Food Allergy Living Blog Tagged Results

Through our 1-800-Neocate information line we get a lot of questions but we also hear a lot of great stories from parents who deal with the effects of their child having a milk allergy every day. We love hearing those stories and we love to share them with other food allergy parents who are coping with the same situations.

With that in mind the old way of sharing your stories, recipes and photos – via snail mail - is slow, cumbersome and just a little tough for most busy parents to put together, pack it up and send into us. So our team of nutritionists has worked diligently to provide all of you with easier ways to share what you love to share the most.

If you have an account on Facebook, feel free to become a fan of our Neocate Fanpage where you can:

• Post questions, comments, suggestions, recipes & stories
• Add your photos (parents love to share their before & after photos of their children)
• Add videos
• Start discussions about relevant topics like the new Texas State Insurance Reimbursement Laws

If you are an avid user of MySpace, we just started our MySpace Neocate profile and you can read snippets of our blog posts over there (so you can decide quickly if our latest informational post is of interest to you), see photos and interact with us there by commenting on our wall.

And for those avid Twitter users out there, we didn’t forget you either. We’ve got our own Neocate Twitter account where we tweet out links to our latest blog posts, answer questions about Neocate and give suggestions where we can. We’re also looking into hosting some Tweetchats in the future about dealing with food & milk allergies, so keep your eyes open for that! We recognize that in today’s busy world sometimes it’s just easier to connect with us through the places where you are already actively participate and we wanted to make it easier for all of you to do so. So come on over and join the discussions, we’d love to hear what you have to say!

- Sarah

Over the past few years we’ve had some great guest bloggers share their personal experiences with food allergies. We wanted to highlight some of our favorites for you below. These food allergy parents and advocates have some great stories and advice to contribute!

Dealing with a New Diagnosis of Food Allergy

This entry was written by Lynda Mitchell, founder and president of Kids With Food Allergies, a national non-profit food allergy support group. She discusses the confusion some parents feel when their child is first diagnosed with a food allergy.

Silent Aspirations

Susan Weissman, author of the blog Peanutsineden.com and a writer for the Huffington Post, is currently working on a memoir about the challenges of parenting her allergic child. Her blog focuses on her son Eden and the difficulties associated with eating out and being different from other kids his age.

Never Let Food Allergies Stop You!

The founder of AllergyMoms.com and author of One of the Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies, Gina Clowes, shared this blog entry with us. In it she shares Washington Capitals player Tom Poti’s message for children with food allergies.

Nick’s Story

After Karen Wylie’s son Nick was born, he often refused to eat and when he did he would cry in pain afterwards. Karen Wylie shared her story and how they were finally able to diagnose Nick with a milk protein intolerance, reflux and eosinophilic esophagitis.

Sam’s Story

Jodie DiMisa, mother of 3, shared her family’s experience. Her son Sam was diagnosed with milk and soy allergies and severe reflux. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of her trials, because their insurance company wouldn’t cover the Neocate he needed to survive.

Eva’s Story

Chris Kozimor wasn’t sure why her newborn daughter Eva would not stop crying. After months of worry, her pediatrician diagnosed Eva with a milk protein allergy and she found relief with an elemental formula.

Do any of you want to share your experiences having a child with food allergies? Let us know and you could be our next guest blogger!

-Sarah

Facebook might not be the first place you think to look when it comes to searching for info about your child with food allergies or other GI conditions. In fact, I was a little hesitant when someone suggested we start up a Neocate Facebook fan page. But as I’ve become more familiar with the tool, I’ve discovered that there are many great fan pages and groups on Facebook devoted to the topic of food allergies. And it really is a helpful tool for connecting to other parents that might be going through similar situations and share stories, news and advice.

Some of my Facebook favorites include:

• American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders
• Best Allergy Sites
• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
• Go Dairy Free
• Kids With Food Allergies

You can also join the discussion on the Neocate fan page. We sometimes offer coupons to Fans and parents have found that it’s a good place to share their stories with other parents, get answers to their Neocate and allergy-related questions, and keep up to date on allergy related news and more!

Do you have a favorite Facebook fan page or group? Let us know in the comments!

