OT question those allergic to dairy | Arthritis Information

 

She has had bad sinuses for awhile now - stopped up, headaches.  No fevers so I didn't take her to the doctor right away, but she has been pretty miserable.  We've been doing hot soup, steam showers, heated face mask, etc.  Minimal relief.

 

She has also complained of stomachaches, when her headaches have been bad.  Not nausea, just pain.

 

Well, this week, she told me she had a lump behind her ear.  Yippee, swollen gland!  A reason to see the dr., a symptom signaling an infection.

 

Thorough exam, ruled out migraines, hating school, etc.  Said he could see lines under her eyes (reassuring her that her friends wouldn't notice; wow, he knows these pre-teen girls!) that could be from allergies.

 

But, with the swollen lymph node, he said it was sinus infection.  She's on amoxicllin and nasal spray.

 

I expected her to feel better yesterday, and was surprised to get a call to get her from school.  Headache and stomachache.  She looked awful, too.

 

I called the nurse and she said the sinus drainage could bother her stomach.

 

Perked up later, then felt bad after dinner.  Okay this a.m., then bad after breakfast.

 

I'm just wondering if a dairy sensitivity is making her symptoms worse.  Yogurt for lunch, then she was sick. Pizza for dinner, cereal and milk for breakfast.  That would explain all of the stomachaches that don't really fit with a sinus infection.

 

She say she can breathe now so much better, but yet still has the headache.  So I'm thinking that's the nasal spray.

 

I asked if she wanted to try eliminating dairy, just to see what happens.  She was fine with that, except pizza and ice cream LOL.  She really did think it was a good idea, considering the times she has felt the worst.

 

I said let's try it for a week, and see how you feel.  Then, eat some pizza and see what happens.   If you feel bad again, you will know and you will have to decide if it is worth or not.  At least we could eliminate other things that won't be as hard and you can make the call at pizza parties.

 

She has a well checkup in April, so we can discuss what happens then and decide if we need testing, or if the dr. thinks we would need to supplement anything to make up for what is eliminated.

 

So, dairy allergy sufferers - do her symptoms sound like what you have experienced?  Do you think a week will make a difference?  Thanks!   

 

     

 

If you search google.com for the words dairy allergy, you will find a lot of sites that compare allergy to intollerance.

 

For me, with every time i eat dairy, i get swelling of body parts, hives, stomach problems, swollen face, and i have to take an inhaler for my breathing.

 

There is a dairy intolerance which mostly deals with the stomach, she could have that and a sinus infection at the same time.  If she does have this one, the dripping of the sinuses will irritate the stomach because it is already inflamed.

 

If you do get her tested for allergies, another test (if they are negative) is celiac disease, but that one you have to have done at the family doctor and not an allergist even though it is technically an allergy to gluten.

 

If all those fail, you might have to visit a doctor for digestion problems.

 

Before you do anything, i would try cutting the dairy right away, that means no dairy at all, then try and bring it back but take lactaid that you can buy in the store to see if it is an intolerance, if it is, the lactaid should work.

 

Dairy allergies have been known to go quite often with RA.

 

God bless

 

 

Before you do anything, i would try cutting the dairy right away, that means no dairy at all, then try and bring it back but take lactaid that you can buy in the store to see if it is an intolerance, if it is, the lactaid should work.

 

 

Bubbagump, thanks for all the great info!  When you say "no dairy at all", do you mean even ingredients?  Like if she ate baked goods with a little milk in them?  My mom is lactose intolerant, with gastro symptoms, but she can eat baked goods, etc., just no milk, ice cream.  Cheese doesn't bother her, either. 

 

That makes sense in my mom's case.  Maybe my daughter takes after her, maybe just giving up the milk will help.  But my mom has terrible sinuses, too, come to think of it...

 

She's staying on the meds, but we are going to try giving up dairy for a week to see. 

 

Thanks to all, and I'll let you know how it goes.  My little one is asleep, running a temp, and they had a case of chicken pox in her class this week.  I get one taken care of, and the other one gets something.  Thank goodness I only have two children......

