The Simon Family wrote:
"My middle child was
not exposed till she was two, but as she doesn't share  the physical
resemblence my oldest and youngest do (same body build and characteristics),
I'm not surprised she has no allergies.  My oldest and youngest are very
alike.  This is just my experience, others might have different experiences."

This remark caught my eye because my first child with many many allergies is
extremeley fair, blond hair, brown eyes (blue til 10 months), slight build,
easily sunburnt.  He is dairy allergic (and also to gluten grains, eggs,
soy, nuts, legumes, peanuts, etc.)  My second child is olive-skinned, tans
easily, with black hair since birth, almost-black eyes (also since birth),
short and wide.  She showed some early dairy intolerance in my diet when
breastfeeding around 3-5 months, but I kept testing maybe once a month
and now at 8 she does not react.  We are hoping, fingers crossed, she
really does have different genes for allergies.  My observation, among
a totally non-scientific sample, is that lighter-skinned, fair-haired
children seem to show up with more allergies.  (My husband who  is Hispanic
and relatively olive also has many airborn allergies as do I, of Irish
descent, so I hesitate to say it is ethnically related.)  Anyone notice
anything similar for dairy/other food allergies? (If you wish to email me
offlist, I will compile results and make a report.. I know it is a somewhat
idle topic, but may point to some linkage of genetic traits.)

Susan
[log in to unmask]