Allergic to all food Will never have a beer or birthday cake Doctors have 'no idea' what's wrong

KALEB, 5, cannot eat. He does not just have a peanut allergy or a milk allergy. He is allergic to all food.



The only things he can put in his mouth are water and a certain brand of lemonade .



He is fed for 20 hours a day through a machine that pumps nutrients directly into his stomach.



Unless doctors can find a cure, he will never have his first beer, or a birthday cake, the Advertiser reports.



He can not even share pencils with friends in case he accidentally ingests a bit of food left there.



His mother, Melissa Bussenschutt, said doctors have "no idea" exactly what is wrong with him except that food makes him violently ill and fills his stomach with ulcers.



"Little did we know he was in so much pain," she said.



"He's got severe malabsorption, so he doesn't absorb food.

"They're doing tests to find out why it is that he can't eat food. It can be really hard.



"If we go out to dinner, to a restaurant, he gets a cup of ice and he'll say `What are you eating? What does it taste like?', or `It's not fair'."



Kaleb had a birthday party in February, with a clown and face painting – and a birthday cake.

"He still wanted a birthday cake, but he wanted his sister to eat it," Mrs Bussenschutt said.



"He still wanted to blow out his own candles, but he wanted his sister to have his cake."



About one in 20 children have some sort of food allergy, but most allergies are mild and many disappear in time.



Kaleb's doctor was overseas yesterday, but allergy expert Professor Peter Sly said cases like Kaleb's were "very rare".



Professor Sly is the head of Clinical Sciences at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.



"I've heard of severe absorptive problems that do these sorts of things . . . it's often unclear whether it's a true allergy or an intolerance," Professor Sly said.



"The bowel is just so irritable it just can't tolerate normal foods."



Experts refer to the current generation of children as "Generation A", in reference to the increasing number of allergies, and have called on governments to invest in more research in the area.



The Bussenschutts are trying to raise money for more research and have organised a bike ride from Melbourne to Adelaide next year.



For more information or to contribute phone 0417 814 870.



Originally published as Medical mysterty of the boy who cannot eat