Finally Got an MMR appointment!

Finally gt the MMR appointment as an inpatient in a Paederatric Ward in our nearset hospital.  It has been a struggle, alot of phone calls.  When you have a child with allergies you need a back bone and  be armed with information.  How do I feel?  Satisfied I am doing the best thing for Thomas but worried he may react!  But he can react any day to any thing at any time but this seems planned !!!   I will keep you posted....

Summer Salad

Egg free Pasta
Cherry Tomato
Cucumber
Parsley
Olive Oil
Tuna

Method
Boil egg free pasta as directed. 
Fry Tuna  5-10 mins on each side.  Chop into bite size.  Wash and chop tomatos, removing the seeds.  Slice cucmber (great finger food), Chop Parsley.  Toss every thing together season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. 

Great summer salad and finger food.

One month back at work and I am sorry I have been neglecting you all. Sometimes as a working mum some times something has to give and I am afraid it was this blog. But I am back, I have settled back into working, the kids have settled and I have finally organised childcare.

Can an "Allergy Mum" return to work safely? Yes! you can

It is not easy; it is not free from stress, worry and anxiety but it can be done. I felt sick with nerves because I have always been there. I knew exactly what he ate, drank and touched. I was in full control, the only person who could administers his drugs, when to administer his drugs and when not too. I was handing full control over to my lovely efficient intelligent aupair BUT and its a big BUT she was leaving at the end of the week. She knew Thomas, knew his allergies, the speed of an reaction and what to do!

So first day at work and I returned to an organised house and happy, excited children. And bang out of no where he reacts and his symptoms escalated quickly. With in minutes Thomas was barely recognisable. I used the emergency action plan step by step.

As a coping mechanism i convinced my self that he would be fine! I stared to worry about how this girl could watch three children and deal with Thomas promptly. I would have to re organise child care or was it worth returning to work?

In hindsight you to step back and reassess the situation, try to avoid making emotional decisions. I know this sounds very clinical. But time is a great healer. I looked at all options

• Sending Thomas out of the home to a childminder to be cared for on his own by a lady who had allergies. (But i didn't want to separate him from his sister as they love each other company. Also my work shifts don't allow this as I am a nurse)
• Hire another aupair so have two aupairs (sanity alone wont allow this and after our french aupair it surprising I am allowing another enter the house)

So my decision is to keep one aupair long term contract and during the summer or holidays and local girl comes in to care for the other two. The eldest boy is in play school Monday to Friday and my husband is working from home.

Is this the right decision? For us it is the correct decision for now ! Along the way we will have to reassess and maybe change it around.

But the basics have helped

1. Emergency Action Plan
2. This blog the aupairs use to learn about allergies
3. Pre-cooked and frozen food for Thomas
4. Thomas shelf in the fridge and cupboard
5. Strictly no food should be given to Thomas unless it has been trialed and tested by me.
6. Strict hand washing and preventing cross contamination

Food Allergy Tip #2

Food Allergy Tip #2

Please read

Food Allergy Tip #1

Food Allergy Tip #1

Just love this!

Milk Allergy - Living Without Article

Milk Allergy - Living Without Article

Milk Allergy - Living Without Article

Milk Allergy - Living Without Article  

This article is very informative..... It really looks at the difference between intolerance and allergies.  Please have a read

Job Offer Allergy Mum cant refuse!

Well Thankfully I have taken my own advice and this job offer is not as stressful as it could be!
Emergency Action Plan; Check
Seperate Cupboard for safe food for Thomas; Check
Lots of frozen safe meals clearly labelled; Check
Child Carer trained but new girl comming Monday (cant be avoided)

So I am off to work very nervous about leaving my little man!  Any advice?

My MMR decision making process??

Read how I made my MMR decision? Go to  http://allergybab.blogspot.com/

Vegetable Stock

I am just in the door after finishing the weekly food shop.... I use this as an oppurtunity to clean out the fridge.  Rather than throwing out those wilting vegetables out make a vegetable stock.

There is no science to this..... put you vegetables into a pot with bay leaf, thymne and parsley.  Season with Salt and Pepper.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Strain into a jug.

1. Place it in a jug in the fridge
2. Or freeze in ice cube trays in the freezer.

Having to shop for a child with allergies can get expensive this way you can cut down on cost.

NEW when you Join http://allergybab.blogspot.com/

When you subscribe by email you will receive a starter package. It will contain:
1. Action Plan
2. Food Diary
3. Shopping List
4. How to prepare for Doctors/Specialist appointment?

things to help you get started....
You can also email me for advice and support via Post...

