Question:
We have a 7-month-old infant daughter who has been conjested
since birth. She has had several ear and throat infections,
and frequently vomits up her formula and cereal. After several
rounds of antibiotics, our pediatritian told us that he thinks
she is allergic to something.
Until now, we have been using a humidifer in our daughter's
room, hoping to relieve the congestion, and not knowing that it
was probably making the problem worse.
The pediatrician recommends that we take standard precautions
against dust and mold, especially in our daughter's bedroom.
Some things are easy to do (like removing stuffed animals and
washing linens more often). Some are more drastic and
expensive (ripping up carpet, installing dehumidifiers, etc).
It seems to me that the pediatrician should try to determine
what our daughter is allergic to, so we can target our efforts
against a specific cause (dust, mold, food, etc).
How far should we go trying to reduce dust and mold in the house
before we know what our daugheter is allergic to? Are there
effective allergy tests that are safe for infants? Should
we take her to an allergist?
Answer:
You don't seem to be focusing on food. Is the formula milk based? Along
with the cereal, you are feeding her the most combine food allergens. The following are excerpts from the article "Food Allergies Linked to
Ear Infections" in the October 8, 1994 issue of "Science News."
Just the mention of otitis media makes many parents of young
children cringe. Otitis Media - middle ear infection - affects
two-thirds of children in the United States by age 2 and is the
most common cause of acquired hearing loss in children. Many
get these earaches again and again, despite treatment with
antibiotics.
This recurrent condition does not always cause pain, but just
the buildup of fluid behind the eardrum can impair hearing and
lead to permanent damage. Consequently, some 670,000 children
a year wind up with tubes surgically implanted into the middle
ear to keep it ventilated. Overall, otitis media represents a
$3.5 billion-a-year U.S. health care cost.
Food allergies may underlie many of these multiple episodes,
reports Talal M. Nsouli, an allergist at the Georgetown
University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He and his
colleagues tested 104 children with recurrent ear problems for
food allergies. About a third proved to be allergic to milk,
and another third reacted to wheat, with a total of 81 children
having some allergy to a food they often ate. The scientists
then had parents keep those children from eating the offending
food for 4 months. Seventy children got better. "Those who
avoided those foods had significant clearance of the ear,"
Nsouli says.
Then parents added those foods back to the diets of the 70
children. Within 4 months, the middle ears became reclogged in
66 of the children, a result that reinforces the link between
food allergies and persistent ear problems, Nsouli and his
colleagues note in the September "Annals of Allergy."
My infant daughter had various problems, some similar to your daughter's,
and we got the run around from many medical specialists. Finally we ended
up at a pediatric allergist who was willing to do allergy tests. Many
pediatricians and allergists do not believe in testing infants, but it was
helpful in our case. My daughter has multiple food allergies and without
the tests we would be in the same quandry you are. I have places several
HEPA type air purifiers (Honeywell) throughout the house, which seems to
have helped also. Try changing her formula to a soy-based formula. The culprit is likely
milk. Trust me---been there, done that. Vomitting is a classic sign.
Try eliminating any solid foods heavy in milk, and try changing the formula
for a week. Most children with allergies have more than one, so dust/mold
is likely too, but that wouldn't cause the vomitting etc. If milk is the
cause-----sorry---no cure. The only way around it is elimination for
life---or when she grows out of it. My daughter is almost 6 and I don't
think she ever will. For support try THE FOOD ALLERGY NETWORK on the web.
Milk Allergy is one of their "hot" topics. So far, no one has mentioned animals as a possible source to allergy, if
allergy is causing your daughter's problem after all. I had the same
problem in that age combined with eczema. Later on I developed total
allergy to dogs, cats and horses.That means no amimals in the house,
even pet owners in the house can trig my allergy.
An allergy test can't hurt her. A blood sample sendt to a lab is all
