Can a food allergy cause chronically swollen nasal passages?

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My dd has never been able to breathe well through her nose. Her first year of life, she couldn't breathe through her nose at all (she had a very flat nose). It made for some interesting (painful) br@astfeeding, since she had to un-latch every time she needed to breathe, then latch on again. After she turned 1yo, her nose grew a bit, and she was able to breathe through it, but she hardly ever did.

 

Fast forward to age six. Her pediatric dentist suggested that perhaps her breathing problems were caused by her enlarged tonsils and adenoids. I took her to an ENT, who agreed, and those were removed. The dentist then gave her a device that fit in her mouth that was supposed to facilitate mouth breathing. It didn't work (possibly because I didn't devote the hour of practice we were supposed to do every day).

 

At age ten, I took her to another ENT, who scoped her nasal passages and pharynx to see if the adenoids had grown back. They hadn't. Dd just has swollen nasal passages -- all the time. ENT prescribed Flonase, a corticosteroid, to reduce the inflammation. I didn't like the idea of giving dd a steroid every day forever, without even knowing the cause of the problem, so I didn't fill the perscription.

 

Now, she's almost 12. Her pediatrician showed me that dd's nasal passages are swollen, just as they have been for 12 years. She re-perscribed the Flonase, and I filled the scrip. Dd tried it for two days, but it didn't help, and the smell tasted bad (the spray was only in her nose, but she could still smell it, and could taste it). Then, she went to camp for a week, and I didn't send the spray with her. She is home now, but I still haven't pushed her to use it.

 

So, (thank you for reading this far), I'm wondering if she could have an allergy. She does get some seasonal and cat allergies, which cause sneezing and runny nose, and itchy eyes. But this is different. It's just a chronic swollen nose. She loves, loves, loves pasta, and bagels, and crackers, and tortilla chips. She eats one of the above at almost every meal.

 

If she is allergic to wheat, would it cause swollen nasal passages (with no other allergy symptom)? I'm considering an elimination diet, but I think it would be really hard for her, and I'd like to get some information before I tell her she can't eat her pasta.

 

What does a wheat allergy look like?

[Elisabeth in IL]

Wow, this sounds like my ds. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed at age 3. I don't know if he has a swollen nasal passages or just small openings. He has gotten strep and another bacteria in his nose. It hits at least once every winter. It was just suggested to me that I take him to an allergist to see if he has allergies. I know that rinsing his nose with a Netti pot (or a Netti pot type of thing) helps him a lot but he fights me on it so we don't use it regularly. I would try that and see if it helps reduce the irritation in her nose along with going to an allergist. This is what I will be doing in the next couple of weeks. I hope you find an answer for your dd.

[elegantlion]

I have not been officially diagnosed but I have a wheat allergy. I used an elimination type diet to figure out this. Anytime I eat too much wheat products I get sinus problems. Right now I have a sinus infection and thinking it through I have eaten more wheat in the last week than I should have.

 

If you try an elimination diet be sure to read labels, wheat is so many things you don't realize.

 

I also recommend the Clif Z bars for children.

[I talk to the trees]

A few years ago, I was having chronic sinus infections. I lived on antibiotics, steroid nasal spray, and cold medicine. The receptionist (of all people!) at my MD suggested I try allergy shots. I figured I had nothing to lose at that point, so I scheduled the testing. I was completely shocked by the results! I am strongly allergic to 11 different foods, but the "big three" are wheat, soy, and dairy. I eliminated all 11 foods from my diet, and saw almost immediate results! I haven't breathed so freely in years, and have spent a great deal of time kicking myself over waiting so long to have the testing done! I still eat some of the taboo foods from time to time, but avoid wheat and soy like the plague! And I did take a 3 year course of shots for the molds and pollens that I tested positive for. But I am certain that eliminating the foods was the key to eliminating the constant inflammation I had suffered for years!

 

I hope your dd's problems can be as easily solved as mine were! And if it does turn out to be multiple food allergies, don't panic! There are scores of websites out there with more "substitution" recipes than you could ever use in one lifetime!

 

 

-Robin

[Karen sn]

She might just feel so good after the elimination diet that it will be easy for her to stick to it.

