Pat, Banana is actually not such an uncommon allergen, although lots of babies don't exhibit signs moms recognize until they are eating solids. Yes, any allergen will "pass into breastmilk". I certainly would not encourage taking such a risk when the baby has already had such a serious reaction. Banana allergy can indicate a latex allergy as well as allergy to other fruits such as kiwi, avocado and mango. Banana allergy tends to get worse with more exposure. Oddly, he seems to be having some symptoms of both forms of banana allergy. With oral allergy syndrome, he would have local symptoms such as facial hives, but with the latex-related allergy one would expect vomiting and stomach pain. In this case, it would not be a benefit to the baby to cook it. Banana is also a high sugar food, so it is probably not a good choice for him anyway. Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA Intuitive Parenting Network LLC Pat wrote: I facilitate a weekly BF moms' support group for a suburban hospital. A mom who attends the group has a little guy who's 7 months and just starting on solids. I should also add that he has infantile diabetes (diagnosed at 5 days, dad also the same). Mom does a great job of keeping him controlled, testing him several times during the day to check his insulin levels. Little Owen had about a teaspoon of banana last week. Here is his mom's description of what happened. "Owen's reactions to eating bananas (about a tablespoon is what he eats) are hives on the face within minutes of eating and projectile vomiting 3 hours after eating. If there are other symptoms, he's too young to tell me... But he did not have any swelling of the tongue or any respiratory problems. The vomiting causes big problems since he is diabetic and on insulin. Because he cannot keep anything down (even breastmilk) for several hours after vomiting, his blood sugar drops quite rapidly. I did find out that cooking them breaks down the reaction-causing protein, so I can at least have banana bread! Anything you can find out would be great." Mom's question is "does the allergen in banana pass through into the breastmilk like dairy and soy?" In other words, can mom eat a banana? I had never heard of anyone reacting to banana. Do any of you know anything to tell this mom? Thanks so much. I have been on Lactnet since almost the beginning and my LC friends think I am so smart with breastfeeding stuff, but it's all info I've learned from this fantastic world-wide community! Pat Bucknell IBCLC Mother's Helper/private practice Avon Lake OH (a far western suburb of Cleveland along Lake Erie) _________________ *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome