Allergy questions

[BabyBearsMom]

DD2 has had a persistent rash on her face. She has been drinking strawberry yogurt and I am allergic to strawberries, so I thought that was a likely culprit. We took away the yogurt (replaced with blueberry) and her face cleared up. Just to make sure it wasn't a coincidence, we gave her fresh organic strawberries with water as a snack and sure enough, she had a little beard of hives and her lips swelled up. So I called our pedi and they recommended a pediatric allergist. DH just got back from the allergist and her skin panel came back completely clear. Can someone explain to me how a child's face breaks out in hives every time she eats a certain food but she isn't allergic to that food? It doesn't make sense to me.

The allergist recommended we try her with strawberries again and see how it goes. I'm inclined to have her avoid them because to me, whether it is an allergy or not, it seems pretty clear that her little body does not like strawberries.

[weech]

It may just be a skin reaction. DS had the same reaction to strawberries and hummus. He tested positive for a sesame allergy, but nothing for strawberries. Our allergist said it was normal for babies/toddlers to have that reaction to strawberries but that she wasn't worried because she'd never seen it progress into anything more serious. On the other end of the spectrum, we have EpiPens for the sesame allergy.

[BabbyO]

I've heard and I believe that this was the case with Stachio and tomato sauce - but I think that certain foods can be a skin irritant without a person being allergic to something.

I also know that my kids have gotten red around the lips/mouth when eating fresh strawberries that were a little older (but not bad). A friend told me that there can be spores on the strawberries and they get old that can irritate some people - though you wouldn't expect that with the strawberry yogurt.

[rlu]

Not exactly the same, but when I had allergy testing done the tests came back only three food allergies (and allergies to every tree and weed that grows in the area) BUT I have oral allergy syndrome to the birch protein which means if I eat any uncooked stone fruits, uncooked apples or certain nuts I get an itchy throat and "tingly" tongue. Dr said it won't kill me but I avoid and carry benedryl. So, per the tests I'm not "allergic" but I sure as heck react.

I also tested not allergic to mint but just a whiff causes teary eyes, runny nose and sneezing fits (my mom too, and DS a bit).

[MamaMolly]

Reaction trumps results in the food allergy world. In no way would I be playing around with anything that makes my child's lips swell. There are many, many false positives and false negatives in allergy testing. There is NO test that I know of that definitively 100% is accurate.

Does the allergist deal with a lot of food allergies or mainly environmental stuff? It can matter.

[ssand23]

Allergy testing is NOT 100%. You can be very allergic and not respond to testing. My skin testing says I have no allergies but if I eat anything with even a hint of tomato in it, I will need an epi-pen. I tried to ignore it and kept eating it but after the severity of my last reaction, I'm never touching the stuff again. The reactions kept getting worse each time I had ate foods with tomato sauce in them. To confuse matters further, you can eat a food 25 times and react on the 26th time.

If you see that feeding her something causes a rash, I'd avoid it all together with. I wouldn't mess around with trying it again for now. For some, hives is all they will get but with others, the more contact they have, the worse the reaction can be the next time. You don't have to have a family history to have allergies but children are definitely more likely to have allergies if their parents have any allergies. Hopefully this is the only thing that is a problem for her.

[MSWR0319]

DS would break out in what was a raised red splotchy rash (it never itched like the first time he ate peanuts, so I'm not sure hives is the right term) when he would eat strawberry applesauce, strawberry yogurt, tomato sauce, ketchup, and raspberry yogurt. I asked the allergist about it and they tested him and said it was more than likely from the acidity and if we put Vaseline around his mouth when we ate them it would prevent the breakouts. I never did that since he wasn't concerned and he eventually out grew that reaction. Now, we never had swollen lips though, that would make me nervous. Could you do a food challenge in the dr's office?

[megs4413]

Reaction trumps results in the food allergy world. In no way would I be playing around with anything that makes my child's lips swell. There are many, many false positives and false negatives in allergy testing. There is NO test that I know of that definitively 100% is accurate.

Does the allergist deal with a lot of food allergies or mainly environmental stuff? It can matter.

this...our allergist stressed to us that the testing just wasn't that good. DS is quite obviously and severely allergic to latex, but the blood tests didn't show it. I found that very confusing but the doc told us that it happens all the time. my son can't come into close proximity with a balloon and not break out in hives. it's that obvious of a reaction.

[egoldber]

Oder DD gets oral allergy syndrome from strawberries occasionally.

But to the PP point, her reaction to tree pollen is much stronger than her skin tests would indicate and the allergist did say that happens sometimes.

[Indianamom2]

I don't know a ton about food allergies like some of the moms here, but the lip swelling the last time would be very concerning to me. I would not do anymore strawberries unless I was at the allergists' office ready with a treatment just in case.

[Simon]

Reaction trumps results in the food allergy world. In no way would I be playing around with anything that makes my child's lips swell. There are many, many false positives and false negatives in allergy testing. There is NO test that I know of that definitively 100% is accurate.

Does the allergist deal with a lot of food allergies or mainly environmental stuff? It can matter.

:yeahthat:

Allergy testing is NOT 100%. You can be very allergic and not respond to testing. My skin testing says I have no allergies but if I eat anything with even a hint of tomato in it, I will need an epi-pen. I tried to ignore it and kept eating it but after the severity of my last reaction, I'm never touching the stuff again. The reactions kept getting worse each time I had ate foods with tomato sauce in them. To confuse matters further, you can eat a food 25 times and react on the 26th time.
This is important. Reactions can become progressively severe. Peanut allergies often don't progress to anaphylaxsis until the 3rd or 4th exposure. Lip swelling + hives is different, IMO and IME, than a red, pimply rash around the mouth.

Not only is allergy testing 2nd best, whether its blood or skin, its also very far from imperfect. Its main use is when people have a mystery reaction to an ingredient. Allergy testing can help identify the source of the reaction.


I don't know a ton about food allergies like some of the moms here, but the lip swelling the last time would be very concerning to me. I would not do anymore strawberries unless I was at the allergists' office ready with a treatment just in case.

IF you feel confident in what you observed as a reaction to strawberries, then I would trust the reaction, ignore the Drs advice to try again.