Egg Allergy What does this mean?

This week I am focusing on Egg Allergies.  I will focus on

• What is an Egg Allergy?
• Labelling reading and alias names for egg?
• What does this mean for Flu Virus and MMR injections?
• All Recipes on my Blog are Egg free.

http://allergybab.blogspot.com/

Egg Allergy What is best practise for administration of the MMR?

Very confused at present... My GP wants Thomas admitted for MMR due to his Egg Allergy.  Immunisation Ireland state there is no link between Egg Allergies and MMR  other literature states that the vaccine is cultured in egg and may contain egg protein????? Any advice?

Don't throw out your chicken carcass!

Sunday's roast dinner is always a favourite here.  Since Thomas has started on solids, we give him mixed vegetables and chicken.  I make the stuffing with olive oil.  So there is no dairy.  Be careful there is soya and milk in most gravies. I use the carcass and vegetables from the fridge a sprig of thyme, bay leaf and parsley. Strain into a jug.  You can freeze in ice cube trays or bags and use when you need them. Stock dosent last long in this house.  I use it to cook Thomas rice, couscous and mix through his potato to add flavour.

1000ml of water
Chicken Carcass/ left over chicken 
Bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme, bay leaf and parsley
Un cooked Vegetables chopped roughly
Season with salt and pepper

1. Put everything in to a large pot.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes
3. Strain into a jug.

Dairy, Egg and Soya Free Home Baked White Bread

Making my own bread is easier than I expected.. Due to Thomas's Dairy, Soya and Tree Nut allergies bakeries are not an opinion. So I invested in a food processor with a dough hook.  I mix the mixure up before the school run.  Put cling filim over it and pop in to the airing cupboard or the bottom oven of the range here it is nice and hot to assist the rising.  It normally takes 1 hour.  Knead it again with the dough hook and place in oven.  This recipe is for 2 loaves.

 Dairy, Egg and Soya Free White Bread
 
750g of strong white flour
2 1/2 tsp dried yeast or 20g fresh yeast or 1 1/2 fasting acting sachets of yeast.
1tsp Salt
2tsp caster sugar
425ml warm water
4tbsp of olive oil

1. Sieve the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into your  processor bowl
2. Add some of the water, turn the processor on adding the water and oil. 
3. Allow the food processor to knead for 5 minutes. You can tidy up or make someone lunch!!
4. Place the dough into an oiled larger bowl and cover with oiled cling film.  Leave it some where warm for 1-2 hour until it has doubled in size.
5 Box it, knock back or punch down to deflate the dough and take it out of the bowl. Place it on a lightly floured board.  Knead for 2-3 minute. Rest for 10 minutes.
6 Preheat oven for 220 C or 425F Gas mark 7.
7. Cut it in half and make into an oval or place in a loaf tin.You can put it in the oven at this stage and cook for 35 to 45 minutes.  Or you can losely cover with oiled cling film and allow to rise again for 20-30 minutes.
8. Turn it out of the tin and allow to cool on wire rack so it doesn't get soggy.

Enjoy... Thomas loves his with marmite...

Friday's Fish Fingers and Chips (Dairy and Soya Free)

This is possibly not the healthy opinion for Fish and Chips but it is delicious.  The fish just melts in you mouth.  Together the fish fingers and chips make great finger food. I first made this batter when pregnant with my little girl and had seriously craved Sushi!!!  I calmed the craving by making tempura vegetables and noodle soup.  The oil used is sunflower oil and Thomas is not allergic. This is a real family treat.

Fish

I use Pollock and cut in to rectangles 2cm * 4cm. You can use any fish eg cod, salmon etc

Batter

3 1/2 ounces of self raising flour
125mls of sparkling water

Slow add the sparkling water and flour together until  it is lump free and the figure 8 remains on the top.
Coat the Pollock with the batter.

Heat the oil (I use deep fat fryer) to 190 and the batter turns brown when you add the fish.  Cook in oil for 6-8 minutes  CAUTION hot oil can be very dangerous do not leave unattended.

Remove place on kitchen paper  to remove some of the fat.


Add the chips to oil and cook for 6-8 minutes.

I cut the chips and fish length ways to allow heat out.



With the remaining batter I coated Courgettes and Aubergines... Just to kill the guilt and add some vegetables.  He loved them also!

What exactly is dairy and soya free diet?