-Nita

While it makes me sad to see stories like Teddy’s, a 4-year-old boy with extreme food allergies who was featured on CNN.com last week, I am also glad to see that food allergy stories are getting more coverage. And that means that food allergy awareness is growing, which is a great thing.

Teddy is allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts, and has to stay away from all places where allergen exposure is possible - that means no baseball games or ice cream parlors. However, Teddy’s parents have worked hard to keep him safe, and have even found several foods that are safe for him to eat: meats, vegetables, fruits and most grains.

While it’s been hard for Teddy and his family, they are making it work. I particularly like their idea of labeling the foods in their house with stickers so they know what’s “Teddy safe” and what’s not.

To read the entire story on CNN.com, click here.

As we know, food allergies are on the rise. However, as awareness increases, hopefully safety measures will increase as well.

For more food allergy safety tips, click here to read an entry my fellow blogger wrote on a new food allergy safety resource.

Do you have any interesting food allergy safety tips?

- Nita

ABC News is planning a television segment on food allergy labeling and advisory labeling laws and would like to speak with allergy families. Specifically, the network would like to interview families who have a child who has had an allergic reaction from mis-labeled or non-labeled packaged food items since 2006.

The segment will air in March, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

If you are interested, please send a brief description of your family’s experience and your contact information (email, phone number, address) to Barbara Rosenstein, director of communications for the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) at media@faiusa.org or 212-207-1998 by tomorrow, February 3rd.

- Nita

Gina Clowes is the founder of AllergyMoms.com. We would like to thank her for guest blogging for us and sharing her family's allergy story.

Note: This article was originally written for Health Central: My AllergyNetwork.com. To view the article there, click here.

One of my industry contacts sent me a link to a very interesting study recently released by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Their report, appropriately titled the 2008 State Honor Roll - Annual Report of the State Asthma and Allergy Policies for Schools, represents a wealth of comparative information in regard to how well each state in the U.S. deals with asthma and allergy in its public schools.

According to the executive summary of the report, "AAFA research and policy experts, in consultation with leaders in the fields of medicine, education and advocacy, identified 18 types of "policy standards" relating to asthma and allergies in schools that currently appear in states across the U.S. Three broad categories of policy types were assessed:

• Medication & Treatment
• Awareness
• School Environment

Researchers determined which states currently had most or all of the 18 policy standards in place and considered these states to be at the forefront asthma and allergy school advocacy. States with a minimum of 15 of the 18 policy standards in place are named "Honor Roll" states. These states represent good models for policymakers, administrators, teachers, parents and advocates in other states."

As a parent of a food allergic child, the first thing I did was dig into the report and find out how my state, Pennsylvania, stacked up. Of course, I found that my state is somewhere in the middle of the pack with regard to the policy stances studied in the document. Nowhere near the bottom, thankfully, but sadly also nowhere near the top.

I was surprised to see that Pennsylvania passed the self-carry law for epinephrine. Sara Shannon (an advocate from Canada who lost her daughter to food allergies) and I worked with Pennsylvania State Senator Orie who sponsored SB731, but the last I heard the bill was in the Pennsylvania House Education Committee. If it has passed, I will very happy to hear it.

But I think the real power of this report is its ability to compare states on these policies, which is something that might be impossible if it were not for this report. Here are a couple of things that I observed and that I thought were especially interesting:

1. The states achieving the highest success in setting policy for asthma and allergy are largely in the northeastern U.S. The exception to that statement is the state of Washington . Why is this? Is it a reaction to the incidence of asthma and allergy in those states (possibly)? Is it the power of advocacy in those states (maybe)? Is it that the legislators in those states are especially wise when it comes to dealing with asthma and allergy policy? For those of us who live in these states, we should be thanking our lucky stars. And for those of us who don't, this report should motivate us to ask our legislators for changes. I think that this report could provide some powerful ammunition.

2. There is a huge variation in asthma and allergy policy from one state to another. Having been involved with food allergy advocacy for years, I guess that I always knew of the differences in policy between states. In certain areas (medication policies, for instance), many states have addressed an important health concern, and this report points that out. But what I wasn't aware of is the vast differences among the states in dealing with other aspects of asthma and allergy policy. The AAFA Honor Roll presents this information in an easy-to-read format, and this could, once again, become a powerful advocacy tool.

