Allergy Mom

So, I am in lots of "allergy" groups on Facebook. Most are "support" groups and they are all super helpful. Many people provide tips for making something without an allergen or warn you of a place that is not allergy friendly and recommending places that are actually friendly. Because P.F. Chang's is super allergy friendly (they will make a sauce from scratch if you can't have soy but order something that typically has soy sauce in it) while Pei Wei (an affiliate restaurant) is just awful. All of their meat is pre-marinated and they cannot accommodate you at all if you have an allergy to something in their marinade and want to eat meat. I mean, don't they have some unmarinated chicken in the cooler? Really? In the past they did, but not anymore.

I also love these groups because they have lots of cartoons that portray "Allergy Moms/Parents" and they are funny but so true. I don't know how many times I have made an entire batch of cupcakes late at night (or early in the morning) so Taryne or Hayden could have something to eat at a school party or a birthday party. We keep some in the freezer for emergencies, and believe me, there are times when the teacher has no idea someone is bringing something in and she texts me to bring something as soon as I can. I am thankful for their teachers for at least making the attempt to get me there with something before giving them a fig bar or some other allergy-friendly item.

Today I saw this....it is spot on. And I thought I would share. I don't think everyone realizes that my kids have allergies. If they ingest their allergens it makes them very sick or could even kill them. So, please do not be offended if I ask what is in something or if I suggest a slight modification. Every modification we have found works and the food tastes the same. Taryne and Hayden rarely eat candy/sweets and when they do, it is a treat. As it should be. Most kids--and adults--today eat way too much sugar.

I am absolutely terrified when I leave my kids anywhere because of their allergies. So don't be offended if I don't want to leave my kids with you or if I give you a ton of instructions. It is for my peace of mind, not to stress you out. Yes, I will make you use the practice Epi-Pen. I make my baby sitter do it each time she comes over (even though she works at a day care and has been trained on first aid).

Luckily, Taryne and Hayden both know the things they cannot eat and that it will make them sick. I am so impressed and amazed at them for knowing and understanding this at such a young age. If you tell Hayden it will make him sick, he is okay and does not get upset.

Allergies, especially food allergies, suck! At least with seasonal allergies, you can take preventative medication. That is not the case with a food allergy. There is an 80% chance that kids will outgrow food allergies, but only 20% if it is a nut allergy. Please don't constantly talk about how they will grow out of it. Hopefully they will, but there is a 20% chance they won't. I grew out of most of my food allergies, but I still have a nut allergy.

Dryer Balls

What the heck? Right? I am 99% confident that is what you were thinking. :)

Since our transition to less chemical-laden products, we are now using dryer balls. Kyle recently told me to add dryer sheets to the grocery store list and we both wondered if there was a better way. I immediately took to Pinterest to find a way to make my own. We thought we could save money and be better about what we are using for our clothes.

Well, let me tell you that most of the DIY versions are still FULL of crap. You are basically buying the chemical filled fabric softeners or something else to soak your sponges or rags or whatever you are using for the "dryer sheets". I told Kyle, no way, these are just as bad as what we have now! I changed my search criteria and found dryer balls.

After reading reviews and how to make my own and more, we decided to purchase a set from Etsy. These things are supposed to last about a year or around 1,000 loads of laundry. And they dry your clothes faster and more efficiently and there are less wrinkles. I just wanted to save money and not have chemicals on my clothes.

We were a bit skeptical about the drying faster and saving energy, but they do! Some loads (i.e., pants, towels) required a second round in our now 8 year old dryer. With the dryer balls, one round does the trick. And since they are balls and bouncing around, nothing really gets stuck together so there seems to be less wrinkling.

We spent around $15 plus shipping for 6 dryer balls. That is $15-$20 per year to reduce static cling, assist in drying our clothes and we are actually saving money because we don't have to run the dryer as much. You can even add essential oils to your dryer balls if you like a scent to your clothes. We are a free and clear type of household so we just use the dryer balls as is. By far it is the best money spent on cleaning and household products. We just leave them in the dryer so no need to remember to add the dryer sheet or fabric softener to the wash.

The Milk Allergy

Taryne is also allergic to milk....

For several months she often complained that her tummy hurt and we struggled to determine if she ate too much, was hungry, or just needed to go to the bathroom. We visited the doctor several times and each time we came away with things to try and nothing seemed to work. Finally the doctor suggested we test for this virus that lives in the gut (h. palori or something like that). However, to test for this, they would need to draw blood from her arm instead of a finger prick. Since this is also how they test for food allergies, I asked that potential food allergens be checked as well, especially since Hayden was allergic to a ton of things and I had a few food allergies as a kid. Luckily the virus came back negative (a positive would have meant a month of a few strong antibiotics, yuck!) but the allergens were a different story.

