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Boy, 6, Is Allergeric to Food - All Food
Filed under: In The News
A 6-year-old in Alabama is allergic to almost all food. Credit: Getty Images
James DeLano, 6, has eosinophilic esophagitis, a rare incurable disease that makes him allergic to almost all food, the Birmingham News reports.
If the Hoover, Ala., boy eats food, he gets severe stomach and chest pain, causing him to vomit and gag, and, so, according to the newspaper, he is fed a formula through a stomach pump.
James' parents, Victoria and Jim DeLano, tell the News James was officially diagnosed with the disease at the age of 4, but they try to keep life normal for the boy who plays baseball and loves Legos.
"It's very, very hard for families, teachers and the public to look at a child and be able to understand that this child who looks well on the outside will be sick on the inside if they eat something they shouldn't," Dr. Wendy Book, president of the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, tells the News. "If somebody eats peanuts and breaks out in hives, you can see that. If somebody has an allergy and they get eczema on their skin, you can see it. But this is inside, so that makes it very difficult for people to understand it."
According to the newspaper, one parent will eat dinner with Amelia, James' 4-year-old sister, while the other plays with the boy in a different room. Sometimes, the News adds, James will get a "smelling plate," so he can play with food and smell it.
School is trickier, the News reports, as the kindergartner skips the cafeteria for the library at lunch, and, at his birthday party, he got a frozen water Popsicle. But the family just deals, his dad says.
"It's a lifelong process, and he's just started to be able to manage it," Jim DeLano tells the newspaper. "There's no pill, there's no shot that is going to make it go away. It's really trying to set him up to be able to manage the process. He's been a trooper through the whole thing."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 3)
6-02-2011 @ 9:24PM
ronilynn63 said...I just read your article on the boy with Allergies, my sons is now 21 and still to this has been diagnosed as the most allergic kid, and as far I know he is still considered the worst the doctor has seen. if this child is allergic to every food group it is very sad because some foods are not allergic foods.
my son is severally allergic to, peanuts, soy, eggs, wheat, milk, beef, fish, no passion fruits, some vegies and some antibiotics, cats.
all of these will kill my son in minutes it, closes off his airway with in minutes. you can send these parent my info if they would like to chat about their son.
Reply
6-03-2011 @ 6:48AM
healingothers said...There is a new treatment for allergies that is painless.
nrgnano.com
See if there is a practitioner in your area.
6-02-2011 @ 8:44PM
Abby said..."Allergic" is misspelled. If you need a proofreader, hire me!
Reply
6-03-2011 @ 5:58PM
tom sheridan said...you meant to type "I am very sorry to read about this young boy. I hope he gets better!"
6-02-2011 @ 9:15PM
Kim said...There IS a shot for food allergies! It is called Low Dose Antigen (LDA), known as EPD in Europe. It is the only shot that works for food allergies as well as mold and pollen allergies. Only 72 doctors in the U.S. give this shot. It is made up of actual antigens (in teensy tiny doses!) so since it is "natural" and not a drug, health insurance won't cover it. My son started it at age 13 and is now 19. He now gets this shot only once per year and it stops the vomiting and IBS that are the manifestation of his allergies. Dr. Charles R. Hamel in Arlington, TX is the Ear, Nose, & Throat MD who administers this shot for us. He is THE BEST!!!
Reply
6-02-2011 @ 10:04PM
Linda Angel said...Bottom-line.....they need to focus on REDUCING THE TOTAL BODY BURDEN OF TOXINS AND PATHOGENS, then much of the allergies/sensitivities will disappear.....
If you are eating GMO foods, then you are adding to the problems.
You have to also remember, when a mom ism pregnant her fetus is her TOXIC DUMP.....so the toxins the mom had in her body was dumped into her unborn fetus....
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6-02-2011 @ 10:49PM
sadie said...Linda, you are so right! He also needs to grow his own gut flora better. That is the one thing that has reversed so many food allergies. The Body Ecology Diet has worked wonders for people like this boy and others who suffer from multiple allergies. But one must go extremely slowly with these highly sensitive people so they don't have a strong reaction to the detox or the gut rebuilding.
6-02-2011 @ 10:11PM
amy said...My son also has Eosinaphilic Esophagitus- He is 3 1/2 and was diagnosed about 2 years ago- i feel your frustration and know it isn't just the food allergies- there are lots of different eggs in the basket and sometimes you aren't sure which things you are working with. He started his feeding tube in sept, and last month got his first "better" biopsy. of coarse our insurance won't cover the formula- how rediculous is that- put a hole in your stomach- sure- but won't pay for what needs to go in it to actually give you the nutrients you need! urghhh! Hang in there!
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6-03-2011 @ 10:50AM
me said...Who administers the "Body Ecology Diet"?
