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Anyone want to share their boo-boos and snuffles?
I'm allergic to pollen, so I breatfeed DS extra long so he wouldn't be affected my bad allergy genes. Did he really need those extra 5 IQ points? For many years I cursed them - not I'm pleased. I do want him to grow up to be "who he is."

He's allergic to dust mites and some pollens. The mattress covers really seemed to help. Mild asthma, but stopped bothering him once he started playing Trombone. Go Musical Instruments!

Trinity

DS6 has to have an epipen for allergy to cashews and possibly almonds.

Interestingly, I'm allergic to mangos and highly reactive to poison ivy. These two and cashews are in the same family, and I LIVED on cashews when I was experiencing morning sickness while pregnant with him. My second choice to fight the nausea? Almonds! Coincidence? I don't think so!

DS3 doesn't seem to be allergic to anything yet, but I avoided all nuts while pregnant with him just to be safe. Of course, the chance that he's allergic to the same thing as his brother is slim. It is highly likely that he's allergic to something though. Everyone else in the family is!

DD was allergic to eggs, milk, peanuts and tree nuts as an infant and toddler. At age 3, she outgrew the egg and milk allergies. She is also allergic to amoxicillin. She is still allergic to peanuts and nuts and has an epipen with her at all times. She reacts with hives if she touches furniture, play equipment, etc. that has traces of peanuts smeared on it. She also has environmental allergies and is on daily antihistamines.

DS was allergic to eggs and milk until he outgrew the milk at age 3. The allergist is very surprised that he has not outgrown the egg allergy. In fact, he tests more sensitive than before and his allergy is severe. He cannot tolerate flu shots because the vaccine is cultured in eggs. The last time he had a flu shot he had chronic hives for a month and had to be on multiple meds. to control the reaction. His environmental allergies are not too bad, but he is sensitive to artificial food coloring (hives.)

We have an egg, peanut and nut free house so I don't have to worry about someone accidentally eating the wrong thing or contaminated cutting boards or utensils.

I�m allergic to nature in general, but trees, grass and mosquitoes in particular. My kids, especially my daughter, have the same tendencies.

I was hyper allergic between pregnancies. I had hives for approximately six months straight. The allergist told me I was the second most allergic person he had ever seen because I welled up from every serum before he pricked my skin during testing. My lips blew up as if I got a bargain basement injection if I accidentally tasted the smallest amount of almonds, hazelnuts or macadamia nuts. When I became pregnant with my son, my severe allergies subsided.

Dottie--Watch the mangoes and cashews with your son. That family is pretty close!

And to all: I learned from the Discovery Channel that it's NOT the first exposure to an allergen that sees the first reaction. At least one exposure (and possibly more) are required to develop the antibodies that will cause the allergic reaction in some later exposure.

So if your child was stung by a bee once, don't breathe a sigh of relief that she's not allergic to bees. The first exposure is the ONLY one that you know WON'T cause a reaction!

I used to have epipens, but they expired and I haven�t replaced them. I think I will now. However, I do always have Benadryl (sp?) on hand. It probably saved my dog once when her lips and throat swelled up after she ate a bee!

Yup, Dottie, you read my (confusing) post correctly. It's a weird family tree that contains mangoes, poison ivy and cashews, but that's the family.

delbows: wow! I never knew a dog to need saving from an allergic reaction. Benadryl: friend to both man and beast!

Wow, interesting thread! In my family, we have a bee allergy, dust mite allergies, a sulfa drug allergy, and probably some seasonal pollen stuff as well, though that hasn't been documented. Two of the kids were lactose intolerant as youngsters, one outgrew it by age four and the other is still reacting at age 2.5.

Hmmm...I'm lactose intolerant, too, though I didn't find out until grad school. I wonder if that correlates to giftedness, too, or if it's just about your ancestry. That's what I've mostly read, but it's an interesting question.

Kriston-

I just want to mention that I have observed the weird mango/poison ivy connection myself. I couldn't understand why I kept getting poison ivy last year, in the fall after it was more difficult to contract. Turns out, a friend filled me in on the mango thing, as she'd been getting rashes too. I had been buying frozen mangoes and using them to make fruit smoothies. If I eat one mango in isolation, I am fine, but consuming the fruit several times a week was making me break out in rashes exactly like poison ivy!

I can't handle a lot fo dairy anymore myself. Going dairy-free fro years while nursing my first lactose sensitive babe seemed to affect my tolerance.

Glad to help Dottie! Heaven knows, I owe you guys a few for all the help you've given me!