magz811
Junior Member
Posts: 94
Jul 8, 2014 18:51:11 GMT
|
Post by magz811 on Apr 5, 2016 14:40:51 GMT
On Sunday, my brother & SIL came to visit and brought my daughters candy necklaces. My middle daughter, Violet, has a massive sweet tooth (like her momma) and devoured the necklace. Bro & SIL then took the girls out for a late lunch and let Violet have Dr. Pepper with her meal and red italian ice for dessert.
Fast forward to about 3 hours later. It was like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. My sweet (and sometimes ornery) 6 yo turned into a MONSTER. I have never, ever, ever seen her act this way. She was so aggressive and angry. I said "no" to something (TBH, I don't even remember what it was it was that trivial) and she freaked out. She went into her room and threw herself on her bed screaming and punching the pillows. It was like a scene from The Exorcist.
I sat across the room from her and spoke very calmly and softly telling her to please calm down, take a deep breath, tell me what's wrong, trying to be understanding, all of that. It got to the point that she was screaming and crying so hard that she could hardly breathe. I was concerned she might pass out. She finally tired herself out and stopped.
I let her alone for a little bit and then went to talk to her. We talked it out and she said she just felt so angry. She apologized for acting that way and I told her if it happens again that she needs to take a deep breath and count to ten. I told her I'm always here to talk.
She has never, ever acted like this before. She's gotten angry after being told "no," but never has she acted out like this.
I recounted the events to a friend and she told me her daughter reacts this way after she has a large amount of Red Dye#40 and Yellow #5. I checked the ingredients for the candy necklace and the Italian ice and they both have Red #40 and Yellow #5. I'm unsure about the Dr. Pepper since I can't find an ingredient list that lists the artificial coloring used.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Any advice other than avoiding large amounts of these dyes (which we are now doing).
TIA
|
|
|
Post by Anita on Apr 5, 2016 14:47:52 GMT
My son had that reaction to Benadryl. It was bad! I had no idea that it could do that, but once my MIL told me, I researched quite a bit. No advice on the dye issue, but wanted to let you know that I understand. Hope you find a good solution!
|
|
caro
Drama Llama
Refupea 1130
Posts: 5,222
Jun 26, 2014 14:10:36 GMT
|
Post by caro on Apr 5, 2016 14:51:07 GMT
I believe there is truth to what you are saying. I saw it in my ADHD child when he had too much sugar and those dyes which are in a lot of things.
To change the subject, are you the Pea with a DD named Sydney? If so, how is she?
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Apr 5, 2016 14:57:53 GMT
I have been avoiding food dyes since the early 90s or so when a doctor gave me a list of often overlooked asthma attack triggers, and a few different food dyes were listed. That one really resonated with me, as I didn't consume a lot of food colors to begin with, but I had had 2 major attacks in a few months---one on Halloween night and one during the Christmas holidays, both times when I was consuming far more food colors than usual.
So I decided to try my best to avoid artificial food color from then on out. Because of that, my kids don't eat that much of it, either, but again, on special occasions they do, and we've seen them exhibit both digestive & behavioral changes, but I figured it was due to a combo of issues. My older DS always seemed to act up when he was very excited, for instance. And he tended to get an upset stomach whenever he consumed food different than he routinely ate. So in those cases I couldn't pin either issue on just the food color, but I would imagine the food color didn't help either issue. (And while studies have routinely shown that kids don't actually become hyper with a sugar increase, I have definitely noticed my own digestion issues if I eat more than usual amounts of sugary foods, so the sugar could have contributed to their digestive issues as well.)
Long story short, I don't know that I could pin my own kids' unusual behavior from time to time on just food color, but it's pretty easy to cut it out of your day to day life, so we choose to do that as a precaution against the issues mentioned here or any others.
|
|
magz811
Junior Member
Posts: 94
Jul 8, 2014 18:51:11 GMT
|
Post by magz811 on Apr 5, 2016 15:03:50 GMT
To change the subject, are you the Pea with a DD named Sydney? If so, how is she? I am! She's doing great. She's 9 years old and in 3rd grade. She's come a long way especially since starting school. We've been very lucky with teachers and support staff that have been a huge help. She also started karate a few years ago and that has helped tremendously with her motor skills. Thank you so much for asking.
|
|
tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
|
Post by tincin on Apr 5, 2016 15:07:58 GMT
My youngest son used to react to red dyes. His ears would turn bright red and off he would go like the Tasmanian devil. It was crazy. It was so bad we used to tell him to put his hands on his forehead and push his horns back in. He eventually outgrew it but it was a trying few years.
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Apr 5, 2016 15:11:27 GMT
That is a ton of sugar and caffeine for a 6 year old. I think I would look to a sugar/caffeine crash as being the issue before I implicated the dye, especially if she doesn't normally consume those amounts of sugar and caffeine.
|
|
Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,011
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
|
Post by Sarah*H on Apr 5, 2016 15:14:53 GMT
I absolutely think it's true. When my brother was a child, he reacted very badly to both sugar and red food dye. We have some epic stories in our family about things he did after consuming them - like the day the preschool gave him a strawberry frosted donut or the day the babysitter let him drink red kool aid. As an adult, he still chooses to avoid both sugar and red food dye.