She was allergic to milk and sesame seeds. She was also allergic to about 6 or 7 other things but were pretty minor and only enough to register as an allergen. The milk and sesame seeds were the ones in a higher classification. Since she only experienced tummy pain, we were not prescribed an epi-pen, but if we ever needed one, we have one with Hayden's. 

Luckily, we are pretty much dairy-free in our house with the exception of cheese for those not allergic to milk, so the transition was an easy one. Taryne did better than I expected since she loves cheese. It took her about a week to realize she could no longer have some of the things she enjoyed that was a no-no for Hayden.

The sesame seed allergen is a little different than other nuts/seeds when it comes to the oil. For peanuts and soybeans, the oil is fine for nearly all with an allergen to peanuts or soybeans. A quick search on the internet told me that sesame oil is different in the way it is made and the allergen is still in the oil. Apparently a lot of commercial baked goods have sesame oil in them so we needed to stay away from those...but they usually also contain milk, eggs and soy so we avoid them anyway. The only thing we have come across that she would occasionally eat that has sesame oil is candy corn. I am not sure if it is all brands or the Brach's one, but some other brands contain egg whites so now we have to be extra careful.

As for Hayden, he was retested in August for milk, egg whites and egg yolks and while he is still pretty allergic to all parts of the egg, he is no longer allergic to milk. At the allergy doctor, they did a skin test and it was negative, so we had to schedule a food challenge. This past week, Hayden completed the food challenge and has been cleared to have milk. However, he hates it. He is very specific now when he wants milk: he lets us know that he wants rice milk, in the blue box. He seems hesitant to try some things, but he did eat a little cheese and loved it. At least he can eat it in cooked or baked items provided there is no eggs, soy or nuts.

I think we will continue our limited dairy/dairy-free diet for everyone. We have found that rice milk works as a near perfect substitute for everything we have cooked/baked so far.

Other Lifestyle Changes

Sometime last fall, a book was recommended to me by my cousin, so I ordered it. And never read it. I was just too busy. After Christmas break, I decided to get the book out and I finally started reading...and was thinking "oh my goodness, we need to make some serious changes".

Most of the things in the book are over the foods we eat and how they could contribute to cancer or prevent it. So that is where some of our changes really started. 

I have since read numerous other articles and we started changing other things too. Sunscreen, bug spray, shampoo/conditioner, hand soap, shower soap, dish soap, laundry soap, deodorant and the list goes on. I never realized how much some of these cancer causing chemicals can be easily absorbed into our skin, especially in areas like our arm pits. Oh and the diapers, but that is another post.

I recently switched from my regular deodorant to an all-natural one and had a reaction to the baking soda in the product. I then tried their sensitive version and had similar results, so I finally settled on Toms of Maine and love it. Kyle now uses it too. 

This is just one of the many articles that explains why I will no longer buy regular deodorant and no one in my house will either. One thing suggested by the first product I tried was an arm pit detox. After the reaction and peeling I had from the first trial, I think I pretty much detoxed and have all new skin under my arms! :)

Allergies

So when Hayden was bit by the mosquito, we ended up taking him to the doctor since his eye has swollen up so bad. While we were there, we mentioned to the doctor that we suspected a nut allergy. After some tests, we found out that he has a TON of food allergies. He is allergic to all tree nuts except pecans and hazelnuts, peanuts, eggs, peas, milk, soy and wheat. We met with an allergist and after meeting with her and a review of his test results, she determined that we need to completely avoid all nuts, peanuts, peas, eggs, milk and soy. Apparently his wheat allergy is not very bad and he can continue to have wheat. Thank goodness because we were seriously wondering what we would be able to feed him!

So we have replaced cow's milk with rice milk since he can't have soy, almond, coconut or an animal milk. We are learning how to replace eggs in many items (which is difficult and gives some things a funny texture). And you would be amazed at HOW MANY items actually have soy in them. It seems like we can find products that have all the allergens removed EXCEPT the soy. Very, very annoying.

I have been experimenting with many recipes on substitutions and so far, most are coming out fairly successful. I also finally broke down and bought a box of egg replacer. It definitely makes a difference compared to using applesauce or some of the other options for egg substitutions I have seen online.

The bad part of this entire thing is that he is pretty picky when it comes to food. He will not eat meat except chicken from Chick-Fil-A. And now with the allergies, he can only eat the grilled chicken from Chick-Fil-A, but thankfully he loves it. However, he rarely eats it reheated. His new favorite thing to eat is Cheerios. He has been going crazy eating only bowls of cereal. Oh and you know he eats whatever is served at school, but of course, not at home. :)

Because of the allergies, we have to ALWAYS carry an epi-pen, benadryl and steroids. We have had to give him the benadryl and a dose of steroids a few times, but luckily we have not had to use the epi-pen and I hope we never have to do it. The allergist told us there was an 80% chance he will grow out of his food allergies by the time he starts kindergarten and only about a 20% chance that he will grow out of the nut allergies.