OY! Soy!

Ian called me after his visit with the allergist. He said he couldn't talk long because he had homework to do that was due that evening.

The allergist did a skin test for food allergens. In two weeks, they'll do another skin test for outdoor allergens. And eventually, they'll do a breathable allergen test, too.

On the food allergen test, Ian immediately showed an allergic reaction to Soy. I thought this was interesting because, when he was an infant, he had been a miserable, screaming baby on regular milk-based formula. When the pediatrician had us switch to a soy-based formula, he became another baby; happy and content from then on! I really had expected an allergy to milk/dairy. I was VERY surprised to find out he's allergic to Soy.

Now, I know that a lot of products now have soy in them, so avoiding soy might be difficult. But when I did a quick online search for Soy Allergies, I found out the following:

Soy allergies are very common in infants and babies, but they tend to grow out of them by the time they're three. Soy allergies in adults is very uncommon. (figures!) AND, there are so many more items that have soy in them then you would ever imagine. The lists I've been finding online can be dizzying. I'm wondering how Ian is really going to manage. With him being in school, he basically lives off of processed and fast-foods. Guess what's in most all of those??? You got it: SOY! OY! Even the hamburger buns at McDonald's have soy flour in them!!!

Well, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I can promise Ian this: Thanksgiving dinner will be SOY-Free!

With classes, labs and his social life, learning to live soy-free could be a huge hassle for Ian. I'm currently wishing he was still living at home so I could take care of him and his new soy-free diet.

In the meantime, he's supposed to keep a food diary. Along with this, he needs to track incidences of difficult swallowing. Hopefully, we'll be able to find common triggers of food items that he can also eliminate from his diet!