Food allergy experts- what do you think happened here?

adamsbabble

Yesterday I made Charlotte a black bean quesadilla (something she eats frequently) and gave her some spicy ranch to dip it in.  I'm not sure if she's had bottled ranch before.  She's really only had ranch a few times ever (at Red Robin) and I don't normally buy it, but I had this Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch for a southwestern salad recipe I made for a dinner party and thought she'd like to dip it.

Anyway, as she was eating she was of course getting the ranch on her face and I noticed her face getting red and welted anywhere the ranch had touched (in the exact same shape).  She had it on her arms also where it had touched.  Here's a pic of her face where the ranch was - ignore the crusty nose.

She does have some issues with dairy, but isn't allergic, we just can't overdo it.  I think ranch may be dairy free anyway (???) - the first ingredient listed on the bottle is soybean oil, which I'm not sure if she has an allergy to or not but I do know that she didn't do well with it when I tried soymilk as an alternative to cow's milk (just like cow's milk, it gave her diarrhea and diaper rash).  If it isn't a dairy or soy issue, perhaps it was a chemical or preservative not listed in the ingredients that caused the reaction???  I cleaned her up and the rash was gone by bedtime, and I kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't any other kind of reaction, but it was scary to see this type of reaction come on so quickly and just from touching it (while at the same time she was ingesting it) - I guess part of the reason it freaked me out so much is that I've had an allergic reaction that caused my throat to swell up so that experience came to mind as well.  How do you handle these situations when you aren't expecting something like this happen, and what do you watch for?  Do you always have Benadryl on hand?  Do I need to follow up with her doctor?

Meg41208

what about egg?  a lot of dressings have egg in them... 

adamsbabble

It does have egg in it, but she eats scrambled eggs all the time.  It's so weird, I didn't see anything listed that she hasn't eaten before, including the spices (she loves spicy food).

sistrkate

I think it's the milk.  Tyler looks exactly like this after he gets a hold of something with milk in it.  As a matter of fact, we had this very reaction this morning.  He ate a sour cream & onion potato chip, and he had big red blotches everywhere the chip touched him on his face.  Ranch dressing definitely has both eggs and milk in it.

I always keep Benadryl on hand, but we also have an epi-pen since he has known food allergies.  Has she had allergy testing?  The good thing about milk allergies is there is very low risk of an anaphylactic reaction, so if she's not truly allergic that may not be an issue.

adamsbabble

She hasn't had any allergy testing.  Our former pedi dismissed all of my concerns and always told me to just stop giving it to her and then to try it again every so often, which started to seem like bad advice after issues with several different foods.  We now have a new pedi so I will be addressing these issues with her.  I'm sure that allergy testing is no walk in the park, but going back and forth and not knowing the real problem isn't either. 

Anyway, I agree it could be the milk (which I'm not sure if it's an allergy or just an intolerance due to our issue with pedi)- but it's always been an issue for her, and causes her diaper rash and diarrhea if she drinks straight milk (although she can handle yogurt and cheese in small amounts- just can't drink straight milk).  It's good to know though that there is a low risk of an anaphylactic reaction with milk, I didn't know that.  Ever since I had a reaction (which was just a year ago, and I've been allergy free my whole life), it's made me a little paranoid- not being able to breathe is one of the scariest/most terrible feelings.

JenRose05

Ben has a skin allergy to soy...his skin does this same exact thing when he has ranch etc. He can eat it all day long with no side effects but a rash does break out when it touches his skin. Allergist gave us the go ahead to continue giving him soy since it doesnt even seem to itch (and the rash only hangs out for an hour or 2).

 BTW, this allergy appeared around 18-24 months for him from what I can remember

Miller238

That ranch has 6 of the top 8 allergens in it. It definitely has dairy in it with the buttermilk and it has more soy in it than just soy oil. Maybe I am extremely paranoid, but I would be heading straight to an allergist if my insurance allowed it. Allergies aren't something to take lightly and with her past reactions, I would want to know how severe her allergies are (I am assuming she has one based on her reactions). I would want a plan of action for her reactions which an allergist can give you.

segerama

It could also be the additives.  I remember reading about similar reactions to ranch dressing in an old parenting magazine.  It recommended only using homemade or organic, Annie's.  I try not to buy anything with ingredients that I cannot pronounce.  I would maybe google reactions to ranch dressing to see what you find.

 

kel716

Long shot but my dh is allergic to peppers (red, green, jalapeno, etc...)...  anything "spicy" is usually off limits.

It sounds like it's a reaction to the milk or soy. 

sistrkate

Kessler, I wanted to mention that when I initially suspected food allergies in Tyler, his pedi ordered blood testing.  It's much easier on them than the skin prick tests, which he did end up having to do -- but the blood test is a simple finger prick and tests for all of the common allergens, as well as a few others, and a couple of animals.  It would help you to be armed with that information and then you and the pedi could decide whether skin prick testing was necessary.

I agree with Miller -- I wouldn't mess around with a suspected allergy.  That way you always know what you need to have on hand to be prepared.

adamsbabble

Thanks ladies for all the info!  I'll be calling our pedi tomorrow to ask about testing.  I don't see any reason to keep stopping and starting and eliminating, rather than just getting some straight answers.