Red dye 40....who knew?

For those that don't know Faith is allergic to all antibiotics, the MMR shot and Flu mist. It's a nightmare to keep her healthy in the winter. Sore throats, ear aches and pneumonia send me into sheer panic. She can't have much of anything. I brought her to see allergists:

#1 one said she's allergic to medicine (no shit sherlock--that would be what those hives are all over her little 1 yr. body)

#2 said she is allergic to whatever they make medicine with, not the medicine itself and to try 3rd generation cefalasporins. (yes, confusing)

#3 at Boston Children's Hospital said: No anitbiotics until she is at least 16, then we have more options. If she gets really sick we will admit her to ICU and desensitize her (many very small dose shots of antibiotics over the course of 5-7 days)

She also said she CANNOT have her MMR booster....but you would have to do that over my dead body anyhow after the reaction she had to it.

Two months ago I switched the kids vitamins from chewable Flintstones to Gummy Flintstones...while Red dye 40 is in both she reacted badly within minutes of eating a red one. She had hives all over her face. I didn't know it was the dye at the time.

So when she reacted the the vitamin I was worried. How can I keep her healthy if I can't keep her system well stocked with vitamins? Then 2 days later I let her have some Doritos. She walked in the kitchen saying her face itched and there they were, big welts all over her face and her lips were swollen. I took the chips and tossed them, then gave her some Benedryl. She didn't get much better. I called the Dr. they told me to keep an eye on her.

I compared the labels....the common denominator....RED DYE 40. Then panicked...Benedryl is red. Yup, sure enough....the one thing to help her reaction was making it worse...Benedryl has RED DYE 40. So does every other red medicine for kids. Scary.

So today we ventured back into Boston to allergist #3. There is no test for RED DYE 40...but it's known to do horrible things to kids. It can cause severe allergic reacions, nausea, migraines and severe hyperactivity (my sister has this problem with Ben and I just found out about it on my way to the hospital today!!!!)

So we were given MANY EPI pens. They trained myself (again)and Faith. She can now give herself an injection if needed. It's to help her feel more in control.

Everyone that takes Faith has to take 2 pens with them. I will train you. It's very simple. Her lips swelled from a few chips, she could accidentally get some and we have to be careful. No more friend's birthday cakes, I will have to supply her with a cupcake. No more community snack at school....she has to have her own that I pack. No more food parties at school that she can join....we can't take the chance.

See it's not just something that's RED. She can't have anything that is a deriviative of red. No purple (red and blue) no pink (red dye but in smaller amounts), no orange (red and yellow) and sometimes yellow..if it's a golden yellow (they use a drop or two of red).

She is devastated. While I feel bad...I am smiling inside. This means no more JUNK FOOD in our house. Everyone is going to have to learn to eat healthier. We will find recipes with natural fruits so she can still have strawberry flavored treats and cherry flavored treats. She loves blueberry and we can use that and purple grapes. I will figure out how to make a true Strawberry jello for her without dye. I am on a mission.

This week we go to Trader Joes and Whole Foods. The stuff will cost more but really who cares....Faith is priceless and I won't risk her health for a stupid dye. Organic here we come!

She will be upset when she's a teen. Blush, eyeshadows, lipstick....they all have red #40. Who knew? Momma's not so upset. I don't think I will tell her that she could outgrow this someday. Until she's 21 it's my secret ;)

I encourage you to read about this horrible dye. I was shocked at what I found. You can go to this link HERE and read about it and I Googled here.

Start reading labels. You will be amazed how much stuff this is in. Oh and I found dye free Benedryl, Children's Motrin and Children's Tylenol. They make it for this very reason. Who knew?

If you have any really good recipes that include something fun and cherry or strawberry flavored (with real berries of course) we would love to have you share it.