Food Allergies - Henderson,NV

N.,
The research and effectiveness of zyrtec with food allergies, is very conflicted. I have many food allergies, and the only thing that helps..is to not eat them. In my experience (I know my personal experience won't be the same as others) the only allergy that gets more severe, is my nut allergy. Each reaction I've had, has been worse then the one before. That is common with anaphylactic allergies.

Have you been to an allergist? You don't specify what kind of Dr. prescribed the Zyrtec. General practitioners are required to know almost nothing about food allergies. It is very rare to find a family Dr. or pediatrician that has a good understanding and education about food allergies. In fact, they often give false, conflicting, and old fashioned advice. I would highly recommended seeing an allergist. They are highly trained and will give you the best results.

My kids and I had almost 30 different food allergies. We had severe reactions to peanuts also. We had most of our allergies cleared with acupuncture. My baby was tested and has about 5 food allergies including gluten, wheat and dairy. My doc is going to clear him when he's two or three years old. I didn't even know it was possible. He was able to clear about half of them at once but the rest took one at a time. It was time consuming but very worth it. I had severe reactions to peanuts and so did my kids and now we can eat peanuts with no reactions at all. He did acupuncture with no needles too. My kids thought it felt like needles but I didn't feel a thing. It's not that bad and really worth the effort. I wish you the best!!! BTW~ For some reason, though, the gluten allergy took longer for my younger kids to clear than the rest of the allergies. My older kids cleared the gluten just fine though. My doc said it's unusual but I thought I'd mention it to you. Good luck!!

Allergies/food sensitives usually are due to PROCESSING and not the actual food itself. Now I say usually, not always. A lot of peanut allergies and egg allergies that I have worked with have actually been about something else, something easily avoided (often time by going organic and not processes). Fruit allergies usually have to do with the pesticides and herbicides used to grow them.

Allergies have pretty much come out of nowhere in the last 50 years...or that is what the MDs would like up to think. But careful study shows that allergies, sensitivities, intolerances are all attributed the current state of our food source and environmental toxicity. Our poor bodies are so overloaded they are rebelling, kids especially. We need to help our kids NOW.

When my clients come to me with allergies the first thing I do is get them to start a nutritional cleansing program that feeds their body optimal nutrition that also works to remove the toxicity from their body. Depending on the age of the client, the cleansing can be done very slowly over a few weeks or even months or quickly over 1 or 2 days each week for a number of months depending on the severity of the allergy. Depending on the maturity of your son, he could very easily do a mid-range program.

By feeding the body the proper combination of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, WHILE gently cleansing out the gunk, our bodies are able to heal themselves naturally. Our bodies are amazing. We just have to give them tie right tools. PM me if you want to chat about if this is right for your son or not. Trust me, it's well worth a conversation with me.

I blogged on this back in May (and added a bit today) http://heyyougetreal.com/momblog/yikes-what-about-allergies/

B.
Family Success Coach

Who did you go to? Who did the testing? I only get tested by a naturopathic doctor. I would not have him take Zyrtec--you can get a natural histamine product from the naturopathic doctor that is not pharma drugs and isn't addictive. Everyone in my family uses it.

And when you say allergic, you actually mean allergic--and not just intolerant? There is a difference. I am allergic to the casein in cow's milk, but am intolerant to gluten, soy, and about 20 other foods.

In fact, by not eating or drinking anything with cow's milk in it, I was able to go off my pharma cortecosteroid med for asthma. Yes! I no longer have asthma!

If it were me, I would definitely also visit with a naturopathic doctor and discover exactly what my son is allergic or intolerant to and to what degree (whether he'll ever have to worry about anaphylactic shock, for example, or just (auto) immune disorders or just an upset tummy).

Naturopathic doctors are trained in food and nutrition; allopathic doctors aren't. Even so-called allergists really don't know that much. Case in point: my own Allergist/Pulmonarist for my asthma couldn't believe that my asthma went away just from refraining from eating/drinking cow's milk. In fact, my breath test after I quit eating cow's milk was off the chart, and since I quit taking Advair in April 2010, I've never had an attack or even a wheezing episode. Not one.

If he is merely intolerant to certain foods and refrains from eating them for a period of time, he should be able to eat them occasionally. That is, maybe once a week or once every two weeks. Again, it depends on what type of reaction he has to them. That is what a naturopathic doctor can tell you.

Good luck.

Do some research. This is a well studied field. When my daughter was diagnosed with corn and nut allergies, I came across several studies done in Europe in which a very small amount of the allergen was allowed in the diet and very slowly increased over time until eventually the allergy was overcome. I was able to get rid of my daughter's corn allergy this way. It took about 3 years. We're still working on the nut allergy. Of course this only works if the allergy isn't the extreme/deadly version. Also, during my research I discovered that bananas are in the nut family. Who knew?

My allergist also just tried to keep my daughter perpetually medicated instead of actually dealing with the allergy. That was not acceptable to me so we switched to a more involved/educated one. What a difference!

Best of luck to you and your precious son!

I would get a 2nd opinion and also talk to a nutritionist. My mom was told that my sister had a severe allergy to corn (try to find something without corn in it) and later another allergist said, no, it's a strong sensitivity, don't let her have too much. At present, Sis is still allergic to chocolate (and it is worse - if she has any, she follows it immediately with Benadryl) but she can have corn and tolerate most dogs and even her cats. I think that you should investigate further and also talk to someone specifically about his diet with these restrictions.

I am all about the homeopathic solution to things. I would try that.....look for a homeopathic dr and see what he/she suggests..............it's worth a try

I would check with an allergist and possibly check out N.A.E.T. Sorry you are going through this... good luck

With that many possible allergies I would definitely see an Allergist. After the testing, I would also schedule consultations to discuss your other concerns such as how to feed him and how to cope with the allergies. Most allergies are not "fatal", but some can be; so that is another issue you would want to discuss with the doctor. I'm not allergic to any foods, but am allergic to molds and some pollens and have been taking benadryl / claritin / allegra / zyrtec as needed for over 20 years with no side-effects. I can't avoid my triggers so the antihistimines make my life tollerable when the mold/pollen counts are high. With food allergies the most important thing is to avoid the trigger foods; if he avoids the foods, he shouldn't need to take the meds.

I go to an allergist regulary for allergy shots. There are at least half a dozen kids around your son's age who are also getting shots.

I was allergic to all fruits except citrus and vegetables too. I found that I didn't have a reaction when I cooked them. I cannot take any of the long acting antihistamines. When I have a reaction which is usually itchy throat and ears and sometimes hives, I take Benedryl which ends the reaction in just a few minutes.

Whether or not taking Zyrtec is necessary depends on the sort of reaction that your son has. If he has difficulty breathing or gets hives regularly I suggest that taking it is necessary.

To find which foods he's allergic to start with a few basic foods and see if he has any negative reactions. If he reacts, remove one food each week until he has no reaction. If not, add one other food every week. By doing this you can determine what he's allergic to.

You may find that he's allergic to specific groups of foods. I suggest talking with a nutritionist who knows about food allergies. She can tell you what foods go together in what groups.

My granddaughter was born with several allergies including to foods. She also has asthma and eczema made worse with some foods. She's now 11 and been taking Zyrtec since she was 6 or so. She's fine. She has to take it because she also has environmental allergies that she cannot avoid. (dust, pollen)

Your son may also have environmental allergies that make it harder for his system to tolerate some foods. I suggest you take him to a pediatric allergist so that you can find out specifically what he's allergic to and how to treat them.

Ask for other options.

Allergy shots might help.