Fast forward 30 years and my own daughter has similar sensitivities. We have generally avoided exposure just because of the way we normally eat but were on a road trip a few years ago and she had a drink with red food dye and it was like she turned into a neck spinning, spitting demon. We've done a couple trials since then and confirmed that it genuinely alters her personality and makes her an angry, irrational demon child. It's not that hard to avoid it so it hasn't been a big deal.
|
|
|
Post by Miss Lerins Momma on Apr 5, 2016 15:15:22 GMT
When DD#2 was little, I noticed when she had red dye she acted horribly, so for years we tried to keep her away from anything red. I have a bad reaction to yellow food dye, so that's always off the table too. I have noticed over the last year or two that she can now have red and it not affect her. So maybe she out grew it? I still, however, cannot have yellow.
We try to do without them as much as possible. But a lot of times its hidden. I've learned with yellow food dye, sometimes they call it annato in the ingredient list, instead of yellow dye.
|
|
|
Post by Butterfly Momma on Apr 5, 2016 15:23:12 GMT
My oldest son used to react in a very similar way to very small amounts of artificial colors. Thankfully I was able to help him realize the connection and how he felt was directly related to the dyes. He has largely outgrown it (he's 8 now) but still stays away from foods with artificial dyes because he remembers how awful they made him feel. I would suspect that in this case it was the combination of artifical dyes and large amounts of sugar, especially if she isn't used to consuming much sugar. It's definitely not a fun experience!!
|
|
|
Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 5, 2016 15:37:42 GMT
I have noticed that my younger two kids act horrible if they have icee's (red or blue). It is usually pretty quickly after they have had it, though. Like the negative behavior starts within a half hour
|
|
|
Post by iamkristinl16 on Apr 5, 2016 15:39:51 GMT
There are many dyes that are allowed in the US but not in other countries. There have been petitions and pushes to have that changed. Some companies have done so (notice the most recent Kraft Mac and cheese commercials) but not all.
|
|
|
Post by jennyap on Apr 5, 2016 15:40:40 GMT
|
|
paigepea
Drama Llama
Enter your message here...
Posts: 5,609
Location: BC, Canada
Jun 26, 2014 4:28:55 GMT
|
Post by paigepea on Apr 5, 2016 15:43:41 GMT
I would probably blame the sugar, which can really act like a drug in our bodies, before blaming the food colouring.
|
|
seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,786
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
|
Post by seaexplore on Apr 5, 2016 15:51:19 GMT
Not dyes but Claritin flips my kid out. Like 2 hour temper tantrum flip out. No thanks!
|
|
|
Post by delila on Apr 5, 2016 16:33:08 GMT
My now 28 year old son was the same way as a baby & I first noticed it when he was prescribed an antibiotic with red dye in it. He was only around 14-18 months old & started to hallucinate. I was so scared for him that I rushed him to the drs office & was scolded by them for not calling first & not having an appointment! I haven't forgotten that, I was a young mum, 22 years old, scared for my son & thought that was the best place to take him. From then on he only had meds without dyes & no colored drinks or foods. At 28 he is still sensitive to the dyes but not to the degree he was.
I truly do believe there is a direct correlation between dyes in foods, drinks, meds etc that affects us, especially children that we do not pay attention to.
delila
|
|
|
Post by Merge on Apr 5, 2016 16:41:16 GMT
My older daughter definitely has a strong digestive reaction to a lot of red dye. Red koolaid or red velvet cake come right up again. She knows to avoid those things.
I hadn't really considered whether there might be a behavioral reaction as well. She still eats things with small amounts of red dye (jelly beans where some are red, for example). That would explain ... a lot, actually.
|
|
|
Post by disneypal on Apr 5, 2016 16:55:45 GMT
That is a ton of sugar and caffeine for a 6 year old. I think I would look to a sugar/caffeine crash as being the issue before I implicated the dye, especially if she doesn't normally consume those amounts of sugar and caffeine. That was my thoughts as well.
|
|
gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,091
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
|
Post by gsquaredmom on Apr 5, 2016 17:06:45 GMT
Keep a food diary and see if you notice a correlation. One of my son's migraine triggers is blue dye, so I think it's possible for people to have sensitivities.
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Apr 5, 2016 17:06:55 GMT
I don't know the whole story, but one of the neighbor kids at the lake has a sensitivity to red dyes so they now avoid anything with that listed in the ingredients. He wouldn't eat M&M's because of it. The mom is very relaxed on a lot of things, so just the fact that they're pretty hard line on that tells me it's something more serious.
|
|
|
Post by cath4k on Apr 5, 2016 17:23:00 GMT
Yep, one of my four cannot handle artificial food coloring. People who have trouble with them also usually have trouble with TBHQ, BHT, and BHA. Some also have trouble with naturally occurring salicylates (like my son.) Natural salicylates are highest in foods like red apples, grapes, tomatoes, and berries (the salicylates are a natural defense for the plants as a pesticide.)
