Friday, August 24, 2007

#&%*@!

I think Rebecca might have a food allergy.
I was told that she would probably be predisposed to food allergy given the fact that I have severe food allergies and eczema, and Greg has allergy-induced asthma. Allergy, eczema and asthma are all linked.
But here's the worst part - I think it's a sesame allergy. I've had years to learn how to cope with living with a nut allergy - and while it it life-threatening, it isn't terribly hard for me to avoid my allergen. Sesame is different. It's *everywhere*. I don't know anything about sesame allergies except that they are sort of being viewed as the new peanut allergy.
There have been two incidents now where Rebecca has eaten something containing tahini, and as gotten an immediate red rash on patches of her face. This rash takes a while to dissipate. I feel that of the foods eaten on both occasions, it's the only viable candidate.
I am now going to start a sesame purge in my house.
What's confusing to me is that she loves humus, but that's exactly what the source of the problem is. As a child, I instinctively avoided my allergens because eating them caused pain and discomfort on my lips, mouth and throat.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Maybe the rash isn't painful to her? I have a coworker who has an off-the-chart allergy to egg whites and egg yolks (so, eggs), and her symptoms seem to present as headaches/general unwellness. I had a friend in high school whose allergy to blue food dye (found in things like chocolate milk, of all places) just made him really hyper. Maybe she's lucky and gets this rash that you mention, but there isn't any pain involved. :)

Not that that makes it any less serious, but...