# What could our toddler be allergic to? Tomato? Herbs? Meat? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579 "2009-01-23T04:19:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/41 "2009-01-28T02:19:08Z")
**Dr Deth** , no…RuffLlama was breastfed exclusively for the first 4.5 months, and then was on about 50/50 breastmilk and formula (not soy) until he was nearly 9 months (plus the occasional rice cereal). I’m just thinking…GAH! If it does turn out to be a tomato allergy, it means no spaghetti, no pizza, no _salsa_ (which I swear flows in the veins of this family). _sigh_ Could be a heckuva lot worse, though…a corn allergy sounds like a terrific PITA. RL is currently eating his quesadilla (without salsa) and hopefully will actually eat the veggies on his plate (corn, carrot, potato). So far, so happy. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/42 "2009-01-28T10:16:28Z")
> [@Ruffian](#): > > I’m just thinking…GAH! If it does turn out to be a tomato allergy, it means no spaghetti, no pizza, no _salsa_ (which I swear flows in the veins of this family). _sigh_ Could be a heckuva lot worse, though…a corn allergy sounds like a terrific PITA. True on all counts (I have both a tomato and a corn allergy. I do not eat in Mexican restaurants, among other things.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/43 "2009-01-28T17:13:19Z")
Here is a very long and interesting cite about food allergies, concentrating on peanut allergies: [http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm](http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm) _“The incidence of food allergy in children is approximately 1.3% and among adults 0.3% according to Chandra (1997). 5 -True food allergies are much less prevalent than is generally believed. They are more common in infants and children under age three than in older children and adults. Infant colic generally is not caused by a food allergy. In infants, urticaria, eczema or gastrointestinal bleeding may be due to foods such as milk and eggs, but clinical tolerance usually develops within a few years”_ So note, _that other than peanut allergies_, an infant often “grows out” of food allergies. Also note that true food alergies are quite rare amoung adults. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/44 "2009-01-28T20:12:36Z")
My sister had a tomato allergy, diagnosed when she was small. IIRC, the dr asked my mom to write down all the things we’d eaten recently, and it was fresh tomato season, so it was pretty easy to figure out. (BTW, she was breastfed, too, so that doesn’t always protect you.) It’s true, we ate hardly any pizza, spaghetti, salsa, etc. during those years. More as she got older and understood that there were just some things she couldn’t eat. She used to get coupons for reading at school for Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas. I would eat her pizza while she would eat the salad bar. She was a trooper. Also, the lunch ladies did not believe her when she said she couldn’t eat certain foods, so Mom had to watch the lunch menu very carefully and pack her a lunch on tomatoey food days. She outgrew her allergy by high school…maybe even by middle school. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/45 "2009-01-28T20:57:24Z")
There’s a long list of spices that are legal to list as just “spices” in the ingredients label per USDA rules, BTW, and an even longer list for “natural flavors,” “flavors,” and “flavorings,” some of which can be allergens. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/46 "2009-01-29T01:11:23Z")
WTF–we just got some of the results, and it is NOT tomatoes…or celery, or lettuce, or carrots, or potatoes, or peanuts. He did have a reaction to dust mites, but my understanding is, practially everyone has a reaction to those. Soy and wheat are pending; egg whites are pending; corn is pending; a bunch of others are pending. UGH. Back to the waiting (and watching) game… ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579/47 "2009-01-29T03:55:23Z")
Were alliums (garlic, onions) on the list you tested for? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-our-toddler-be-allergic-to-tomato-herbs-meat/482579.md?page=2)