Could my daughter have an undiagnosed food allergy?

[sweet_sunshine]

My daughter is 8 years old and has been struggling with allergies for a couple of years. Her pediatrician has not tested her specifically but claims that she is most likely allergic to pollen and dust. I have even tried taking her to another family doctor, but all they do is tell me to give her Claritin each night before bed and some kindof nasal spray. Some days are better than others for her, but overall, things seem to be getting worse instead of better. She doesn't seem to get much of any relief from the congestion and constant feeling of something being in her throat (she clears her throat every minute or two throughout the day and I'm conerned about the long-term effect on her vocal chords). It doesn't seem to matter whether I give her the Claritin or not, she still is miserable with these symptoms most days. I have been told by a couple of people that she may have an undiagnosed food allergy, such as to milk. Does that sound possible? Is there a way I can figure this out
at home without doing the whole panel of testing at an allergist's office? If I want to eliminate milk from her diet, for example, how long do I have to do that to determine if milk is the culprit? Any websites that explain how to go about doing this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
In addition, she is borderline overweight and no one can seem to figure out why. The doctor has been telling me for two years that she will have a growth spurt and get tall and skinny, but it's just not happening. She's in third grade now and a girl in her class told her the other day that if she hoped to get a boyfriend, she needed to lose some weight. I'm wondering if she is allergic to some food and it's adversely affecting her digestion and causing her to gain weight unnecessarily? Could this be? Her doctor won't look into this. How can I find out what's going on??? I can't keep switching doctors over and over. Where should I take her? She's miserable and I need to figure out what's going on with her.

[belli2b]

I fought for 3 years for my doctor to refer me to an allergy specialist as he kept telling me less than 4% of people really have a food allergy etc... but i did get referred and as soon as i had tests they diagnosed me with such severe allergies i now need to carry an epipen with adrenaline in it! if i have an allergic reaction to something i eat my lips get bumps on, the inside of my ears get itchy and my throat gets all scratchy (i also develop swollen eyes, a hot face and breathing problems but mine are very severe!)

IF YOU ARE WORRIED INSIST they test her for allergies. you can even get a RAST test which is only a blood test but they can test over 4000 things with it, or traditional pin prick tests or the skin tests on your back. stay well clear of anything testing your hair or urine... there is no scientific reason why those would work. none ive read anyway!

i need to take antihistamine twice a day, and they are NOT all equal, if claritin doesn't work get them to try a different one- you also get immune to them sometimes so be persistent in getting them to try new things. there are different type and doses. also, if she has allergies she may be asthmatic... asthma is afterall an inflamation in the windpipe/bronculus. An inhalor might give her relief from an itchy throat.

if i want to see what im reacting to i will avoid it for 4 weeks which is what my dietician recommended, but you can only do it effectively if you use whole food groups. so for example, when i did it i ate only rice, lamb, potato and apples for 4 weeks, then added one food group every 2 weeks after and waited to see if i noticed a difference. Its very hard... i can tell if i'm properly allergic to something minutes after eating it tho.

the other thing to be aware of is that there is such a thing as desensitivization which you can have in hospital, where you are literally desensitized to the things that you are most allergic to.

anyway hope all this helps.

as it happens i have a birch allergy so am allergic to all raw fruit and veg, especially green veg, wheat, eggs, nuts seeds, additives and preservatives, shellfish and seafood, plus pollen, dust, hay. mould, dogs, cats, and intolerant to dairy it makes me vomit- so i know what i'm talking about

[Airforcekid]

Try a week of say chinese food without anything but water to drink then try itailian for a week and so on. Im allergic to diet soda so nothings impossible in that category!

[k m]

If the culprit is a food allergy as you suspect, which is a distinct possibility, the wait depends on the severity of the allergy. I'd eliminate milk for a few days and see if there is a reaction, if not then it's obviously not the milk. But make sure she gets enough D and calcium for the days you've eliminated milk products, definitely don't want her to have insufficient vitamins and minerals. Be careful to not give her milk products of any kind; ice cream, yogurt, cheese, etc.

She may have an intolerance instead of an allergy. But the only true way to find out is to have her tested for food allergies specifically. Which means convincing her doctor that the tests are needed.

Edit:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/foodintolerance.html

This website seems to sell a food intolerance kit. Couldn't hurt to try it.