I never realised how many alternative names milk and soya can appear under.  Labelling reading is a whole new language.  It is estimated to take 20 minutes extra, to complete grocery shopping for a child with allergies.  When Thomas was first diagnosised with his allegies I went on my own to late night shopping.  Therefore reducing the chances of being interupted by your own children and avoiding melt down at the frozen section.
It gets easier you become famaliar with what you can and cant buy.  Try some new on its own so you can pin point what does and does not suit your baby.  For more information on milk and soya free diet go to http://allergybab.blogspot.com/

Pork Liver Apple and Vegetables

I spend a lot of time trying to introduce Iron into Thomas diet.  In Liver there is a high source of iron.  But not everyone like Liver so I added Apple and Sweet Potato to sweeten it.  by adding the apple you are naturally improving the absorbtion of the iron.

4 ounces Pork Liver (chicken if you can source it)
1 ounce of chopped onion
1 large sweet potato chopped
1 large potato chopped
1 parsnip chopped
1 apple sliced
8fl ounces of vegetable stock

Clean the liver removing any fat or gristle.  Saute the onion in vegetable oil.  Remove and place on a plate.  Cook the liver 1 minute each side.  Add back the onion and chopped vegetables.  Pour over all the stock and simmer for 20 minutes.  I pureed the liver so I didnt chop it and mixed it through mashed vegetables to provide a lumpy texture. But you can puree it all for smaller babies.

Surprisingly very tasty! 

WHO | Formulas containing hydrolysed protein for prevention of allergy and food intolerance in infants

WHO | Formulas containing hydrolysed protein for prevention of allergy and food intolerance in infants

Food Safety Authority

We are our childrens advocates; so therefore we need to arm ourselves with information.  This summaries the labelling legistration in Ireland...

 

http://www.fsai.ie/faq/allergens.html#legislation

Reflux, Asthma and Ezcema are warning signs for Intolerances and Allergies

"Arching back means reflux,  Knees to the tummy means colic"  Wise words from my GP a mother of 4 boys.  Both of my older children were diagnosed with silent reflux and were successfully treated with Gaviscon.  At home all the cots are elevated at the head, sleep apnea mats under the mattress and Gaviscon in the medicine cupboard.  After each feed I would sit them in a bouncer for 30 minutes before bed.  I watched out for the signs and symptoms; discomfort after feed, arching back, crackling upper airway, strong acidic smell from spit/vomit, unable to lie down after feeding. 

So when Thomas was born I asked for him to be prescribed Gaviscon.  All 3 children were breastfed.  I found that with each individual child there were different triggers that would exacerbate their reflux for example citrus juice, broccoli, olives or sparkling water.   In addition to Thomas reflux,  if I ate dairy products e.g soft cheese, cheese cake, ice cream it would reflect on Thomas' skin.  His face would flare up and become itchy. He was also showing signs of asthma.  So I cut out all of the foods that increased reflux and now I was cutting out dairy. Much to my disappointment, I had to stop breast feeding I couldn't control his symptoms. 

Recently I read that if your baby has reflux, asthma and eczema they are high risk of presenting with allergies.  In addition it is recommended that if your baby reacts to dairy whilst been breastfed, he/she chances of being allergic to dairy is high.  I wish I had explored this area of research before offering him milk formula.  He reacted to milk formula. Initially, it was a mild rash but a typical allergic reaction starting on the chest and moving up to his face.  My GP recommended soya milk so off we went with our soya milk but he couldn't keep it down without two sachets of Gaviscon. He appeared lethargic and groggy.  His first major reaction was to porridge with fortified milk.  Which I have described on my http://allergybab.blogspot.com/.  We saw an Immunology Specialist and she stopped the soya.  Because if you baby is allergic to the protein in milk they are likely to be allergic the protein in soya.  Thomas was commenced on amino acids hypo allergic formula.  Within 3 days he was a different child, he started to roll and move and interact more. 

All children were different, Thomas was more complicated than the other two children.   Initially, he had reflux but quickly presented with eczema and asthma.  So if you have a baby with any one or more of the above look at their feed.  I wish I had put it all together.  I started a blog  http://allergybab.blogspot.com/  to help mums who are in the middle of that haze of confusion.  I am also on twitter at #IrishAllergyMum. On the blog I look at allergies, intolerance and sensitivities.  I would love to help mums by sharing my experiences, problem solving and provide advice on emergency action plans, food diary and dairy and soya free recipes for babies.

