What is the best way to have my 19 month old toddler tested for food intolerances?

Question

My son wakes during the night with tummy pains caused by wind - which is caused by certain foods. I have tried to cut out certain foods from his diet - but I really need to confirm which foods don't suit him. My GP isn't too forthcoming about having his blood tested. What is my next course of action? Homeopathy, privately or any other complementary way? Please give any information you have or experience! Many Thanks.

Answer 1

You could certainly take him to an allergy specialist. The tests involve tiny little pinpricks, usually on the inner arms, and are not painful. Perhaps if you could read or sing to him while testing is going on, he would manage very well.

The other thing you could do is test his nutrition yourself in a more rigorous fashion. This means cutting out most of the foods that can irritate/cause low-grade inflammation/burn to an acid ash. It would be a form of standard allergy elimination diet designed for a 19-month-old. Fortunately at that age you are still in charge of his nutrition, so it will be easier than if he were 8 or 9 years old.

There are many common allergens that affect children of all ages. They should all be eliminated for a brief period of time. They include: eggs, all dairy, wheat, oats, rye, sugar, all meat, peanut butter, tomatoes, potatoes, sometimes citrus fruits.

Yes, it sounds draconian. But it leaves a vast array of vegetables and fruits. And it's not for long. Among carbohydrates, could you convert to quinoa (the ancient grain, buy organic quinoa at health food stores) which tastes delicious. It's the least inflammatory of the ancient grains and the highest in protein. Also organic brown rice. You could make imitation hamburgers by sauteeing minced onion in olive oil, mixing with cooked quinoa or cooked rice, forming little burgers. You could TRY serving this between steamed cabbage leaves but if your little tiger really hates this, slices of spelt or kamut bread or toast (spelt & kamut are also ancient grains) would do.

Lots of vegetables - cooked, shredded raw, salads. Another good way to offer vegetables is to cook & puree them into a thick soup. Add rice or quinoa. Lots of fruit. I hope he likes bananas.

I myself would probably continue to offer plain yoghurt, not the sugared fruit varieties.

You should see some improvement in a couple of weeks. If he can manage two weeks, you'd start adding foods back, one at a time. Try each addition alone for several days & observe reactions. I'd start with a bit of organic chicken. Children usually do like chicken. The following week I'd add back eggs, very carefully. By now three or four three weeks will have passed. I'd still strictly leave out wheat, oats, rye. The rice, quinoa, kamut & spelt breads will provide the carbohydrates & vitamin B that he needs.

Goat's milk would be the best choice when you finally start to add milk back. If he's managing well at this point you could choose to stay with goat's milk or if you wish to try cow's milk, you could try one more step that sounds startling but it has a sound basis in science. This would be to boil the milk first (then cool it down). The reason? Cow's milk protein molecules are much larger than goat's milk or the original human breast milk molecules. Countless persons believe they're allergic to cow's milk when actually it is the larger molecular size that is creating a low-grade inflammation. Homogenizing the milk supply does not raise the temperature sufficiently high to break down the molecules, whereas boiling the milk for 4-5 minutes will do it.

Long long afterwards you could think about adding back the non-essentials such as tomatoes and peanut butter. Again, one at a time, observe over several days each.

There are specific homeopathic remedies for gastric distress but I'm not knowledgeable about these. You sound as if you can find a homeopath or a pharmacy that offers a very large selection of these, there will be a person on staff to advise you.

Wishing the little guy comfort and happiness, and he's lucky to have such a caring mother.

Answer 2

Can you make an appointment with an Allergist, rather than your GP? GPs can be a pain in the butt when it comes to giving tests, especially that blood test because its very expensive. They always want to do the skin prick test, which would only be traumatic for your little one.

The best thing to eliminate from your toddler's diet is dairy. If he really likes milk, then give him goat's milk instead of cow's milk. Keep cheese to a minimum too. Yogurt probably is still ok as long as you don't give him the ones full of refined sugar.

I would also look into morter medicine. It's a natural alternative that has really helped my little girl. It's even covered by insurance because they classify most of the practitioners as chiropractors. You can try to find one in your area that has D.C. after their name and I bet your insurance will let you go too. www.morter.com. I guarantee it works.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Find a pediatric allergist and have him skin prick tested (SPT).

For my kids environmental allergiens we tested by giving a small injection in the first couple of layers of skin. Foods were put in a plastic device that could test for 8 at once. These things were then quickly stuck on the back or forearm, barely scratching the skin and leaving some of the serum on top. For foods my kids had to hold completely, or near completely, still for about 10 minutes.

Take another adult with you to help keep baby busy. Good luck!

Answer 4

Make an appointment with an Allergist... they can determine the best course of action and treatment. I'm not opposed to the "scratch" tests, as they are great for determining skin "contact" allergies but my preference is getting blood panels done for the most serious of food allergies, Dairy - casein specifically (not to be confused with Lactose intolerant), shell fish, latex - all of which can trigger anaphylaxis.

Answer 5

take him to an allergist for a scratch test. i found out i was allergic to 58 of the 65 things i was tested for at the age of 7. he might be allergic to the milk you're giving him, try rice milk at night, see if that helps. or soy. but most kids dont like soy.

Answer 6

wind is often caused by combining foods incorrectly, and is commonly caused by cooked starches.
that would include bread, for example as a sandwich.
it may be helpful to have a look at what you're feeding him, as some baby foods are just sugar and starch.

Answer 7

go back to see your GP or see another GP tell him you want him tested they should ask for a stool sample they did this with my son and he has gluton intolerance so keep nagging them

Answer 8

I don't know how many calories they need, but I think you are doing a great job with how you feed them. My oldest is also a picky eater, she has to smell everything before she determines if she'll try it. lol. For awhile she wouldn't eat any meat, but as they get older their tastes change. Now she's big and extremely healthy. I think your son will be fine, if yout really worried try giving him some pediasure drinks, veggie crackers, or chewy vitamins that taste great. Hope this helps, good luck.

Answer 9

depending on your insurance you need to request this through your primary care. i had this done with my daughter. the nurse gave her the wrong test. (there are two). she ended up getting both arms filled with needles. but it was useful to find out she was allergic to yeast and cats.

Answer 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlVHs0Wo9S0