There are several areas where I'd love to see improvement in Pennsylvania, my state. For example, it would be wonderful if Pennsylvania legislators would mandate indoor air quality policies or requirements. My sons go to a very old elementary school and I'm sure that the mold takes its toll on kids who have allergies and asthma.

I also think it would be very important to track and report severe asthma and allergic reactions. There are other places where Pennsylvania falls short, for example our state has not mandated "no smoking" on school buses but I'm pretty sure this one is in effect anyway. I can't imagine anyone smoking on a school bus, at least not with permission.

Obviously state laws to protect asthmatic and food allergic children get the attention of school districts. And, this report could be a useful tool to help parents pursue legislation in their states by pointing out what other states have already done. Although I am aware that parents even in the "honor roll" states still have issues keeping their food allergic children safe at school, each of these laws provide another layer of protection and awareness. I

think that this report is long overdue, and I recommend that you spend a few minutes to learn a little more.

- Gina Clowes

Here at Baby Health Blog, we’ve been actively following allergy legislation on a state-by-state basis. A great story just came out in Baltimore’s Child on one family’s journey with a milk protein allergy.

Click here for the entire article!

And, for more information on the Maryland legislation click here.

Reminder for all Maryland parents, the law goes into effect on October 1, 2008.

- Sarah

We would like to thank Karen Wylie for guest blogging for us and sharing her family's allergy story.

People thought “it couldn’t really be that bad.”
People thought “he will just grow out of it.”
People thought “he really must be sleeping more than she says.”
People thought “lots of kids have colic.”

But I KNEW. Parents do. Deep down you know when something is just not right. I knew when my breast milk came in that Nick wasn’t reacting well. After a short feed he would cry and curl up into a ball. The pediatrician at the hospital told me that it sometimes happened as babies adjusted to the milk. So I smiled tiredly, accepted that and went home.

Around 4 weeks, it got worse. Nick would attach well to the breast, then pull off when the milk let down. He would scream and scream – I wouldn’t even call it a cry. He couldn’t sleep, burp or even poo without medication. Any more than 2 hours sleep – day or night – was a miracle in our house. He tried to feed constantly – but it was like waging war with himself. He desperately wanted to feed, but for some reason he couldn’t tolerate it.

People close to us tried to help, they really did. Practical things like taking the baby for a walk, bringing milk and bread and cleaning my house. People close to me knew something was wrong too. They were wonderful.

I was lucky, truly lucky, to stumble across the right people. My local children’s health nurse supported me tirelessly and questioned “silent reflux”. Nick was given a series of reflux medications, as well as soy free, lactose free and hypoallergenic formulas. Elimination diet for me.

In the end, I went to a new pediatrician. The day we went, Nick had not drunk anything from a bottle for 36 hours and would not breastfeed for more than 2 minutes. Despite our most valiant efforts, he was losing between 50 – 150 g each week. It was hopeless. Then a miracle. In the waiting room at the pediatricians’ office, he breastfed for 5 minutes or more without crying. He was silent and happy and he even dozed in my arms.

So in to the pediatrician I go…with a fed happy and sleeping child. I walked in and said, “You must think I am a complete fraud.” He was wonderful. I will never forget him. He took one look at me and said, “I judge babies by how the mother is doing…and you look terrible. Tell me what has been going on.”

It turned out Nick had protein intolerance. He had reflux, yes, but he also developed eosinophilic esophagitis, so when he did feed, it became so painful he couldn’t tolerate it at all.

We were prescribed an elemental formula – Neocate – to try. At Nick’s first attempt, he took 50 mls without stopping. I was so happy I cried. And from there, he grew stronger and stronger. He gradually regained all his weight and then some. He smiled, laughed and even slept. Life was wonderful.

For us, we had our happy, healthy baby at last. Neocate was our little miracle. And the people I found eventually who led us there – our children’s health nurse and our pediatrician - are the heroes of our story because without them, I really am not sure we would have had such a happy ending.