 

 

The thing that's saved me now, and allowed me to indulge in *a* slice of cheese on a sammich (I haven't pushed it farther than that yet, I'm scared lol) is the probiotics. :)

 

After much teeth grinding and nail biting and kicking of feet, pippy has offically sold me over on the probiotics. If can have SOME cheese again so in my eyes she's my freakin hero. LOL I mean really, a WI blooded girl that CAN'T HAVE DAIRY!?!? No way!! I am up drying clothes and the timer or whatever turns off the dryer automatically is broken. We had a family hottub party which included family from down the block so i have a towel shortage. Anyway the hospital said a warm, but definately not hot heating pad placed on the sinuses and nose 4 or 5 times a day could help make you feel more comfortable. I had never heard that one before. But i did always like to put a warm wash rag over my eyes i started doing that when i was a kid, My eyes would swell up so bad from allergies. I tend to stir away from heating pads when i am tired or with a kid. Mom gave me one for menstural cramps when i was rather young. Well apparently i had a mind of my own and turned up the heat, i feel asleep and that was when the fish net underware was in. What a disaster. I pealed off a bunch of blisters when i took off that underware. I was like hey Mom i have a new problem. I am sure my Mom was thinking no brain damage is not a new problem where i was concerned. Of course colds can cause sinus infections also. Also she should start to feel better not worse after a few days, but swelling could remain for up to ten days. As far as symtoms the first one they list is pain, and the last one is a dull headache. It is hard to distinquish between the two because you have sinuses in your forhead. Anyway the spray is probably for the swelling, as well as should help if it caused by an allergic irritant. And the nasty thing about sinus infections they can travel and turn into bronchitis and ear infections. If it is just caused by a cold she should clear up pretty quickly. Which for this time of the year is pretty common. If they get repeatitive definatley start looking for inviornmental causes or allergic culprets. Hope she has a full recovery very soon. Time to get the towels out of the dryer. Update:  Still having headaches, every time she was up for awhile yesterday, she would have to go lie back down.  Loving the nasal spray, though, says she can breathe again for the first time in a long time. Suzanne, I have permanent sinus challenges and although the nasal sprays does what it says on the box, after 3/4 days of taking it the stuff irritates my stomach and I am then faced with the choice, let the sinuses build back up again or suffer with the tum. I normally stop taking the nasal spray for a week or so to let the acid settle. I got told off by my ENT last week for doing that but as I said to him I cant see the point of taking something thats helping one ailment and causing another. Just another option. Thanks, Sarah, that is something else to consider.  She had the stomachaches before the nasal spray, but I will be sure to ask if she notices anything after she uses the spray.  It is only once a day. Hey, is she taking probiotics? No milk at all, check all ingredients for select words like dairy, butter, cream, casein, caseinate, carmel flavoring, carmel color, delactosed whey, flavoring, ghee, whey, high protein flour, hydrolysates, hydrolyzed casein, hydrolyzed milk protein, iron caseinate, lactalbumin, lactate, lactic acid, lactoferrin, lactose (anything with lac), magnesium caseinate, natureal flavoring, opta, nougat, potassium caseinate, protein (can have milk), rennet casein, simplesse, sodium caseinate, zinc caseinate. I believe my probiotics help, doesnt' eliminate the allergy, but i think it stops me from having breathing problems with a tiny exposure, even though i get the hives and swelling.I was just thinking it would help her tummy in the healing process. You may want to ask your daughter a few more questions. You said she is breathing better than she has for along time. How long a time are we talking? And when did the headaches start. If you are looking for actual allergic culprits they can test your blood and tell you what sort of grasses and trees and animals you are allergic to. ALso i was a bit worried as you said that she had a bump or a swollen gland behind her ear. I know you mentioned in the past that you had tubes put in the girls ears. The only reason i worry about allergies is we do not want her to have a chronic sinus infection. If it is airborne of course the spray should really help. It is taking the swelling out of the sinuses and will better protect her after she has been on it for a few weeks. Also sinus infections tend to lead to ear infections which can even get into the mastatiod bone. This is the main reason they say to return to the doctor if headache, fever or stomache problems persist or worsen. I am thrilled that she has the tubes in her ears but it isn't a total hundred percent prevention against ear infections. It could still be possible. I am so proud of her for being dedicated to this diet and noticing what things seem to upset her stomache. If her head is still hurting she does probably still have an infection or an allergie. When i took the breathing test (had to blow down 3 little pigs houses lol) i failed HORRIBLY!  After stopping my dairy in could take down their houses and more.So much info here, I need to take it in better, but I'm just too excited!!!!  When I picked her up from school, she looked great!  I was so worried about her all day long.  She got in the car smiling, and said, "It's the dairy!  I know it!  I haven't felt this good in a long time!  A long time!" Great news. Good job and a pat on the back for both of you.Awww :) She sounds like an awesome kid! Hehe i'm happy it's working.  Sounds like she has dairy intolerance.  They do have some lactaid stuff that you might want to keep in case you are somewhere that you can't help but feed something you don't know if it has dairy.
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