hair loss

Andrea - posted on 02/04/2009

Good luck with the tests! I always tell people if I didn't breastfeed Rylee she would probably have died. Some people think that is extreme, but I have seen her reactions...



I get frustrated with the reality that this isn't a one stop diagnosis, but it is ever changing. I feel your pain.

Trisha - posted on 02/04/2009

I breastfed Landon too but we couldn't identify all his allergens at that time.  I do feel though that it was what stood between him and being really sick.

I'm glad to hear you like the patch test though.  I have one scheduled for Monday but it gets so disheartening to know that his allergies could and can keep changing.

Blech!

Andrea - posted on 02/04/2009

It actually is common to develop allergies with age. Especially seafood and if you already have allergies. I am allergic to all fish--shellfish and non. We are lucky that Rylee isn't allergic to corn--although we eat so much I am afraid she will develop an allergy to it. 99% of our food is homemade. It is too frustrating to buy store stuff. I think companies need to step out of the box and stop using rice and potato in the gluten-free foods. Oh, well.



My son develops hives from his apricot/peach allergy and Rylee has both types of reactions. Milk is her worst. If I have touched milk and then touch her she will be covered in hives. So keeping it away from her--especially keeping her from injesting it--is crucial. Eggs are pretty bad for her also. She is so beautiful but has that "allergy rash" on her cheeks. So, I know there is another undiagnosed allergy. I need to make another appointment. I have done both types of tests, but prefer the patch. It is more accurate and specific.



I wish she would out grow her allergies, but I try not to get my hopes up. I exclusively breastfeed so maybe, just maybe, that will help.

Trisha - posted on 02/04/2009

Landon added rice to his list with his last allergy test and just got back potato.  But he's having so many tummy problems I'm having him retested to see if something else has changed.  I'm confused as to why his allergies are changing.  I know "growing" out of allergies is the norm but is developing new allergies normal too?

Rice and Potato is frustrating because it's what companies reach for when they are making gluten-free foods.  Corn is equally frustrating for us.  That's why I started making all of his food.  I got tired of being frustrated with store-bought foods.  And his list of allergens felt so overwhelming.  It doesn't feel so bad anymore since I don't try to function like a "normal" eating family.  Does that make sense?

We are seafood free too because of my own allergy to shellfish.  Are you allergic to non-shell fish fish?  I buy a big bag of tilapia, halibut or cod fillets from Sam's and we eat a baked fish fillet once a week with sweet potato french fries.  Our version of fish and chips.  It's one of my super easy "crap, what's for dinner?" meals.

Do your little people have anaphalactic(SP?) reactions to their allergic foods or long delayed allergic reactions?  I feel lucky that we have long delayed allergies.  At least he can be around his allergic foods.  

What kind of allergy testing have you had done?  We love the patch test, especially for little ones.

Andrea - posted on 02/03/2009

Dairy, soy, rice, wheat, oats, eggs, peanuts, treenuts, potato, strawberries. And we are a seafood free home because I am deathly allergic to ALL seafood and we are an apricot/peach free home because of my eldest's allergy to apricots. My middle child has celiac. We know that she is allergic to other stuff. She keeps having reactions. Just having trouble figuring out what they are...there is so much to test for and she just turned 2! The killer for us is rice and potato--they are in EVERYTHING!

Trisha - posted on 02/03/2009

Not a problem.  Please check out my blog.  I started it since I've compiled such a large list of allergen friendly recipes.  What is she allergic too?  There's a list of allergen-friendly vitamins.  All of the recipes contain none of the most common allergens.  Good luck!

Trisha

http://funkyfoodallergies.blogspot.com/

Andrea - posted on 02/03/2009

Trisha, Thanks for looking up info! It definetely isn't ring worm. The dr has looked at it. My daughter is closer watched by an allergist since she has so many allergies and is still reacting to something...just need to figure out what it is. Sigh. I also read, re-read, and re-read labels. I am a person who believes the fewer the ingredients the better.

However, I did not consider the fact that she could be suffering from nutrtion loss. She can't take multi vitamins so it would make sense. I have been contemplating calling my insurance company to see if they would pay for a nutritionist...I think I will definetely do it now... Thanks!

Trisha - posted on 02/03/2009

Because of the stubborn spot description I looked this up online.  Have you ruled out ringworm?  Apparently this is extremely common cause of small patches of hair loss.  The symptoms are scaly skin, red irritated spots......and of course, easy to cure!

Sometimes kids with food allergies are missing certain nutrients in their diets because they're allergic to so many foods.  Or their tummies have a hard time absorbing the nutrients from food in general.  Have you spoken to an allergist and a nutritionist?  Hair loss can be a symptom of nutrition issues.  Have you called the shampoo and conditioner companies to make sure it doesn't have any casein in them?  I was using California Babies on both of my allergy kids and couldn't figure out why my youngest was so itchy.  Until I reread the bottle and found corn in it!

Andrea - posted on 01/15/2009

Elizabeth, my daughter shares allergies with yours. Strange. I wonder if there is a connection with the type of allergy and the hair loss. Hmmmm. Rylee's bald spot hasn't gotten worse, although everyhime it looks like it is going to grow in it thins out again. It is hard to cover and I too try to avoid hairbarrets and ponytails. Although that doesn't seem to help.

Elizabeth - posted on 01/15/2009

Hi!  This happened with my daughter.  She is allergic to milk and eggs and her skin is just horrible because of it.  When she was about 2 and 1/2 the whole right side of her head of hair started falling out.  I was so upset, but the doctor told me there was nothing we could do about it.  She is 3 and 1/2 now and it has stopped falling out and is regrowing, but it is still way thinner than the other side.  Her hair in general is very thin and doesn't grow much.  Our doctor said not to put anything in her hair or use anything that could cause it to pull much.  No cute little ponytails to help her not look half bald.  We also had to take her nighttime pacifier away from her because it would fall out of her mouth and rub through her hair!  Unfortunately we never found anything but time that helped.  Good luck and hang in there!