Rotation Diet/allergies.

I think the elimination diet would be easier. You would just introduce one thing at a time instead of eliminating one thing at a time. You can also get muscle testing at a homeopathic or chiropractor. That would help you too. You can google elimination diet to find sites but this is what I found.

http://www.drcranton.com/elimination_diet.htm

I've had all sorts of allergies all my life, but I'm very careful and seldom have serious flareups. I have dark circles that simply never go away (allergic shiners).

I'd pay attention to my child's OTHER symptoms. Dark circles don't cause distress, but most other symptoms do.

BTW: I have rotated foods for years, following a 4-day plan. I'm allergic to so many foods that I'd starve if I avoided them all, so, with the recommendation of a very good doctor, I simply never repeat an allergic food any more often than every fourth day. This keeps many reactions at bay. (If I had life-threatening allergies, or foods that caused severe digestive distress or asthma every time I eat them, I would eliminate those foods entirely.)

Good luck. With practice, you'll develop meal plans that become more automatic. It takes awhile to climb the learning curve.

Nutritional deficiencies can cause dark circles, too. Anemia (low iron) being the biggest. Vitamin c and Vitamin K deficiency can also contribute. Thyroid problems (it causes fluid retention, which causes circles), dehydration, too much sodium intake, lack of quality sleep...these all lead to dark circles. You should also explore getting a complete health work-up with iron and thyroid panel.

If he hasn't had a complete work up with a pediatrician or naturopath I would suggest doing that first. As Bug suggested nutritional deficiencies can also cause these symptoms.

As to dark circles under his eyes, many people naturally have dark circles and there is no way of getting rid of them for some. My granddaughter has allergies and dark circles. Her allergist said to ignore the dark circles. She'll probably have them her whole life. Her mother, who does not have allergies also has dark circles.

When you say he has fluid in the ear do you mean he has chronic ear infections? If he doesn't have infections and it doesn't negatively affect his hearing I wouldn't be concerned about fluid in the ear. Has a medical person told you to be concerned? If not, I'm not understanding your willingness to go thru the torture of looking for allergies.

An elimination diet is much easier than a rotation diet. You start with a basic set of foods and add a new food each week or two. Look up elimination diet on the Internet.

Since you've perhaps narrowed it down to just the 3 or 4 foods, you could do a modified elimination diet and eliminate one of those foods at a time. This wouldn't be as accurate as starting out with a base and adding one food at a time but might still give you an idea.

I would hesitate to eliminate fish and flax oil from his diet as well as milk fat. He needs fatty acids for his brain to develop. I would try putting those nutrients into his diet by feeding him fish and adding flax seeds to his food rather than giving him pills. He can get necessary fatty acids from butter even when milk or dairy doesn't agree with him.

I urge you to not try to figure this out on your own. I'd find a naturopath, nutritionist. and/or a pediatric allergist who could help. The realm of nutrition can be very complicated.

Dark circles are not neccesary related to allergies or diet. Before changing any diet check with your pediatrician or ask him/her for a referral with a Registered Dietitian. Maybe you are weakeaning the immune system with diets that might not provide all the nutrients that the child needs and that creates a problem with the ear; maybe the child is not resting enough or well enough that's why the dark circles don't go away.

Hopefully this can help you

Good luck

Sylvia Nutritionist

my pediatrician said that seasonal/environmental allergies can cause circles. Ive seen the proof with my own children and with students of mine that have allergies and periodically get treatment for it. have u looked in to this?

Here is a plan for pretty much what you described. It's called the Break Through diet, and it helps you find the food that's best for you and eliminate what's causing symptoms, since it's different for each individual. http://www.breakfreebootcamp.com/

Leanne, the lady who does it, also has menu planning and freezer meal recipes on her website that I've enjoyed doing. I found her because she's is Flylady's nutritionist if you've heard of flylady.org (helping keep your house organized with routines). Good luck!