It seems to me your doctors tried to fix the symptoms but never questioned the cause.

[Tammyla]

I would try reading up on this. Check out you library, mine had a few wonderful books that helped up navigate the food allergy questions. I hope she finds some relief. Poor kid.

 

My dd has never been able to breathe well through her nose. Her first year of life, she couldn't breathe through her nose at all (she had a very flat nose). It made for some interesting (painful) br@astfeeding, since she had to un-latch every time she needed to breathe, then latch on again. After she turned 1yo, her nose grew a bit, and she was able to breathe through it, but she hardly ever did.

 

Fast forward to age six. Her pediatric dentist suggested that perhaps her breathing problems were caused by her enlarged tonsils and adenoids. I took her to an ENT, who agreed, and those were removed. The dentist then gave her a device that fit in her mouth that was supposed to facilitate mouth breathing. It didn't work (possibly because I didn't devote the hour of practice we were supposed to do every day).

 

At age ten, I took her to another ENT, who scoped her nasal passages and pharynx to see if the adenoids had grown back. They hadn't. Dd just has swollen nasal passages -- all the time. ENT prescribed Flonase, a corticosteroid, to reduce the inflammation. I didn't like the idea of giving dd a steroid every day forever, without even knowing the cause of the problem, so I didn't fill the perscription.

 

Now, she's almost 12. Her pediatrician showed me that dd's nasal passages are swollen, just as they have been for 12 years. She re-perscribed the Flonase, and I filled the scrip. Dd tried it for two days, but it didn't help, and the smell tasted bad (the spray was only in her nose, but she could still smell it, and could taste it). Then, she went to camp for a week, and I didn't send the spray with her. She is home now, but I still haven't pushed her to use it.

 

So, (thank you for reading this far), I'm wondering if she could have an allergy. She does get some seasonal and cat allergies, which cause sneezing and runny nose, and itchy eyes. But this is different. It's just a chronic swollen nose. She loves, loves, loves pasta, and bagels, and crackers, and tortilla chips. She eats one of the above at almost every meal.

 

If she is allergic to wheat, would it cause swollen nasal passages (with no other allergy symptom)? I'm considering an elimination diet, but I think it would be really hard for her, and I'd like to get some information before I tell her she can't eat her pasta.

 

What does a wheat allergy look like?

[Greta]

If she is allergic to wheat, would it cause swollen nasal passages (with no other allergy symptom)?

 

This is exactly what wheat does to me personally. I mostly go without it, because 20-30 minutes after I eat it, my nose gets all clogged up. Rice is the only grain that I tolerate well, but wheat is definitely the worst (oats aren't too great either). I also tend to get some digestive problems when I eat it. So that symptom is not in isolation.

 

It won't hurt to try eliminating it from her diet for awhile to see what happens -- well except that she won't be happy about it at first. But if that is the culprit, she might feel so much better that it will be worth it to her. Big dietary changes are hard, I know. But they are really worth it when you discover how much better you feel!

[Ellie]

a friend's ds was constantly snuffly. His was dairy allergies. Also wheat, corn, beef, and chicken. Oy. But it was triggered because my friend gave him a bottle of formula (she was breastfeeding and didn't think he was gaining enough weight so she thought she'd supplement. It was a disaster.) Previous to the formula he had been snuffle-free.

 

So anyway, yes. The most common allergens (if that's the right word) are dairy and wheat.

[Storm Bay]

You have some good suggestions. I just wanted to say, though, that drugs like Flonase don't work in only 48 hours. As I recall it takes a week or two before you have full relief. I don't use it, but did try it once for 4 weeks. Also, I used RhinoXXX (can't remember the name) one season about 7 years ago, which is a similar product.

 

We tried elimination diets for dd to no avail. Finally, she had an ELISA test (measures immune reaction in blood, a bonafide test our medical insurance paid for) that found a long list of food sensitivities. There is a wrong immune response, similar to allergies, but because the symptoms are different they aren't medically called allergies.

[newbie]

It sounds like food allergies, thats tough. I had allergies, I took Allegra and Nasonex and lots of other stuff. I was miserable.

