Bananas

My little Bear is allergic to bananas. It took us quite a while to figure out this allergy. When he was a baby, we noticed that he often had very red and raw looking cheeks. I asked his pediatrician about this rash several times, and he always said that it looked like dry skin and just to moisturize his skin often. But his poor cheeks just looked so painful and nobody wants to see their little baby in pain. Well I really started paying attention to when his rash would appear and I noticed one day when he was about 1 1/2 that his rash appeared. I sat down and wrote a list of everything he had eaten that day. The rash lasted for a few days and then the next time it appeared, I again sat down and made a list. The only thing that was the same was bananas. I had never heard of anyone being allergic to bananas before... I tried this experiment again one day and sure enough the rash came back. So I told everyone of this problem so they knew not to give him any.

I told his pediatrician about my discovery and he told me that there are plenty of other foods with the same nutrients, so it wasn't a problem if Bear never had another banana in his life. But I just can't live with this. I absolutely love bananas and there are so many yummy foods that Bear would miss out on. I just can't allow this. I know that some people outgrow food allergies. My Dad used to be allergic to walnuts, and now he's fine. I used to be allergic to tomatoes but they are my favorite food and when I was little I ate them all the time. I too would get an itchy rash around my mouth from them, however I kept eating them and now I don't react. Some foods you just can't live without. I'm also lactose intolerant, but I can't live without milk and soy is not for me. I'm willing to live with the stomach aches and nausea just to have my milk.

Occassionally we try Bear on bananas just to see if there is any new developments. My parents gave him half a sandwich with peanut butter and banana a couple weeks ago and nothing happened. So today I decided to let him have a whole banana with his cereal. He has looked fine all morning, however when I sat with him at naptime, I noticed that the dreaded rash has arrived. It's all around his mouth and on his chin. His lips also look red and a little puffy. I'm not afraid to test this again maybe in a year because luckily, his allergy isn't too dangerous, mostly just uncomfortable. I've altered the picture so you can see the rash better. It was a little hard to see because of the flash on the camera. I was doing some research on the internet a few months ago, and I saw that bananas are actually one of the most common allergies, and many people who have this allergy are also allergic to latex. Now I always alert the doctors about this other possible allergy.