So if this sounds like your story too, then I say this to you:
- Go out and find the help you need.
- Trust the people who believe you.
- Ignore those people who offer unwanted advice or make you feel like an incompetent parent.
- Accept help, any practical help, that is offered.

Your job as a parent is to do the best you can for your child, and that means you need to find the best people you can to believe in you and help you find the happiest ending you can in your own story.

- Karen Wylie

We would like to thank Jodie DiMisa for guest blogging for us and sharing her family's allergy story.

I'm a mother of 3, which keeps me busy enough. But to have a son with milk and soy allergies and severe reflux, life became crazy.

My son Sam was born early and spent extra time at the hospital. It was very hard to come home without my son but I knew he was in the best place to remain safe and become healthy. When the day came to bring him home, it was very exciting buy also a little scary. He came home with a visiting home nurse who could monitor him on a regular basis to make sure he continued to thrive. Shortly after he came home the signs of allergies and reflux started to show. He was cranky and cried all the time, losing weight, a stool after every bottle, spiting up all the time and more. Then he was labeled "failure to thrive." I sat at the doctor's office and cried. No parent wants there child to suffer and not be able to eat. Unfortunately, I was no stranger to these symptoms. My first child Patrick also had allergies and severe reflux.

My pediatrician Dr. Liu was wonderful and knew I had the experience of knowing what to look for. I took several samples of Sam's stools to the doctor and they were full of blood. His intestines were bleeding out and his stomach was a mess. With the positive stools samples, we immediately changed his formula to Neocate. The amino acid based formula is what he needed. Within a short period of time, he started gaining weight back and the bloody stools stopped. As a parent you vow to do anything and everything for your child, so when you’re told your child has a medical issue causing you to have to purchase an expensive formula to eat and survive, you find a way to buy it.

When my oldest son was diagnosed with these same issues, I fought hard with the insurance company. Appeal after appeal, writing letters, phone calls, going in front of a board of doctors and nurses, just to be turned down time and time again. They said since it was formula and that was a means of food, it was a nutritional issue and not a medical issue, therefore not covered by insurance. I felt so defeated and very alone.

When Sam came along I started my fight all over again. Even though he was my 3rd child and I had experience dealing with these problems, it was still exhausting and mentally draining. You feel like you’re the only one out there with a child that is not the "text book baby". The questions of "why me?" played in my mind over and over again.

I ended up having to quit my job to take care of Sam. He was such a demanding baby and not happy 24 hours a day. Between the medication schedule and his medical issues, my daycare provider just couldn't handle him. We then became a one income family with 3 children and the expense was overwhelming.

When I was informed the Governor Martin O'Malley (D) signed into law that insurance companies now have to provide benefits for families of children like mine and many other families for medically necessary formula in Maryland, tears came to my eyes. This is such wonderful news and parents of these children will now have the help they so desperately need and deserve. I encourage every parent to be in contact with their insurance company to find out about the benefits you’re entitled to.

Sam will be turning 1 in November and hopefully by then will have out grown his allergies and reflux. I may not benefit much from the new law, but it warms my heart that other parents like me with these children will no longer have to fight the battle with insurance companies so they can feed there kids.

Remember, many parents are in your same position and you’re not alone. Just look down at your son or daughter and the smile will make it all worth it.

- Jodie DiMisa

We would like to thank Chris Kozimor for guest blogging for us and sharing her family's allergy story.

I became a mother, I had heard all the stories of how hard it is to have a baby and how you don’t get any sleep. So when my daughter, Eva, was born and cried all the time, I thought it was normal.

I actually had friends tell me that they’ve decided not to have children after seeing how awful I looked and how Eva just kept crying and crying! She would only sleep 10 minutes at a time. Everything I fed her just came up and made her unhappy. My sister nicknamed her “the angry red star” because she would turn red and her legs and arms would stick out and she would just scream.

I eventually stopped breastfeeding, thinking that maybe she was just not liking my milk. But still, I was warned that having a baby was challenging and difficult so I just thought I had a normal baby.

