Mom Warns Others after 11-Year-Old Daughter Dies from a Toothpaste Allergy
An 11-year-old girl with multiple allergies died after a reaction to a milk-based toothpaste.
Denise Saldate, from West Covina, California, was diagnosed with a milk allergy when she was only 1 year old. According to Allergic Living, she could not properly digest breast milk or other dairy products, not even substitutes based on soybeans.
Her parents, Monique Altamirano and José Saldate, received EpiPens, an emergency auto-injector to administer adrenaline and stop anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that can be fatal because it causes the airways to shut down.
A girl with a severe dairy allergy died after her parents say she used toothpaste prescribed by her dentist that had milk in it. Now, her mom and dad are urging other parents of kids with allergies to “read everything.” https://t.co/GyH0xN79TA
— FOX59 News (@FOX59) April 19, 2019
Also, to make sure that the girl didn’t suddenly have an allergic reaction, her parents always read carefully the labels of the products and foods that Denise was going to consume.
Monique said she cried with worry every time she left her daughter in the care of someone else for fear that they would not consider the girl's allergies as a serious matter that could put her life in danger.
It NEVER would have occurred to me that there could be dairy in toothpaste! Oh, that poor girl. My heart goes out to her family. And to all parents of kids with severe allergies.
— AmyOztan (@AmyOztan) April 19, 2019
***
Parents warn others after 11yo girl suffers fatal reaction to toothpaste https://t.co/RHJ7VcAXfN
However, despite all precautions, Denise's parents never imagined that milk could be an ingredient in toothpaste, so they allowed the girl to use MI Paste One, a product her dentist prescribed.
According to Yahoo, the child was excited to use that "special" toothpaste for the white spots on her teeth, since that dental hygiene product was supposed to strengthen her enamel and make her teeth look better.
Denise Saldate, who had an extreme dairy allergy, went into anaphylactic shock after using a new toothpaste prescribed by the dentist that unexpectedly contained a milk protein. #9Newshttps://t.co/ddzRkvwMCr
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) April 17, 2019
Although the product had the warnings printed on the front and back of the tube indicating that the toothpaste contained Recaldent, the family didn’t know that this ingredient was a protein derived from milk.
On April 4, Denise went to brush her teeth before sleeping like any other child when she suddenly ran to her parents to tell them that she could not breathe. They realized when they saw her that her lips were already blue because of the lack of oxygen.
Girl dies from an allergic reaction to toothpaste
— Lane Pietrylo (@LanePietrylo) April 16, 2019
“Monique now wants parents of children with #allergies to check everything and never make assumptions about what is safe for them.”
https://t.co/z0jK0ngGEI
The mother quickly called 911 and started doing chest compression on the girl, a technique she had learned in first aid training for her previous job as a school bus driver.
However, all efforts to save the little girl were in vain and unfortunately, Denise died that night.
After her death, Denise's uncle created a page in GoFundMe that since then has accumulated more than 23 thousand dollars in donations to cover the funeral services of the girl.
#REcaldent is milk derived protein allergic to many kids. @gofundme is created that has amassed more than $17,000 in donations, to cover the girl’s funeral services and awareness to take allergies seriously
— Deb (@dj_deb) April 18, 2019
In the midst of the pain of her daughter's death, Denise's parents said that raising awareness is "the only thing that makes sense." According to her father, the girl was a born leader who dreamed of being a veterinarian, a news producer and having her own restaurant.
"Denise wanted to change the world, but it is heartbreaking how she is doing it," said her mother.
This tragic story reminds us of a 15-year-old named Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died from an allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich aboard a British Airways flight.
A girl with a severe sesame allergy died after eating an airport Pret a Manger baguette, which did not list the ingredients https://t.co/J9dWBkqYee pic.twitter.com/R4y7oO6E9U
— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) September 23, 2018
The teenager was allergic to sesame seeds but the ingredient hadn't been listed on the package, causing her to collapse on the plane.