6-03-2011 @ 12:21PM
Sally said...What causes this type of problems with food and other is that both parents have allergies and one or the other has digestive problems due to missing engimes in the intestinal tract.
High dosages of B-12 given in shots is great for this type of condition. One of the things that B-12 does, is clean the blood. It straightens the immune and nervous system, is a substitute for iron, etc. You child should see a remarkable difference.
Allergy shots do not work in this case. Because allergy shots do not work or missing intestinal emgines are hard to find, he may still be limited to only eating certain foods the rest of his life. But by taking the B-12 foods that he would not normally be able to take, he should be able to digest. Since B-12 shots go straight into the bloodstream, it bypasses the intestinal acids that normally destroy the intake of B-12
6-02-2011 @ 10:50PM
charlandria said...I have met Victoria and her son and both are amazing strong people, working at a local store that he gets special lollipops made for him at evertime i get to work on the project it makes me thankful to only have the few allergies i do and it also makes me feel so good to be able to do something for him that brightens his day. The Delanos are great people and I am so glad to see someone writing their story which believe it or not is the story of a few other children i know as well.
Reply
6-03-2011 @ 12:00AM
Jessa said...It says in the article they give him a plate of food to smell and play with, how does this not cause an allergic reaction? I am severely allergic to cinnamon if I eat, TOUCH, or INHALE it I have a reaction. Why does the same not happen to this boy with playing and smelling foods. Also happens to my cousin when he comes into contact with strawberries or tomatoes, he doesn't have to ingest them.
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6-03-2011 @ 9:43AM
jodi said...His allericc issue is with the consumption of the foods when they come into contact with any internal tissues that are part of his digestive track. So since his hands are not part of that he can touch them. Some people who are allergic to peanuts can touch them with hands they just cant eat them. It is something specific to the eating process.
6-02-2011 @ 11:40PM
Grandma said...I really hope that the parents of this child read these posts because they are right on. The conventional medical system always tells us that so many disorders are "incurable"...but all that means is that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't have any man made drugs that can cure. On the other hand, the world of natural medicine and nutritional products from God's creation can be miraculous if you can just find the solutions. It takes alot of research but it's worth it for the answers. I always pray for Divine Guidance when I am researching for my grandson who immediately lost his ability to walk and talk after his last batch of vaccines, and developed severe autism....healing takes time but he has been gradually recovering from his vaccine injuries and he is night and day compared to previously. Even if you cannot achieve total recovery, there are answers for many improvements. Medical doctors tell us that autism in "untreatable" and "permanent" but my grandson will tell you that this is not true....because he can walk again and he does talk again now....thanks to God's Medicine and not man's "medicine" ....."Seek and Ye Shall Find, Knock and the Door Shall be Opened to YOU"
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6-02-2011 @ 11:47PM
Hattie Crabtree said...That stinks!!! Poor kids coming down with weird illnesses.I do feel that its just the genes getting screwed up and the poor kids are the result of it.
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6-03-2011 @ 1:13AM
alli said...My son would turn red then blue, his face would swell, his eyes would water, he would gag and vomit, wheeze and stop breathing when I fed him bananas. I thought he was just being stubborn. It wasn't until he was 6 we discovered he had a severe allery to ragweed. A cousin of bananas.
With all the chemicals in the world today in the air, water, soil and food, it's a wonder any of us make it to old age.
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6-03-2011 @ 9:26AM
KMA said...Really? You waited until he was 6 to find out that he was allergic to bananas? Those seem like pretty serious side effects to eating a food...way beyond being stubborn.
6-03-2011 @ 12:53PM
Sarah said...Uhh...seriously? All of that and you thought he was being stubborn? Even if he was being stubborn- do you like every food? Would you want to be force fed something you were that adamantly opposed to?
I don't get it...
6-03-2011 @ 11:58AM
catherine said...I agree that those seem like pretty severe responses for a kid to assume he's faking or being stubborn. Weezing and shortness of breath (STOPPING breathing you said?), let alone swelling and vomiting which I suppose could be frustration or caused by getting upset vs being sick, but seriously?? Pretty unattentive parent if this happened often to wait 6 years to realize he had allergies to something.
6-03-2011 @ 1:14AM
Barbara said...I really feel for these Parents, and the poor kids. i have food allergies, have had them for years. I have Esophagus, and IBSC, Hiatal hernia, and gallstonnes. I am always nauseas, and get sevre pain in the stomach, after I eat anything. the doctors don't know what to do anymore. i am only 92 lbs, now, and very sick. so i hope they find a cure soon. the shots sound like they can alleviate this disease we have. Probably cannot afford them. I know another girkl like me and younger, and she has it too, suffers bad too. Is there no end to this? We are starving, but cannot eat. God Bless, GIGI
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