Then, Eva started developing a horrible diaper rash that wouldn’t go away, no matter what type of ointment or medicine I put on her. It got to the point that she would scream every time she went to the bathroom (which is frequent for a newborn!). I called the pediatrician who recommended I put Eva on Nutramigen, as well as to try to let her sleep in the car seat to ease her reflux. It was better, but Eva was still not a happy baby and her diaper rash did not go away.

Finally, after months of guilt and worry that I was just not a good mother, I talked to the pediatrician. After being even on Nutramigen, she tested Eva’s stool for blood, which came out positive. We went to a pediatric GI doctor who put her on Neocate. Within a week, her diaper rash completely disappeared and her spitting up improved. She stopped crying all the time and actually started sleeping! The blood in her stool was gone. She was happy and healthy.

I felt like a confident normal mother for the first time in 5 months! And it was so wonderful to enjoy my happy healthy baby.

-Chris Kozimor

A few weeks ago, I shared the story about a little boy named R.J. His primary milk protein allergy symptom, eczema, was much more visible than some of the other symptoms. I’d like to share another testimonial from a mother whose little girl displayed different symptoms with her milk protein allergy. What these two stories do have in common, though, is that both children suffered from symptoms that seem like just typical baby ailments so it took longer than it should have to get a correct diagnosis and start treatment.

From the first night that Jill brought her new little girl, Natalie, home from the hospital, she was sick to her tummy. Natalie suffered from painful gas, diarrhea and vomiting. Natalie was screaming constantly and it was taking a toll on the entire family. After weeks and numerous visits to the pediatrician, Natalie was finally given the correct diagnosis of a milk protein allergy and was put on an amino acid based formula. For the entire story, click here.

Unfortunately, I have talked to countless parents who experienced these, and the other symptoms of a milk protein allergy, often for too long than they should have.

If any of these symptoms sound a little too familiar to you, visit http://www.testforallergy.com/ for a quick “test” to see if your child is showing sings of a milk allergy. If so, the site will also provide you with helpful information you can discuss with the pediatrician.

- Sarah

Gina Clowes is the founder of AllergyMoms.com. We would like to thank her for guest blogging for us and sharing her family's allergy story.

Note: This article was originally written for Health Central: My AllergyNetwork.com. To view the article there, click here.

When my husband and I decided to have kids, I knew I would go back to work. I was one of those women who sneered at stay-home moms because "Motherhood is a relationship, not a career!"

I did end up going back after my first son was born, albeit part-time. I had a terrific job, an adorable son, excellent childcare (Grandma) and a meticulously clean house. After a few years, my husband and I felt another child would complete our family. Since moms are often more relaxed and experience the second time around, I looked forward to an easy time where I'd do an even better job as a parent now that I knew the ropes. I'm sure that somebody up there somewhere got a chuckle out of our assumption that we could improve on the perfection of the first.

After my second son was born, the option of returning to work immediately evaporated, and so did the option of sleeping more than three consecutive hours. My newborn son - who was supposed to be the "easy" one -- was covered with head-to-toe hives on his second day of life and those hives stayed with him for years. The pediatrician joked that he had a "face that only a mother could love." When we brought him home from the hospital, he also had terrible acid reflux and we could not lay him down for fear that he would choke on his vomit. It was frightening, and there was no parenting book or motherly advice that was going to make it go away. We changed his diaper for 2 ½ years with his head propped up on pillows.

His first year of life was a whirlwind of acid reflux, eczema, hives, ear infections and lack of sleep. The pediatrician said he'd grow out of the acid reflux. She told me to count how many times he spit up in a day. I stopped counting after eight times in 30 minutes. For his first 15 months, I slept sitting against the headboard of my bed with my son lying face down on my chest.   

Confirming a Food Allergy Diagnosis  

Every chance I got, I'd jump online to earn a few more credits toward my Google MD. I learned words like atopic dermatitis and urticaria and immunoglobulin E (IgE). After discussing this with my real doctor, she suggested I avoid dairy, then soy, then egg, then wheat, but still things were not better. Of course I was eating peanut butter rice cakes and munching on pistachios for protein. We did allergy skin testing and it was negative. (I later learned that infant skin sometimes does not contain enough mast cells to show a reaction.)

