Food allergen avoidance while nursing?

[Elilly]

DD has an allergy to egg whites. Should I be avaoiding all eggs while nursing? Or should I also be avoiding all highly allergenic foods (nuts, eggs, wheat, shellfish etc.). Just curious as my pediatric allergist said that I really should have avoided eggs while pg. Well that would have been great if I had known that DD had the allergy before I was 8 months pg!

[calebsmama03]

I don't have specific info for you, but check out this page
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/mo...s.html#peanuts
Has some info on food alergies and nursing. Maybe try a search on that site, too? I don't think there's any hard and fast evience either way.
Lynne
Mommy to Caleb 3/3/03
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Oh my!! #2 5/05

[KGoes]

DD has an allergy to milk and peanuts. I know from my research that the proteins of both pass through breastmilk. I also know from personal experience that once I cut out milk, DD's eczema cleared up dramatically, so I can see a direct correlation there. I really didn't have that much in the way of peanuts while nursing, but what I did have could have contributed to her sensitization. I avoided all high risk foods, eg. tree nuts and shellfish, etc. that she had not tested negative for while breastfeeding.
www.foodallergy.org is an excellent resource in navigating food allergy issues. I would also consider taking your DD to an allergist to see if she has any other common allergies or allergies, such as peanuts, likely to produce a violent reaction. In my experience, it is hard to get caregivers, like daycare or grandparents, etc. to take food restrictions seriously unless you can state that your child has an actual allergy. I know it should be my choice of what she eats with no argument, but that doesn't seem to be human nature. . . .
I also went through the whole guilt thing. Don't be hard on yourself. There is no way to predict these types of allergies. Before DD no one in my family or DH's had any history of food allergies.
HTH!
Kelley
DD born 7/03
And the next one due 4/18/05

[lizajane]

um, how would you know that your FETUS had an allergy?? what a silly thing to say to you...

schuyler is allergic to egg whites and we did not have any trouble while nursing. i didn't know about the allergy until 1 month before we weaned (at 14 months). so at least for us, i could eat anything while nursing.

[gracelynne]

What a silly thing for your pediatric allergist to say! I swear, sometimes it seems like pregnant women shouldn't eat anything.

DS is allergic to egg whites, too, so his ped put me on an elimination diet -- I haven't eaten eggs in over six months. The ped did mention that we'd try food challenges (me eating small amounts of known allergens to test the effects on DS) after a few weeks, but he never mentioned it again and I decided that it wasn't worth it to me to be able to eat eggs. (DS is also allergic to dairy, wheat and peanuts, so I don't eat those, either -- sorry I can't help you on that end.) DS's skin has improved quite a bit since the diet began, so I think avoidance was helpful. At the very least, it makes me feel like I'm doing something to contribute to his well-being...

[Elilly]

Oh my Grace, what do you eat! I guess alot of rice? You poor thing! Here's hoping that Paul grows out of at least his dairy, wheat, and egg allergies.

[gracelynne]

Thanks! I'm actually allergic to peanuts myself, so avoiding those have never been a problem. :) I do have hope that he'll outgrow the others, though -- my brother was allergic to eggs when he was a kid, but by the time he was in high school, he simply could not get enough scrambled eggs. I guess he was making up for lost time!

I'm a vegetarian, so I'm used to reading labels and stuff -- so it isn't as bad as it sounds. Unfortunately, we're in the middle of a kitchen remodel so I don't get to cook as much as I'd like (meaning I eat a whole lot of french fries). A funny story about that: when the ped put me on the elimination diet, DH happened to mention that I'm a vegetarian. The ped said, "Oh, then this should be pretty easy." DH's inward response, "What, she's used to being deprived?"

Oooh! Speaking of eggs, did your DD have a flu shot or a measles/mumps/rubella shot? There are egg products in those vaccines.

[Elilly]

She did not get the flu but she did get the MMR as it was before we knew about the allergies. She did not have any adverse reactions to the MMR. Her clinical reaction to egg was diarrhea so I think that I would have noted that.
I don't know what I will do for DS when it comes to immunizations. I'm avoiding eggs while nursing him so we'll just have to wait and see.

[gracelynne]

Glad that she didn't have any problems with the MMR. DS didn't, either, but ugh, the process was terrible. Since we knew beforehand about his allergies, the ped wouldn't administer the MMR or flu shots because he knew he would not be prepared for a negative reaction. He referred us to the allergist, who decided against the flu shot (he recommended that DH and I get flu shots instead) and just gave him the MMR. It was so bad -- it was split up into four shots of varying amount and there was a 20 min. wait between shots and a 30 min. wait after the last one. DS was NOT happy.

Hopefully your DS will be allergy-free.

[marie]

at 10 days old, DD showed signs of a food allergy (green, mucous poops, blood in her stool, allergy ring rash, and onset of colic). when all was said and done, she was allergic to (or intolerant of) dairy, soy, beef and eggs. in addition to removing those from my diet, our ped and ped. gastroenterologist recommended that i limit my intake of peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. i am also delaying the introduction of tomatoes, corn, strawberries and citrus fruits though i do eat those.

at one year, we experimented with eggs and DD tolerated them and we are currently experimenting with beef. (experimenting means i introduce the food into my diet for four weeks, poop gets tested for blood throughout that time, and if negative, DD gets to eat the food herself.)

so i would take eggs out altogether. also, i encourage you to stick with it until, hopefully, your DD outgrows it. it is not always easy but i'm glad that we are all on one diet (DH doesn't eat any of the "forbidden foods" either!). now that DD is eating solids, i would find it very difficult to always say no to her at the table when she points at our food and says "uh-uh". i think it would be a very negative way to start out your association with food and dining. at least in our home she can eat most of the stuff she sees us eat.

let me know if you would like any recipe suggestions. DH and i eat very well considering the dietary restrictions!

good luck!