Re: Allergies, was Re: Zithromax upset

[Guest guest]

#40 does me in. Doesn't take much, and liquid form is much worse than any sort

of solid form. (I can eat about 3 Twizzlers before I start getting sick to my

stomach and then developing hives...I can't take in any sort of red drink

without getting sick and hivey.) My wedding punch was a mixture of fresh

berries that we put in the blender and pureed, then froze...took it to the

reception that way...got there and put it in the bowl and added 7Up to it.

Yummy. It would also work for frozen berries. No food dyes at all, since the

berries are naturally colored...it came out a kind of purple color. Funny thing

is, we remembered that, but my hubby forgot the marriage license! He had to

send his sister back to his house to get it so we could get it signed and be

*officially* married.

We figured out the red dye thing through hot dogs. I could eat the regular

flesh-colored ones, but got sick and had hives every time I'd eat the red ones

that everyone was so fond of at picnics and sporting events and stuff. Once we

realized what was causing it, we started really looking at the other stuff I was

eating, and realized that I did it with anything red. (Other dyes than 40 also

make me ill.)

I'm just glad that Triana shows no signs of being allergic to it...there are

some things you miss out on because of it, and this way she won't have to.

I understand the asthma issue, too...I have asthma. It was extremely bad as a

kid, and I had to sleep nearly sitting up for a lot of my childhood. I tend to

do more wheezing and coughing than anything, actually, and didn't realize that

was part of the asthma until recently. (I had lived with it for so long that I

hadn't really read up on anything about it...so I just assumed it was only those

" attacks " that were part of it...sheesh, I can be dense sometimes.) So now I

actually use my inhaler when I'm wheezing too, so I don't wind up having an

attack later. They've got me on Advair for daily use at the moment. I've

noticed it being a little bit better since I've started taking it. (I can

actually exercise to some extent now without having an attack.)

Anyhow, I have to run...time for morning CPT with Triana...yippee...at least

she's doing somewhat better in this department, although she still hates it and

fights through at least part of each session.

Shanna

mom of Triana, age 2 wcf

Re: Zithromax upset

Shanna,

My daughter was allergic to Red Dye #40 but she isn't any more. And

reading your post is like someone just shined a light into my eyes!

MAYBE, my daughter was never allergic to penicillin in the first

place! Liquid Amoxicillian -- to which she did develop hives -- is

colored pink! IF Amoxicillian is colored pink by Red dye #40, perhaps

that's why she got hives in the first place.

I figured out the dye allergy in a weird way. Ever since she was about

2 years old, she developed excema on the backs of her calves, behind

her knees, and inside the crook of her arms. Sometimes the backs of

her legs were so bad it looked like they'd been burned with a blow

torch. Nothing her allergist tried did any good.

When she was about 3, I think, I took her to the pediatrician because

I suspected she had asthma. He put her on alupent syrup -- the same

med he'd put on a couple years earlier right before his CF

diagnosis.

Well, her wheezing cleared up but her legs got worse. (She wheezes

like a frieght train during an asthma flare up, but when 's

asthma flares, he just sounds sort of out of breath).

Anyway, her legs got really bad so I took her back to their allergy

specialist, who took a scraping, said she was culturing staph, and put

her on an antibiotic and prescribed Aveeno baths, a prescription

hydrocortisone lotion, and Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion's special

dermatology formula for severely dry skin.

I finally got her legs back under control and several days later my

youngest sister came to visit and brought the kids a packet of red

Kool-Aid as a treat (back then, I never bought Kool-Aid). The next

day, 's legs flared up again. I got them cleared up, then she

needed Alupent again, and again the excema returned.

Finally (okay, so I'm slow!), I wondered if it was red food coloring.

I went to the grocery store and found the packet of Kool-Aid and read

the ingredients, then I went to our pharmacy and asked them to look up

the ingredients in alupent. Bingo. Both had red dye #40.

was such a trooper about dropping red from her diet. She felt

so special! Whenever there was a party at school, I'd send a

Kool-Aid drink box with her as a treat instead of drinking whatever

red party punch some well-meaning homeroom mother would bring.

In those days, the Kool-Aid drink boxes did *not* have red dye #40,

though their packets of mix did. Sadly, that changed and they started

putting red dye in the drink boxes.

But she was so good about it. Whenever she'd get M&Ms, she'd trade me

all her red ones and choose different colors from my bag. But like I

said, she can eat red now.

Funny story... Just a couple years ago told me that when she

was a little girl, whenever I'd look at the crooks of her arms saying,

" You have excema in your arms, " she always thought I was saying, " You

have eggs in your arms. " And that's what she'd tell her friends if

they ever asked about the rash, " I just have eggs in my arms! "

Anyway, I have heard about people becoming unallergic to all sorts of

things, so it's possible about meds too. I know that some people with

CF have gone into the hospital to become desensitized to an antibiotic

to which they are allergic. One person told me it involved close

monitoring in ICU to be sure there wasn't a life-threatening reaction,

and they do IV benedryl at the same time.

Kim

Mom to (23 with cf and asthma) and (20 asthma no cf)

> > Thank you everyone who has responded. My doctor went to the big

CF

> > conference in New Orleans. There they talked about zithromax

being

> > used and how the studies showed increased lung function. The

study

> > was small, but promising. So she is starting her patients on

Zithro

> > for 6 months as a study. I don't think there is a placebo

involved.

> > We are getting our meds from the pharmacy and paying for them

> > ourselves. I'm just upset as he is not responding well to the

> > zithromax due to the tummy aches and big red spots on him. He

has

> > taken this med for infections in the past. I will call today

and see

> > if he can go to 250 on Mon. Wed. and Fri. or if he has to stop

it

> > completely.

> >

> > Darci

> > 8 y/o wcf 2 sibs nocf

> >

> >

> > -------------------------------------------

> > The opinions and information exchanged on this list should IN NO

WAY

> > be construed as medical advice.

> >

> > PLEASE CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE CHANGING ANY MEDICATIONS OR

> TREATMENTS.

> >

> > ------------------------------------

> >

> >

> >