After numerous doctor appointments and conflicting diagnoses, we packed up our family and drove nine hours to New York City to the Jaffe Food Allergy Clinic at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. There, we were able to see one of the leading pediatric allergists in the country. I was hoping he would tell me I was just an anxious mom. But instead he confirmed that our son had over a dozen food allergies, some life threatening. He told us our son should never be without epinephrine.

That was the beginning.

The doctor explained that since I was breastfeeding, I had to avoid all the foods to which he was allergic, including milk, wheat, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, garlic, banana and more. It wasn't easy, but unlike any reducing diet I'd ever gone on (and gone right back off), this one was for my son. Cheating on the diet was not an option.

The good news is that I fit into my jeans from college. The bad news is that I was so cranky, tired and miserable that no one wanted to be around me.

It was very difficult to go to parties or bunko or even out to dinner. I avoided so many foods that I'd really long for what others were eating. I knew that I was only on the diet for a limited time (six months), while my son would be on this diet indefinitely. It was only the first glimpse at how challenging his life would become.

Support From Friends and Family

As we shared the news of my son's food allergies with friends and family, we naively assumed that they would rush to learn as much as possible and do whatever they could to accommodate him. Many pleasantly surprised us, but others never really learned enough to gain our confidence.

The pressure and stress that this invisible condition creates can affect everyone in the family. It is so important to get support from family and friends but also from other allergy moms and dads. There is a comradery there and an understanding that those outside the "allergy world" will never get. The exclusion and isolation that can occur is often just as difficult as managing the special foods and the potential for anaphylaxis.

Any mom can tell you that there is no greater pain in life than seeing your child hurt, physically or emotionally. Yet sometimes getting roughed up a little in life brings out the best in us and our kids too. We empathize with our son, but we teach him that food allergies won't stop him from being every thing he was meant to be.

So this story ends with me back at work, but this time I don't need to leave the house. I now facilitate a local support group and am active in food allergy advocacy. I have an online support group with thousands of members worldwide, and I have a children's book due out this summer. This is not the life I would have ever imagined, but it's a terrific one. We don't get to choose our cards in life. All we can do is the best job we can with the cards that we're dealt.

- Gina Clowes

The other nutrition specialists and I often hear stories from parents about the (often too long) process of getting their child diagnosed and treated for a milk protein allergy. Some families even write up their experiences for us and allow us to share them with other parents. I just re-read one recently about a little boy named RJ (for the full testimonial, click here). By the time R.J. was four months old, he had a painful, itchy, red rash all over his body. He was miserable and in pain.

R.J.’s parents took him to several doctors who tried all these different treatments, but none of them worked.

After months of misery for RJ (and the rest of the family), they finally found a pediatrician who identified the problem as a food allergy and recommended Neocate, an amino acid based formula for the little guy. Within a week, the rash was cleared up and R.J. was a happy, healthy baby again.

This story is a reminder that eczema can be tough to figure out. Many doctors, like R.J.’s, think that eczema is always caused by a topical allergen. However, what many people don’t realize is that sometimes the cause of eczema is from the inside.

R.J. suffered from a severe case of eczema resulting from a milk protein allergy that caused not only him, but his whole family, to suffer. Something to consider if you notice a rash on your little one.

- Sarah

I know many of you allergy parents out there have had issues with the insurance coverage for your child's specialized formula.

Good Morning America would like to hear your story. The show is currently asking parents to submit stories about the struggles they have faced when dealing with insurance companies. If you are interested in sharing your personal story, click here for more information.

Twins Clare and Shane were born two months premature. In addition to dealing with the issues of prematurity, they were diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit started them on Neosure.

Clare and Shane immediately reacted negatively to the Neosure, crying for hours on end and arching their backs.

“I didn’t know what to do,” says Laura, the twins’ mother. “I thought I was a horrible mother because I could not comfort them.”

After reacting to the Neosure, the twin’s home care nurse switched Clare and Shane to Gentlease formula, but there was no change in their symptoms.

For five months, Clare and Shane had frequent visits with their neologist pediatrician and tried everything from switching formulas multiple times, varying feeding schedules and trying Zantac and Mylicon. Nothing seemed to ease their pain.

