:
: Hi, I'm pretty new to this list, and I hope someone can help me with this
: inquiry.  My 18 month old son, Dallin, is allergic to milk, eggs, and
: peanuts.  That's all I know of for sure.  When any of these things touch
: his skin, within minutes, the place where contact was made is red,
: swollen, warm, and hivey (is that a word?).

Laurie (from another Laurie!)

My daughter has exactly these same allergies, plus we had to add walnuts
when she tried one at age 4yo.  She's never eaten a peanut, but had similar
reactions to skin contact, and to eating dairy or egg anything.

Unlike your son, she would react to minute amounts of contamination or
a low-level ingredient, so there was no question but to strictly avoid
all dairy, eggs, peanuts (and nuts, too).

I would recommend, like others, that you strictly avoid all of these
food ingredients, because you don't know how severe his next reaction
will be, and he can't tell you if something more mild is going on, like
an itchy nose/eye/inside, or a general feeling of not-well.

It becomes easier (much!) to cook egg/dairy/peanut/nut free, after you
find a few basic recipes that work, and substitutions you can use.

Alyssa has become less sensitive over the years, especially to skin contact.
She had the walnut reaction about a year ago, the last major reaction of
any kind.  Her skin test last fall was still positive to everything.  I'm
not quite as careful anymore about wiping every surface everywhere we go -
but she's not a toddler putting her hands in her mouth so much anymore!
She has also never reacted to airborne food particles, or had a serious
reaction to touch, so we don't have to watch out for playgrounds, etc.

Laurie (and Alyssa, 5yo, allergic to dairy, eggs, peanuts and walnuts)