Think about it - how many non-difficult child adults break diets at holiday times? Especially those associated with large amounts of non-healthy food... although what saved us, in terms of sweet treats permitted when difficult child 3 was on the full elimination diet, was honeycomb. Not from a beehive, but the sort made with sugar, glucose and bicarb soda. Large yellow blocks of it, he could eat as much as he wanted on this diet because it was low in the natural chemicals most likely to cause a reaction.
We forget that everything is a chemical. Every food contains a huge amount of chemicals. The most naturally grown vegetables are still loaded with chemicals - natural ones, but just as bad as if they were toxic, to someone who has a problem with them.
husband can't eat eggplant (aka aubergine). It's a sensitivity, not an allergy - he throws up, violently, if he gets anything with eggplant. Also, corn. Can't eat popcorn, can't eat corn on the cob, can eat SOME corn chips if they're made form white maize. Ya know how we found out? He ate corn and threw up. he ate eggplant and threw up. Then at a later stage (not knowing for sure what was causing it) he innocently ate corn/eggplant again and we knew for sure. No tests (at least, no skin tests or blood tests) - just observation.
I remember a woman asking my advice on allergies, but after we'd talked for a while I don't think she wanted my advice, as much as she wanted to 'brag' about how her allergies were much worse than anybody else's - because she was even allergic to water! Once I heard that statement I mentally switched off my sympathy button. I tried probing a little - "you mean, you react to water that isn't completely pure? It could be a problem with tap water impurities, such as fluoride, or trace metals." (I react to trace metals, in large enough quantity - like husband and eggplant). She insisted no, she couldn't drink ANY water, not even purified water.
I never did find out how she survived, what she drank. I did begin to say, "You do realise the human body is 70% water, who told you it was specifically H2O you were allergic to?" but I realised I would not get a sensible answer. She was enjoying too much the sensation of having a very rare allergy, because some quack had earnestly told her so.
Whenever you're investigating allergies and sensitivities, the first step is to become a GENUINE expert, otherwise you will risk making silly mistakes like this woman did, due to lack of informed experimentation. Because you DO have to experiment, to sort this one out. And doing it in an informed way is safer, more accurate and hopefully more informative.
I mentioned I'm sensitive to trace metals in the water I drink - I discovered it when drinking out of pipes where the water hadn't been flowing for a while. Pipes that had just been repaired, or pipes that were rarely used - I learned to let the water flow for a while. About this time I discovered I'm sensitive to elemental iron and even iron in some ionic form - it stays down a matter of seconds. So it stands to reason that iron contamination of my drinking water isn't going to be good.
A colleague at work was desperate for a cup of coffee, he wanted the jug to boil faster so he filled it from the hot tap. He made coffee for both of us and I drank mine quickly, then suddenly found myself hurling in the sink - the pipes in our building were old and corroding. No taste in the water, but a later talk to the plumber gave me the advice to not drink ANY water that had been in the hot water pipes of our building especially (one of Sydney's oldest buildings).
I've since discovered problems with copper, tin and other metals. I can't hold nails in my mouth when working with tools. I have to keep our black iron cookware and cutlery cleaned before each use, and wiped dry after each use. Immediately.
But I've never been tested. I found out by experience, and then discussed my experiences with my doctor who confirmed it all.
And that's important - to have a medico to discuss it with, to 'nail it in place' officially, so you get a solid understanding of exactly what the problem is and what to look out for.
Good luck with this one. Sounds like you may have to wait a while. In the meantime you could test for, say, dairy products, or gluten. Or artificial additives. But not all at once - too many variables, especially a kid who is likely to cheat if you cut back too much at a time without good reason.
Teach him to help you read labels, and find allowable treats as a reward for sticking to his diet!
Marg
