Out of the Blue.. Food Allergy?

[Raidra]

This morning, my husband gave the kids bagels and strawberries for breakfast. When we all got into the car to bring my husband to work, we noticed that Colwyn had a rash all around his mouth. I'm assuming that this is an allergic reaction and gave him some Benadryl. But this is really out of the blue.. he's never had any sort of allergic reaction to anything before. He just had strawberries yesterday, and ate strawberries all last summer without a problem.

Am I off-base in assuming this is an allergic reaction to the strawberries? Should I take him to the doctor, or just not give him strawberries anymore? So not prepared for dealing with this.. :)

[lil_acorn]

I agree - it's probably from teh strawberries. It could just be the acidity rather than a real allergic reaction. I would just stay away from those for a while and try again in another year. Mention it to your doc next time you see them.

[gummibear]

so no eczema or asthma or other skin issues in your (or DH's) family history? they all go hand in hand.

it could be something in the bagel too. what's in it? i would suspect the bagel before the strawberry, personally, since the recipes for strawberries don't change as much. ;)

Add: You should probably call your ped too, to give you peace of mind that it's not something else. Chances are, they'll tell you to just watch it and see, but you never know. If you're thinking about taking him, call.

[brittone2]

DS gets a little rash around his chin/mouth with acidic foods/certain fruits. Cantaloupe, strawberries, citrus, etc. For him it hasn't been an allergy, just skin irritation when he eats them (and if he eats them in a way that isn't dripping on his face, etc. he doesn't really get it).

[DrSally]

I agree - it's probably from teh strawberries. It could just be the acidity rather than a real allergic reaction. I would just stay away from those for a while and try again in another year. Mention it to your doc next time you see them.

:yeahthat: This would be my inclination with your DS's history of no previous reactions to strawberries. Has he had these bagels before?

[MamaMolly]

As a mama of a FA kid, I tend to see FAs where others see 'normal'. So that is where I come from. But I'm not convinced it is a reaction to the strawberries.

That said, FAs can develop at any time, so for peace of mind I'd mention it to my Ped. There's no telling if the strawberries are the culprit or if it was something else. Even when you buy the same brand of a product manufacturers can change ingredients without warning or notice, so it might be some other part of the meal that he's never had a problem with before. It might be the bagel or something else. Heck, it could be his tooth paste. Mystery hives and rashes are the bane of a FA parent's existence!! If it were me I'd mention it to my ped, I'd give DC the same food but not together so I could better isolate the culprit. I honestly wouldn't start avoiding/restricting any food until I had a lot more information.

I'm sincerely hoping it really was nothing! :)

[brittone2]

I also wanted to add that for my DS, if he washes his face, the rash immediately calms down, which is why I'm pretty convinced his skin just reacts a bit to the acidity in certain fruits.

[Raidra]

A few points -

Colwyn has never had any skin issues. Never even a diaper rash. The only thing I can think of is that very, very occasionally he gets a viral rash with a cold.

He's a fastidious eater, so I doubt he was dripping anything on his face. If he ever does get his face messy, he washes it right away. Plus, it's a very uniform rash.. sort of like the big red smiles clowns paint on their faces.. but not so red.

The bagels are the same as we always get, which we eat several times a week. I assumed it was the strawberries since I figured they're more allergenic than bagels, but maybe I'm wrong on that point.

The rash has gone away a lot since giving him the Benadryl. He complained several times that it was itchy, which is why I gave him some.

My husband doesn't have any allergy issues that affect his skin, but he gets an 'uncomfortable' feeling in his throat if he has certain fruits. We were careful when introducing foods to the kids originally, but none of them ever had any problems. So I was really surprised when I saw this.

[AnnieW625]

I have no issues with food allergies so I can't help there.

Did he wash his face this morning? If so what did he wash with? Did you change detergents on your towels?

I have really weird skin thanks to Accutane I took as a teenager, but it made me very aware of soaps. I can't use Dial or Lever bar soaps at all because I break out in a weird itchy rash anywhere on my body where I use it, same thing with Tide regular detergents.

Hope he gets better soon.

[sariana]

If he ever does get his face messy, he washes it right away.

Even before reading this comment, I was going to suggest checking your napkins, paper towels, soap, anything else he might have used to wipe his mouth. Any new brands? Did you start a new package/roll? Did he use soap and not get it rinsed well?

It's nearly impossible to track down things like these because we tend not to pay attention to routine activities such as washing our face. Did I use a paper towel? A napkin? The dishtowel? I don't remember....

FWIW, I developed a topical allergy to wheat when I was about 13. I could, and still can, eat it without any trouble. But I cannot use products that contain wheat (usually wheat germ) on my skin or hair. So these things truly can appear out of the blue. I used a new shampoo with wheat germ oil, and my face swelled up so much I couldn't open one eye. It took us a while to identify the culprit because, well, I don't exactly use shampoo on my face. But further careful tests showed that wheat germ was indeed the culprit.