Finally, Clare and Shane’s visiting home nurse suggested that the twins try Neocate®, a hypoallergenic formula comprised of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) instead of the full or partial protein chains in other formulas.

After the first bottle, Clare and Shane showed instant improvement. “I had two completely different babies” says Laura.

Clare and Shane After Neocate

It took five long months for Clare and Shane to receive the right treatment option for their GERD. Once on Neocate, there was an immediate difference.

“Clare and Shane now laugh and smile,” says Laura. “They burp, get sleepy and barely ever cry.”

If you want to share your before and after photos, we’d love to see them! Send us an email at FoodAllergyLiving@nutricia.com.

Blake was only four days old, when he began burping up blood after being breastfed by his mother Allison. A few days later, the blood appeared in his stool as well.

“Blake was so unhappy,” says Allison. “He was crying all the time, was in so much pain that he couldn’t sleep at night and had extremely dry skin.”

Blake before Neocate

After noticing the blood in both Blake’s saliva and stool, Allison rushed him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a severe milk protein allergy.

Over the next three months, Blake saw a pediatrician, gastrointestinal specialist and an allergist about his milk allergy. In addition, he was switched from breast milk to Good Start and then to Nutramigen and Alimentum — but none of the formulas seemed to help.

Finally, the GI doctor recommended Blake try Neocate Infant — a hypoallergenic formula made up of individual amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that Blake could digest instead of the full or partial protein chains in the other formulas that caused him to have an allergic reaction.

Within three days of starting Neocate, Blake’s bleeding stopped and he began gaining weight.

Blake After Neocate

It took three long months before Blake received the treatment he needed for his milk protein allergy. Neocate relieved his pain and allowed him to sleep at night.

“After starting Neocate, Blake was like a new baby,” says Allison. “He was happy again!”

Born at just 34 weeks, Parker was a handsome baby. “The nurses would often tell me how beautiful Parker was as they were making their rounds through the NICU,” says his mother Cat.

But Parker, already a small baby because of his premature birth, started to lose weight soon after his arrival — losing over a pound off of his initial 5 lb. 11oz. birth weight. When his doctors tried new dietary measures to boost his weight, Parker started having gastrointestinal problems, with infrequent bowel movements and severe discomfort.

“He would go 4-5 days without a stool and be in extreme pain. Nothing helped, and his weight gain was very slow,” says Cat. “He went 12 days without a stool, and was admitted to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin for several days.”

Parker Before Neocate

When he was 8 weeks old, doctors suspected Parker was suffering from food allergies. After trying almost every other type of formula, including Nutramigen AA, Alimentum and Elecare, Cat did some research and decided to ask her doctor about Neocate. He agreed it was a good option and they made the switch when Parker was 14 weeks old. “Instantly, Parker quit fussing and within a few weeks I could see a complete change,” says Cat.

At 7 months old Parker was diagnosed with Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis and Colitis, but his mom still doesn’t have all the answers concerning his condition. He still has severe anaphylactic reactions to a wide variety of foods. “Parker cannot digest any solid proteins, including those found in carrots, avocados, sweet potatoes, apples, wheat, grains and gluten,” says Cat. “And those are just the ones he’s tried!”

However, with Neocate to supplement his diet, Parker began gaining weight. He went from the 2^nd weight percentile for his age to the 33^rd in just two months. Now, at 9 months Parker is in the 67^th percentile.

Parker After Neocate

While Parker has a lot of challenges left to face, he has made some big steps in managing his condition. Best of all, he is no longer in such great discomfort because of his dietary problems.

“He still has some catching up to do developmentally,” says Cat. “But he is the happiest kid on the block thanks to Neocate!”

If you want to share your before and after photos, we’d love to see them! Send us an email at FoodAllergyLiving@shsna.com.

Ken began to develop an itchy, red rash on his face when he was just two months old. The condition had worsened by the time he was four months old. Poor baby Ken was miserable, always crying and rubbing and scratching his face.

Since Ken’s parents had actually been through this before with their older son R.J., this time they knew just what to do.

“Since his older brother R.J. had the same problem and it improved so quickly with Neocate we were at ease knowing that Neocate would work for Ken as well,” said R.J.’s and Ken’s father.

