How much of the increase in food allergies is attributable to a decrease in breast feeding?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

[enlightenment]

1. Has there been a decrease in breast feeding?

Speaking of - my kid was allergic to foods that I ate while I was breast feeding . . .

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

2. I believe so.

What type of allergic reaction did your child have?

[enlightenment]

10. Standard stomach upset.

Projectile vomiting. Sometimes hives. Cucumbers were the biggie, but there were a few other foods, as well. He also couldn't process cow's milk, which is pretty common with infants. I breast fed for more than a year, btw, so he did get the full quota of natural immunizers.

He did have multi-focal allergies as a child - many foods (not nuts, though), artificial flavorings, and artificial colors (he could absorb enough artificial color from Play-Dough to have a reaction).

Put him on an elimination diet to identify triggers - cooked everything from scratch (including 'play dough') and gradually reintroduced the trigger foods. By the time he was about 13 or 14 he had out-grown the vast majority of the allergies.

Granted, he's an adult now, so it could well be a completely different situation - but I still believe that most children can be desensitized (build immunity, whatever) to most food allergies. There is a tendency in today's culture to over-react to minor allergies, so kids aren't getting a chance to develop a resistance.

I understand there is a massive difference between anaphylaxis and hives or vomiting - I would never have reintroduced a food that caused a severe, life-threatening reaction - but I think we do our kids a disservice in the long-run by freaking out over standard allergies.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

11. You sound well informed and seem to have made intelligent decisions.

I would agree about the overreaction to mild allergies. My brother brought this topic up while we were on vacation. I hadn't really thought that much about the possible connection, so I thought I would just throw it out there. Thanks for taking the time to respond. You have made me much more informed than I was yesterday.

David

[enlightenment]

13. It's an interesting topic - certainly one I haven't

given much thought to in many years. Thank you for raising it - and thank you VERY MUCH for the chance to chat without having it degenerate into wild shrieking and gnashing of teeth (much of what DU seems to have become lately)!

;)

[Diane R]

3. Mine too. A life threatening allergy to peanut butter, which I ate and he got hives.

He was breast fed for 14 months (super food allergies I was trying to avoid). There is no correlation with decrease in breast feeding. When ate a tiny morsel of peanut butter himself the reaction was massive. His eyes swelled shut if he so much as smelled peanut butter. He once was given PB hidden in enchiladas and was in ICU for days....took weeks to recover.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

4. Very interesting, thanks for posting your story.

By the way, who in the hell put peanut butter in enchiladas?

[Diane R]

14. Peanut butter is hidden in a LOT of food.

Many years ago a girl in our state ate a 'chicken salad sandwich' at a picnic and nearly died (suffered permanent brain damage). Someone had ground up peanuts for 'crunch'.

Peanut butter is used (apparently) by many people in mexican sauces to 'stretch' the sauce and give it a unique flavor. My son (age 28) has to be extremely careful in restaurants. A few years ago he ate chinese food brought in to a professional presentation (he's now a dentist) and had to make an emergency trip to the ER. He never knew which food he ate that was so dangerous.

Peanut butter can end up in Brownies, even 'sugar' cookies. The list is endless, and people who truly have life-threatening allergies to peanuts (as he does)can never let down their guard.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. It's possible.

I was born in 1955 and exclusively fed on SoBee, which is soy milk.

I grew up in a dirty, open, un-airconditioned house in Texas, with intolerable heat and humidity.

I have had tons of allergies since I was a little kid, and they haven't gotten much better.

And I'm allergic to soy.

[Digit]

6. I was not breast fed and have no food allergies

Then again, I am over 55 if that might have anything to do with it.
I don't get hayfever or any of that other stuff although my daughter inherited regular seasonal allergies from her father.

[eilen]

7. I developed seasonal allergies during adulthood. nt

[Dorian Gray]

9. Me too

All spring when the tree pollens come in I'm a sinus filled mess. And that just developed in the last 5 years. Never had that problem before.

[Digit]

12. Wow, I am so sorry to hear that

I have a good friend who is allergic to crepe myrtles (and probably more) who becomes extremely ill with sinus infections when they are in bloom. Sometimes it even turns into pneumonia.

I had heard that allergies could be acquired during adulthood, so I am just thanking each year that I escape that particular bullet.

I hope they find something that will totally erase the suffering of seasonal allergies.

[Dorian Gray]

8. I don't know

I feel like more and more people are breast feeding, but maybe that's just in my circle.