Grieving Mom Cautions Others After 11-Year-Old Daughter Dies From Allergic Reaction to Toothpaste

After a grieving mom loses her 11-year-old daughter from her allergic reaction to toothpaste, she cautions other parents to pay attention to the hidden dangers of common household products.

Monique Altamirano lost her daughter, Denise Saldate, after she went into anaphylactic shock. Denise was extremely allergic to dairy, and Monique was always very careful about looking through ingredient lists for dairy products. Although she would always check food products, Monique didn’t think to check the ingredients in her daughter’s new toothpaste.

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Denise was given the new toothpaste, MI Paste One, by her dentist to help strengthen her tooth enamel. Her mother never thought that dairy products could be in toothpaste, so she never saw the warning label. In this particular toothpaste, one of the ingredients is Recaldent. This is taken from a protein found in cow’s milk.

Once Denise started brushing her teeth with her new toothpaste, she quickly lost the ability to breathe. “She said, ‘I think I’m having an allergic reaction to the toothpaste,’ and her lips were already blue,” explains Monique. “I picked her up and put her on my bed. I ran to the living room, told my daughter – ‘Call 911!’ – and I grabbed the EpiPen.

Monique goes on to share how Denise was reacting during the horrific event. “She was saying, ‘Mommy, I can’t breathe.’ I was saying, ‘I love you, yes, you can ….”

Mother Loses Young Daughter After Toothpaste Causes Her To Stop Breathing

As Monique’s other daughter was calling 911, she administered the EpiPen on Denise and gave her an asthma inhaler. Then she gave her daughter chest compressions. Monique did all that she could to try to save her young daughter’s life, but Denise ended up passing away from the allergic reaction two days later in the hospital.

In her daughter’s eulogy, Monique and her family warn those who are aware to “share their knowledge and to inform those who are unfamiliar with anaphylaxis or the seriousness of this condition.” The grieving family hopes that by sharing the story of Denise’s tragic death “families, caregivers, school staff, and people in general will take this condition more seriously and that all items will be checked for ingredients, even those that may seem irrelevant.”

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“Read everything. Don’t get comfortable, just because you’ve been managing for several years,” says Monique. “You can’t get comfortable or be embarrassed or afraid to ask and ensure that ingredients are OK. Be that advocate for your child.”

WATCH: Girl Dies From Allergic Reaction To Toothpaste - In Memory of Denise

h/t: Newsner