So it could be the bagel but not necessarily a food allergy, per se.

Good luck in tracking down the allergen. Sorry for your DS; rashes suck.

[ThreeofUs]

Sure sounds like it would have to be the fruit (at least to me), but maybe it was a different batch, or was washed differently?

[brittone2]

A few points -

Colwyn has never had any skin issues. Never even a diaper rash. The only thing I can think of is that very, very occasionally he gets a viral rash with a cold.

He's a fastidious eater, so I doubt he was dripping anything on his face. If he ever does get his face messy, he washes it right away. Plus, it's a very uniform rash.. sort of like the big red smiles clowns paint on their faces.. but not so red.

The bagels are the same as we always get, which we eat several times a week. I assumed it was the strawberries since I figured they're more allergenic than bagels, but maybe I'm wrong on that point.

The rash has gone away a lot since giving him the Benadryl. He complained several times that it was itchy, which is why I gave him some.

My husband doesn't have any allergy issues that affect his skin, but he gets an 'uncomfortable' feeling in his throat if he has certain fruits. We were careful when introducing foods to the kids originally, but none of them ever had any problems. So I was really surprised when I saw this.

That sounds different than what DS experiences from the acidic stuff.

[nov04]

DS gets a little rash around his chin/mouth with acidic foods/certain fruits. Cantaloupe, strawberries, citrus, etc. For him it hasn't been an allergy, just skin irritation when he eats them (and if he eats them in a way that isn't dripping on his face, etc. he doesn't really get it).

We used to have to be extra careful about gently cleaning the kids faces after fruits like this. They would break out so easily just from fruits.

[gummibear]

Your DH's thing sounds like food allergy to me. My mum is allergic to pineapple. Just gets that itchy feeling in her throat, nothing else.

No one else in our family has pineapple allergies, but wheat, nut, dairy, egg, garlic - you name it. apples. everything but rice and soy sauce. DS flares with eczema when i drink mt dew, b/c of the oj.

On the bright side, if it is the strawberries, that's a lot easier to avoid than bagel ingredients!

[srhs]

FWIW, my nephew has MANY FAs. With some fruits, though, he can have them only in certain seasons and from certain regions...something to do with the sprays or something at the time. His reaction to this is mild, so they 'test' it out and follow with benadryl if his face shows reaction.

I know that isn't all that helpful but thought I'd throw it out there.

[egoldber]

but he gets an 'uncomfortable' feeling in his throat if he has certain fruits.

This sounds like an allergy to me as well.

Sarah gets a reaction to strawberries, but our allergist said it is probably from pollens on the strawberry, rather than the fruit itself. This is called oral allergy syndrome.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/08/oral.allergy.syndrome/index.html

[KpbS]

That sounds different than what DS experiences from the acidic stuff.

It is fairly common for children to have rashes after eating certain foods, acidic foods like citrus, tomato, and also strawberries and sometimes chocolate. Food allergies can pop up anytime--even after repeated exposures to a food with no other problems.

I would suspect the strawberries. It could be a true food allergy or it could be more of a sensitivity to the strawberries. What you are describing sounds more like hives to me than a skin irritation. Some children can have severe allergic reactions to foods they previously were fine with, so I'd definitely use caution about exposing him to strawberries again. Have the benadryl on hand! I'd also put a call into your ped.

[Nooknookmom]

DD1 was allergic to strawberries up until 5-6th grade. It also came out of nowhere. Her girl scout troop made sure that they served treats that were strawberry free - it was so cute.

She's ok now, and b4 never needed anything other than a benadryl. We just avoided them. Oh and her rash was always on her body.

[srhs]

Might be helpful to get a digital photo today in case you decide to just mention it to pedi at next visit.

[Raidra]

FWIW, my nephew has MANY FAs. With some fruits, though, he can have them only in certain seasons and from certain regions...something to do with the sprays or something at the time. His reaction to this is mild, so they 'test' it out and follow with benadryl if his face shows reaction.

I know that isn't all that helpful but thought I'd throw it out there.

You know, this is an interesting point. The only strawberries he had all last summer were ones from our yard. We finally finished up the last of the frozen ones (we use them in cereal). I'm super picky about strawberries from the grocery store, I don't like smooshed ones, so I only buy them rarely.

Oh, and I'm sure my husband's issue is an allergy. I just meant that it wasn't a skin reaction for him.

[writermama]

Sounds like the strawberries.

I had a chat with a ped allergist a few years ago and he talked about how strawberries in particular can be weird -- fine certain times of the year or from certain places, perhaps certain varieties, but all of the sudden out of the blue, a reaction.

Hope all is better soon.