This was a guest blog for baby eureka who focus on reflux recovery www.babyeureka.com

Delay in Milk Allergy Diagnosis

This makes a very interesting read..http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6157490.stm
Education and awareness in the diagnosis of milk allergies needs to heightened.  My son first is a classic milk allergy case, presenting eith ezcema, reflux and asthma whilst breast feeding.  I spoke to my GP in relation to cutting out dairy in my diet ti control his skin condition.   Thomas was also commenced on Soya Milk which did not improve his condition.  After seeing a allergist who stopped his soya milk he was a different child after 3 days and has not looked back.  

Allergy Proofing a Party

If a parent informs you that their child has an allergy don't stress out!  With some common sense and logic you can safely allergy proof your party.  Talk to the parents ask them about the allergy.
1 What is the allergy?
2. How does it affect the child?
3. What foods they can and cant have?
4. At the party show the parent the food and drinks being served and ensure that they are happy.  With severe   allergies the parent may supply their own food.
5. Ask the parent to stay  if you are concerned or nervous.
6.  Does the child require adrenaline and if they do where is it?  And do they have an action plan? 
7.  In my opinion, if a child requires adrenaline and you are not happy to medicate ( very reasonable fear) ask the parent to stay.

I can promise you the parent will be delighted and relieved if you show that you are interested.  Go tohttp://allergybab.blogspot.com/ for more advice on a common sense approach to allergy proofing a party.

Afraid of introducing fish to your allergy baby!

Ohhhh how I put off the introduction of fish... As fish is one of the top 8 allergens I was very nervous about introducing fish.   If you baby is allergic to fish I would recommend do not introduce fish without medical supervision.  Avoidance is the best treatment.   However, I followed these steps:
1.  His blood results were negative to fish allergies. So speak to you Immunologist about you babys blood results.
2. If you are introducing a new food, pick lunch time or morning time. 
3. Inform your partner or friend so you have support if needed.
4. Ensure you know where his/her medication are.
5.Try a small amount, they will react within a few minutes if they are going to react.
6. Observe after the meal, some times they will develop a hive rash under the chin, behind their legs.  Treat as instructed by your specialist eg antihistamine.  If this occurs stop feeding and treat.  Follow your action plan.

On http://allergybab.blogspot.com we advice on signs and symptoms of analphlaxis and action plans.

Dairy,Soya and Egg Free Pancakes

This are super fluffy delicious pancakes for finger food and one the whole family can enjoy. You can add blueberries and/or diced banana into the cold mixture.

Ingredients
150g of white flour
3 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 pinch of salt
2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
45mls of melted margarine*
210 mls of water/ rice milk*

1. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a meduim mixing bowl.
2. Melted the margarine and add to the water/rice milk and mix well.
3. Stir the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Until moistened dont worry if there are some lumps. However, if you are like me and tied for time put everything into the blender and blitz! You can add blue berries and banana after blitzing.
4. Cook the pancakes until they are bubbly on the top and the bottom is golden brown approx 4 mins.
5. Flip over you pancakes cook the other side.


For over 1 year you can serve with honey/maple syrup. or slice as great finger for food.

Notes *
Rice Milk is dairy and lactose free, gluten free, low in saturated fats. It is made from water and rice. It does not contain as much calcium and protein as normal cows milk but most commerical rice milk are foritified with calcium,, vitamins thiamine, B6 and B12.

Margarine- This is a tricky find in Ireland however, there are dairy free, soya free maragines on the market in large shopping stores. I rubbed the maragine on Thomas leg first to test for allergy and then used with potato or dairy free homemade bread. I will not recommend a brand as I think this is individual to the child. But you can email me for ideas.

Food allergy safety: Avoiding cross-contamination in your home

Food allergy safety: Avoiding cross-contamination in your home

Cross contamination of foods with allergenic ingredients

Cross contamination of foods with allergenic ingredients

Video on Allergy to Milk

http://video.about.com/foodallergies/Learn-About-Dairy-Allergies.htm

Dairy free soya free nut oil free butter

I have just rubbed pure sunflower butter on to Thomas knee to test if he will react.  He hasnt so I am about to mash it into his mashed potatos wish me luck!

Allergist and Dietician

Please ensure you are refered to an allergist and dietican.  This may seem basic but allergy awareness in Ireland needs work... My son was discharged from A&E without a referal. Also no one mentioned an emergency action plan.  My GP organised an emergency appointment.

If you havent done an action plan please do one now.  I have customise the action plan http://www.anaphylaxisireland.ie/downloads/ManagingChronicHealthConditonsatSchool.pdf   I have added relative phone numbers,  directions to the house and house phone number and what to say when you get through to emergency services eg name, age, allergies - drugs given.