first time reaction

speciwoman

Wed, Apr 14 2010, 6:04 pm

Tonight, for some reason, I decided to give my toddler (almost 3) peanut butter with dinner. I have not given him peanut butter before, though I know he has had it at least a couple of times from other people.

He didn't like it and only had a bite or two.

Then, a few minutes later, I noticed him rubbing his eyes. I thought he was sleepy. A couple of minutes later, I noticed that his eyes were puffy, red, and swollen. The area around his mouth was red and blotchy. It then spread to his cheeks.

I, of course, got very nervous and called my father-in-law, who's a pediatrician. He told me to give him 1/2 a zyrtec right away and watch him very closely. He said that any possible reaction would happen within 15-20 minutes, and I should call 911 immediately if he showed signs of breathing difficulty or swelling in his throat.

B"H that did not happen.

My father-in-law said that I should make an appointment with a pediatric allergist and get a prescription right away for an epi-pen.

I'm so upset. Are we headed down the road where I have to worry about him for the rest of his life every time he's out of my sight because of nut allergies? Did other people's stories begin the same way? Can anyone make me feel better? I feel like I hurt my baby.

Mommy3.5

Wed, Apr 14 2010, 6:17 pm

Peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes. Having a peanut allergy does not mean that he will have a nut allergy. It is hard, and you will worry, but peanut is one of the easier allergies to deal with because 1- it is labeled for, 2- people are very aware of peanut allergies.

Definitely,see the allergist, get an epi pen, and ALWAYS carry the epi pen and benadryl with you. Make sure there is an epi pen in his classroom, an that you show the teacher how to use it.

Make sure Wherever he goes, people know about the allergy,

(hugs) and don't worry too much, it gets easier to deal with over time.

OldYoung

Wed, Apr 14 2010, 6:39 pm

My daughter's allergies were discovered the same way, but much earlier. LOL

I was not surprised since there are allergies in my husband's family. It's not really such a big deal for us though. She's two and we keep benadryl and an epipen in her diaper bag. It becomes a little bit of a pain if you want to send to backyard daycamps, etc., because you need to make sure that the counselors are responsible enough to be able to deal with the allergy. But our babysitter has asked that all of the parents not send nuts and they were all really kind and went along with no problems. The preschool that she will probably attend is also an official "nut free environment" so we should be pretty ok in that area too. Btw, we went to an allergist who confirmed that my daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.

small bean

Thu, Apr 15 2010, 9:35 am

my daughter is allergic to penuts and we are not sure about other nuts, yet. she had breathing issues all summer and then -I once gave her penut butter and she had a full blown attack... I never really gave her. the allergist told me that it's hard to get accurate reading under the age of 6. but there's definitely levels I think it goes on a scale of 1-5. it get's easier. I explained to my dd all the issues, she's 3 and pretty much takes care of it herself and knows when to ask for help.

Gerbera

Fri, Apr 16 2010, 10:06 am

Hi,
I just took my daughter for testing again and each time she was tested in a different area. The doctor will probably first take some family history to find out about any allergies in the family and then ask you questions about your child's reactions to the peanuts. The first time my daughter went she was tested on her back and this past time on her arm. They use drops of liquid for each allergy they are testing and will place a drop on the back or on the arm and then prick the skin so the liquid goes under and then wait approx 10-15 minutes for a reaction. If the skin swells a bit, that could mean the results are positive. If there is no swelling, it could be negative. This time round my daughters results were negative on the skin test but the doctor wants to be 100% certain so she has to go for bloodwork to double check the allergy results. I think that's what you should expect more or less! You will probably have to hold your child on you or hold their arm still for the test...the doctor will make markings in pen next to each liquid drop so they know which it is and that's it!

Gerbera

Fri, Apr 16 2010, 10:10 am

oh and you should not feel at all that you hurt your baby! If anything this has given you the opportunity to find out about any allergies and be well equipped to deal with them if you need to! Peanut allergies ARE scary...but like someone else mentioned - companies are very good about labeling food containing peanuts. My daughter is allergic to tree nuts and coconut and I find I have to read through list of ingredients on everything because many times it is not listed under the allergy information - especially coconut and coconut oil. My daughter broke out in hives after having a macaroon - that's how we found out...so there are different types of allergic reactions. Children also outgrow allergies!! That's why we had my daughter retested - so far, thank G-d, it looks as though she has outgrown it - hopefully bloodwork will come back negative too.

small bean

Fri, Apr 16 2010, 10:23 am

speciwoman wrote:

Thanks for the info.

I imagine my son is going to FREAK OUT. Poor baby.

mine did not. the doc drew pic on her hand - like smiley faces and told her now it's raining etc... my kid did fine - she actually just asked yesterday in middle of a major attack if she can go back there - cuz she loves that doc.

Mommy3.5

Fri, Apr 16 2010, 11:23 am

speciwoman wrote:

Is the allergist able to tell you how severe the allergy is? For example, my son only had a skin reaction last night, is there a way to determine if his allergy is mild?

there are no mild allergies, only mild reactions. If you keep giving a child a food that he reacts to, his body will continue to reject it, and it can go from mild to anaphalactic with Even just one exposure. The only way to keep a kid 100% safe is to keep the allergen away 100%, and even then accidents happen.

Mommy3.5

Fri, Apr 16 2010, 11:32 am

Blood tests are really not accurate for allergies. They are only about 60% accurate. My son who is anaphylactic to sesame, got a near zero reading on his blood test. My son who eats soy, came out with very high numbers on blood work for soy, but the prick tests, come out 100% normal.

Even the skin testing is not 100%. you can get negatives on the skin and blood but still react to the food. In food allergies, the most important test is what happens when you eat it. Allergies, are really not an exact science. It would make life so easy if it was, but unfortunately, its not.

The law in the US requires companies to label all products with warnings for peanut, treenut, dairy, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish and eggs, any other allergen you would need to read the ingredients carefully.