Ken Before Neocate

At four months old, when Ken’s rash worsened, his parents switched him to Neocate, an elemental formula for infants and children with allergies to the protein in milk and soy products, which had been successful for Ken’s big brother RJ.

Some of the most common symptoms of milk protein allergy are vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stool and other gastrointestinal issues. However, many babies-like Ken and his older brother R.J.-experience painful skin rashes as a symptom of milk protein allergy, which can be relieved by removing the allergens from the diet. For Ken and R.J. the rash went away when they switched to Neocate, which contains individual amino acids instead of the protein chains they were allergic to.

“Within a few days, Ken’s face cleared up and he was no longer rubbing and scratching, Neocate was all it took to resolve the problem,” said R.J.’s and Ken’s father.

Ken and RJ After Neocate

Before Neocate Ken couldn’t help but rub and scratch at it his eczema. Now, thanks to his pediatrician and some help from big brother R.J. he is a happy healthy baby.

“Neocate products are invaluable to our family, R.J. is now four years old and thriving on Neocate One+ while Ken is rash free on Neocate Infant,” said R.J.’s and Ken’s father.

If you want to share your before and after photos, we’d love to see them! Send us an email at FoodAllergyLiving@shsna.com.

Our post today is a guest blog entry from Maria L. Acebal, J.D. the CEO of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN™), the trusted source for food allergies.  We’d like to thank Maria for guest blogging for us today.

Summer is almost over, and that means families all across the country are preparing to send their kids back to school.  Teachers have such an enormous responsibility in educating our kids.  If you have a child with food allergies, here is what you can do to help teachers confidently and effectively manage students’ food allergies.

• Plan ahead.  Fill out and submit all required medical forms on time and turn in medication appropriately labeled for your child.  Before you submit epinephrine auto-injectors and other medications to the school, check and record expiration dates.
• Build a team.  Managing a student’s food allergies includes not only their teacher, but also any adult who will supervise the student.  This includes, for example, the school’s principal, playground monitor, art teacher, and bus driver.  The whole team needs to be food allergy smart!  When educating the school about food allergies, make sure to include the entire team.
• Maintain open and ongoing dialogue.  “It’s all about frequent, calm, confident communication.”  I couldn’t agree more with this advice I once received from a mom in my local food allergy support group.

I remember my daughter Nina’s first day of pre-k at an international school as if it was yesterday.  She is anaphylactic to peanuts.  I hadn’t been able to meet with the teacher until the day before school started, as she was only then arriving from her home country of Spain.  I came in with my epinephrine auto-injectors, a trainer, my Food Allergy Action Plan, and my hopes that all would be well.  I started with what to do in case of an anaphylactic emergency and minutes into the conversation, I froze when the teacher wrote down on her pad of paper, “911” — she had never been to the U.S., so she didn’t know what the number for the ambulance was!  Further into our conversation I realized that she had never heard of an allergy to peanuts before!  I felt overwhelmed when I realized I was really starting from scratch.

I am happy to report that Nina’s inaugural year at the international school was a great success.  Her teacher was eager and committed to learning about food allergies and ever-ready to go the extra mile to help Nina stay safe while feeling included in classroom activities.  That experience taught me that attitude goes a very long way; I will forever remember with tremendous gratitude this teacher from Spain who had an open heart and ready willingness to make her classroom an inviting, exciting, and safe place to be.

This year, Nina will start fourth grade at a brand new school.  I may not be as anxious as I was on the first day of pre-k, but I still have back-to-school food allergy jitters.  Thinking he’s making me feel better, my husband comments on how much easier this is than sending her off to college.  Meanwhile, my heart starts pounding … “Oh no, college!”

Whether you are a parent of a child with food allergies or a teacher with students who have food allergies, FAAN is here to help!  Check out FAAN’s Back-to-School Tool Kit at www.foodallergy.org/section/back-to-school-tool-kit.

Interested in becoming an official FAAN member?  Membership has many benefits.  For less than 15¢ a day, you can add your voice to the cause and support people with food allergies. www.foodallergy.org/page/individual

- Maria