We had to avoid a lot of stuff when he was little. At 12, he can still get a reaction when he has too much, but he knows how to handle himself better when he feels awful. He also still avoids the chemical additives (coloring and preservatives) 99% of the time, but if he has it occasionally, he can handle it.
His symptoms were extreme emotional behavior, irrational thinking, nightmares, bedwetting, red ears, and trouble falling asleep.
There seems to be a lack of an enzyme called phenol-sulfotransferase in people who have this problem. If this is your child, you can give her an Epsom salt bath to curb the reaction. The Epsom salt will provide the absorbable form of sulfur necessary for the body to clear the salicylates. The magnesium will also be calming.
I have not found the scientific reason for it, but one thing that helped my son a lot was a good quality probiotic. I don't know if he was missing good bacteria that support that pathway or had bad bacteria that were giving off a byproduct that overtaxed the PST pathway or what, but the probiotics help, for sure!
Hope that helps.
|
|
|
Post by Lindarina on Apr 5, 2016 17:25:33 GMT
My son has that reaction when he eats gluten. He has Tourettes and on a gluten free diet he is symptom free as well. Blue stuff makes him throw up, so yes. We have definitively experienced reactions to food I make most of our meals from scratch and avoid most additives that way.
|
|
|
Post by kellybelly77 on Apr 5, 2016 18:31:00 GMT
I always suspected it with dd#2 but never did a food diary to trace it back. When she was about 4 or 5 we gave up high fructose corn syrup so that also took most of the dyes out of our diet as well. The kids get it every now and again but I haven't seen the reactions I used to. So I just don't know.
the 100 days of real food lady has story after story of people who talk about how their kids react to dyes and various preservatives. And then the dramatic changes after they changed their diet.
|
|
|
Post by elaine on Apr 5, 2016 18:55:13 GMT
For us it is MSG and caffeine. I couldn't even eat foods with MSG when I was nursing ds#1 because he would become incredibly agitated. So many processed foods have MSG in them. If my kids happens to have a soda with caffeine in it, very little sleep is had that night. We only buy caffeine free beverages for the boys.
|
|
magz811
Junior Member
Posts: 94
Jul 8, 2014 18:51:11 GMT
|
Post by magz811 on Apr 5, 2016 19:04:12 GMT
Thank you all so much for your responses. I am now leaning towards the caffeine/sugar combo, but will continue to limit our intake of the dyes.
|
|
|
Post by gmcwife1 on Apr 5, 2016 19:04:53 GMT
I believe there is truth to what you are saying. I saw it in my ADHD child when he had too much sugar and those dyes which are in a lot of things. To change the subject, are you the Pea with a DD named Sydney? If so, how is she? Same with my youngest and her ADHD. She had a can of spaghettio's a few months ago just because she's now 16 and was laughing about missing out on them. It was pretty funny that once she had them she realized it was no big deal and they were not as good as she thought they would be. She doesn't like carbonation and doesn't eat a lot of sugar. So for your dd I would have also looked at the amount of sugar/caffeine she had that day.
|
|
|
Post by alexa11 on Apr 5, 2016 20:17:29 GMT
Yes- 4 yr. old DGD had some kind of red juice- watered down. It was really bad- that stuff went down the drain.
|
|
RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,535
Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
|
Post by RosieKat on Apr 5, 2016 21:08:54 GMT
Yes, my son has a bad reaction to red 40, so much so that even he agrees he shouldn't have it. He get irrationally angry and even violent. Apparently the current thought is that if you're already prone to ADHD, it can really be a problem. And trust me, he's textbook ADHD. Lol. I think.
|
|
Hestia
Junior Member
Posts: 94
Jun 28, 2014 4:47:17 GMT
|
Post by Hestia on Apr 5, 2016 21:14:29 GMT
My older daughter definitely has a strong digestive reaction to a lot of red dye. Red koolaid or red velvet cake come right up again. She knows to avoid those things. I hadn't really considered whether there might be a behavioral reaction as well. She still eats things with small amounts of red dye (jelly beans where some are red, for example). That would explain ... a lot, actually. Yeah, my husband and his son have a very strong reaction to any amount of red #40. They projectile vomit if they consume any of it. My son has adhd and I had heard of a possible link to behavioral issues, so we just avoid anything with red dyes in our house.
|
|
|
Post by ktdoesntscrap on Apr 5, 2016 21:50:22 GMT
For my daughter it was so bad with dyes that she avoids them completely.
Even at 7 or 8 she KNEW how bad she would get because of them.
I would test them out.
Give her something with a lot of dye.
Then give her something with a lot of sugar
then try the caffeine.
It is hard to separate the sugar from the caffeine or the sugar from the dye. But you should be able to figure out what is causing it.
|
|