egg exposure being life threatening. So my question for any of the others mothers with allergys. Do you have any tips for buying food for him? ANy ideas on meals? Are healthy food shops good for "different" types of food? I have no idea where to start. At least he can have fruit and veges but I cant give  him that for bfast, luch and dinner everyday he will get sick of it. Please help, any info will do.

Poor Alize!

You will need to become a label reader (allow and extra 15 mins for grocery shopping at least until you start to know the things you can buy)- its a pain in the A but you get used to it. Some things will list the allergens they contain but it still pays to read the entire ingredient list- with egg quite often they list egg white powder in brackets right in the middle of the list for some reason!- its often hard to spot. Even if you think something will be safe it pays to always read the label- I have bought a lettuce that said 'may contain traces of nuts'!!!

I know you're not a keen baker but it certainly helps get a little variety if you can bake things at home. They have this stuff called no-egg (at health/organic stores) that you can use to replace eggs in cakes and biscuits as its really hard to find either of these without egg or peanut or traces etc

I used to buy a few bits from health food shops but I would spend a fortune on peanut/egg free things and she always hated them- they were taste free as well! From what I can remember they had little snack pack rice cakes (BBQ flavour only) that were egg free, they were either kept with the rice cakes or chips. Wheelies biscuits were egg and nut free (like Oreos). Some of the Uncle Tobys fruit bars were ok but you'll have to double check the labels. Those, fruit, yoghurts and raisins were pretty much the only 'snack' things I could buy- everything else I had to make or bake myself.

As for meals, most ready made meals and sauces are out (thats if you're avoiding peanut/egg traces as well??)- Charlotte mostly gets a good kiwi meal of meat or salmon and 3 vege at night I pretty much make everything she eats- unfortunately she won't eat my lasange/mac n cheese/bolognaise/cassaroles etc so she gets stuck with the same ol' every night, fuss pot.

Good luck with it all Its when they can't have the birthday cake/lollies that all the other kids are having that its the hardest!

Oh, and the 15 month MMR vaccine contains egg (although you prob know that already!).

Oh and that means you need an EpiPen right? Will post more about that later too, about getting them cheaper and stuff.

Yeah i was going to ask about epipens and stuff too Kels. I guess at least you know now what to exclude, you seemed to have a good idea on Friday. No advice, help here as I have minimal experience of allergies, my brother was allergic to fish and dairy when we were kids, but that's it.
Take care

P.S. Kels. Forgot to mention allergy free food can be pretty expensive but you'll probably qualify for a child disability allowance to help pay for it. My sister gets an extra $120 (per week or fortnight not sure which) for food for her two kids who are also coeliac.

I avoided all nuts, and anything containing them from the time I was ttc, and still feel weird eating them now even tho Im not bf anymore! Isla started on solids at 5 months. I suspected a dairy allergy when i was told by plunket to increase my own milk intake and to have complain to help with my milk suppy when Isla was 4 months old, incase this was the reason she was so unsettled. When i did that she started throwing up, and never had before. It was several months, and a lot of perservance and a lot of pain and exzema and an allergic reaction later, until she was diagnosed with silent reflux and an allergy to dairy. She seems also to be intollerent to soy and egg, and has not yet had anything containing nuts, despite a negative result to this on her rast test, we are way to scared to try!

Sorry to thread jack Kels,...but maybe a little story sharing could help someone else!

A child with a serious medical condition or disability is intitalled to the Child disability allowance up until age 16 years,...or I think its possibly a wee bit older if the are still at school etc. Its non- income tested too. You have to go for an interview at WINZ tho once u have rung and got the forms from them, and had them completed by GP or Paed.
Some of the info in the brocheres is slightly confusing, cos in some parts in doesnt mention serios medical condition, only disability. But a child with a dairy allergy is definatley allergible. The Dr only wrote that she was allergic to dairy, and didnt even mention her reflux or eczema or other intollerences, as it was the allergy we were claiming it for, but the person at winz asked us, cos she read it on a letter written by her Paed that we had taken along as further evedence incase they asked for it.
We have just been through the process with Isla in Dec. Its $37.50 a week paid fortnightly.

The main criteria is the child must have a condition that means they require more care than another child of similar age, and same sex would require. That is stated on the application form.

You have to take ID for yourself, and your childs birth cert to the interview.

Edited by Kellz

Yep asthma and eczema can be related to food allergies. Its amazing how beauitful Isla's skin has been in the last few weeks after having had eczema for so long. It improved so much when I gave up bf at 10 months, but she has still had the odd patch. She has had bad flair ups when we tried soy yogurt, and a tiny bit of a fritter with egg in too.
I thought marshmellows were safe, but apparently some have egg protien whhich isnt actually labelled as that,...her Nana loves giving them to her as a treat, since she cant have most biscuits, ice cream, choc etc,.....but now we have stopped her having them too her skin is perfect! At times I couldnt imagine it disapperaing.

Really hoping that Alize's asthma will improve as much as Isla's eczema has.

Just wanted to add for you allergy kids, ezibuy is making really cool clothing and bag stickers that say "don't feed me, I'm allergic" and stuff like that. might be handy to have. in the latest catalogue