 

My friend told me about Juice Plus. I put me and kids on it and three months later I was off everything. Plus we are staying super healthy. I dont know if it will help with food, but all it has in it are fruits and vegetables. So, it helps with health overall.

 

Jeannette

[Mom0012]

My daughter has similar problems with dairy and she's had them since she was a baby. She was congested when she was an infant all the time until I put her on a hypoallergenic formula. She had non-stop ear infections that never responded to antibiotics. She had multiple sets of tubes that would come out within a couple of months and even with the tubes she was up at night writhing in pain from her ears. She had a constant drainage of pus coming out of her ears and her nose was always completely plugged up. She had her adenoids removed and it did nothing.

 

Within 2 weeks of removing dairy, all problems resolved for her. Not one ear infection ever again for years until we thought she'd outgrown the dairy allergy after testing with an allergist and went through the whole horrible cycle again. Once again, nothing helped but removing the dairy and she was fine within a couple of weeks of doing so.

 

My daughter does not even test allergic to dairy, but there is no question it has caused her much suffering.

 

Lisa

[tlcmom]

One day he said he didn't think he heard the way others did. We had him tested and they said he had a major hearing loss and were surprised that he could talk as well as he does. The hearing aids he needed were going to cost between $4000-5000. We didn't have the money, so I prayed about it. I felt God wanted me to take him to a naturopath. We did and found out that he is allergic to whole wheat. We removed it from his diet and redid the test three weeks later and it came back in the normal range. The ear doctor was amazed! He said he hadn't seen anything like it before. God is good.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Wow. Thank you everyone, for taking the time to respond.

 

I don't want to face it, because my dd LOVES pasta (and bagels, and crackers). Of course, she likes cheese on her crackers, and cream cheese on her bagels. She really doesn't like meat. Never has. Fortunately, she does like vegetables. What she hates most of all is trying anything new. This is going to be an interesting challenge.

 

Thanks again for the information. I had a feeling I was on to something, but I was really hoping I was wrong. I tried researching, but the only symptoms I found or wheat allergy was digestive problems, not nasal problems.

 

Ugh. Guess I'm off to look at wheat and dairy free recipes.

[lighthouseacademy]

BTW wheat can take up to 3 weeks too... all elimination diets should be at least 3 weeks before adding back in.

 

I used to only breath out of one nostril for YEARS. I couldn't believe anyone ever got to breath out of both sides. I was ALWAYS blowing my nose growing up. Finally, as an adult, I had a child who was allergic to dairy and I had to give it up. Poof I can breath!

[LindaOz]

My 9yo has problem with sinus congestion, nasal passages etc. She gets bad breath with this also. About 3 months ago I had her start using FESS, a nasal spray which is just saline. It made a difference - completely cleared up the bad breath which she'd had for years. Then, we tried staying off dairy products. She didn't really want to do this because she likes milk, but we talked about it and decided to try it for a week just to see if it helped. After 5 days, she actually told me it was easier to breathe. Now she willingly looks for alternatives to dairy because she can see the difference in herself.

Maybe if you trial staying off dairy or wheat, the results will be enough motivation to continue on. Step at a time......:001_smile:

[Storm Bay]

Wow. Thank you everyone, for taking the time to respond.

 

I don't want to face it, because my dd LOVES pasta (and bagels, and crackers). Of course, she likes cheese on her crackers, and cream cheese on her bagels. She really doesn't like meat. Never has. Fortunately, she does like vegetables. What she hates most of all is trying anything new. This is going to be an interesting challenge.

 

Thanks again for the information. I had a feeling I was on to something, but I was really hoping I was wrong. I tried researching, but the only symptoms I found or wheat allergy was digestive problems, not nasal problems.

 

Ugh. Guess I'm off to look at wheat and dairy free recipes.

 

 

Fear not! Tynkyada has fabulous brown rice pasta--the best rice pasta we've found for consistency, texture, etc. We're not only gluten and casein free (so not just wheat) but also have to avoid a number of other foods and it can be done. To help reduce our grocery bill, we buy in bulk, but I'd see what works before doing that. We save about 70 cents a pound on the pasta, get the flours for half price or less, etc.