If you kid had or has an allergy . . . please answer my quesitons :)

Kaysie apparently is allergic to peanut butter- swollen eyes and face and red hives and rash all over her body. Scary day. Anyhow, I had some questions:

1) When you noticed yours was allergic to a food - and had a reaction- how long did it take for them to get back to normal?

2) How long did you wait before you tried that specific item again? (I'm thinking never- but I know I'll have to someday )

3) Any advice as of what to do to help family and friends beware of the severity?

Any other comments are appreciated too

 

Kaysie apparently is allergic to peanut butter- swollen eyes and face and red hives and rash all over her body. Scary day. Anyhow, I had some questions:

1) When you noticed yours was allergic to a food - and had a reaction- how long did it take for them to get back to normal?

2) How long did you wait before you tried that specific item again? (I'm thinking never- but I know I'll have to someday )

3) Any advice as of what to do to help family and friends beware of the severity?

Any other comments are appreciated too

 

My son was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in April 2004. He has since outgrown it which the allergist said by the age of 5 he probably would.

To answer your questions.

1. It took several hours for him to return to normal, his reaction would be: red cheeks as if someone slapped him, vomiting with in 20 minutes to 2 hours of consuming milk and a rash.

2. As per the allergist we took him off milk and re introduced in six month time, if he had a reaction we took him off and in another six months tried again, we repeated this process until last December when it seemed he is once again able to tolerate milk. I would however asked a doctor or allergist about doing this as I dont know if peanut butter is an allergy that can be outgrown.

3. Make it very clear what the allergy is and what the symptoms are and that anything with peanut butter is an absolute no no.

On a side note, my son was allergic to a protein in whole milk, anything in which milk was an ingredient and was cooked he was able to tolerate.

My son reacts to antihistamine as well, so I have to be very very careful what I give him when he is sick. I have a big note taped to the inside of my cupboard so that anyone including caregivers know what to and what not to give him without second guessing.

 

1) Sarah would get back to normal within 24 hours on her own (a milk allergy she has since outgrown). Timothy (current allergy to at least pecans and possibly more nuts) needs a dose or 2 of Benadryl to make the reaction stop

2) Every couple of months we'll retry stuff.

3) I very clearly and graphicly told them what happens when the kids react. Sarah got diarrhea that burned her bottom so bad she just screamed. Timothy just starts itching and scratching and they've seen the scratches. I also pretty presented it as something non-negotiable. I have a reputation as a control freak who needs things followed to the letter. I will admit to using that reputation to enforce that the kids' allergies will be accomodated.

Marissa

 

DO NOT give you child peanut butter again until AT LEAST the age of 3. My guys have a peanut allergy (never had peanut butter but we found out when they had RAST testing done due to their reflux, we wanted to rule out a milk allergy). Peanut allergies can be outgrown, but it is the least likely allergy to outgrow. At your next well child check I would mention it to your pedi. In the mean time stay away from anything peanut.

AS for my guys, they also have allergies to dogs and cats. When we found this out they required benadryl and a few hours for the symptoms to go away. (red cheeks, swollen eyes, ect).

Make sure you always have benadryl on hand due to the peanut allergy. We also have an epi pen because the blood levels were pretty high and since they haven't hand peanuts, we don't know what their reaction would be. Usually each successive exposure to peanuts causes a worse reaction then the previous one. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

Thank you! I never imagined having to deal with an allergy issue on top of everything else.

 

I agree entirely with Amy but would caution you that with peanut allergies you have to be extra vigilant. Peanuts are in things you would never suspect. Bakery items are a big hidden source. (We discovered the allergy at their birthday when Nate reacted to touching the icing on the smash cakes.) Read EVERY label.

I would also suggest that you call your pedi and request an appointment with an allergist. Since peanuts are hidden in a lot of things, I think it would be wise to be tested sooner vs. later.

Until you are tested, I agree you should always carry benadryl and anyone who is watching them should have it on hand as well. I have it in my purse at all times with the epi pen.

 

My son is HIGHLY allergic to milk, it can not even touch his skin! We found out when they were 1, I was trying to convert them over to milk slowly because Grace was lactoce intolerant. Well he puked, had hives and couldnt breathe within 5mins of drinking it. VERY SCARY! But we went to the allergist he was allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, chicken & corn. Well now he is 2 we went for another rash test and blood test and the only thing is milk, eggs and a little soy & wheat. So he DID outgrow the peanuts, chicken & corn He since he was a few months old had HORRIBLE eczema and we did the skin test and he came up negative for food allergies, I could go on and on but I would ALWAYS have benedryl like the others said and request to see an allergist. Any questions feel free to pm me Good luck to you because reading labels is not fun.

 

Samuel was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at 15 months.

I would not give your DD ANY peanut butter and start reading labels carefully. We also avoid baked goods that are not made at home - there are nuts and p. butter all over most bakeries and there's a chance trace amounts of peanut could end up in something, even if it's not labeled for peanut butter. You also have to be really careful in restaurants. It only takes a tiny amount of peanut protein to cause a reaction, so contamination is a concern.

The chance of outgrowing a peanut allergy is only 20% and having even one additional reaction can greatly decrease her chance of outgrowing it, so you want to be vigilant.

I would highly recommend seeing an allergist. You should have an epipen and benedryl on you at all times. Peanut is one of the allergies that is most likely to cause anaphlaxis - very dangerous. An allergist can skin test her, prescribe an epipen, and give you info on how to deal with the allergy.

If she outgrows the allergy, you will be able to give her p.butter again, but the only way to know she's outgrown it is for her to be periodically tested by an allergist. Otherwise, it's way too dangerous to guess on your own.

Sorry you are dealing with this It's no picnic. We are being very careful with Sam's diet and are praying he outgrows it. Feel free to PM me.

Michelle

 

I had somebody tell me that he had a peanut allergy and couldn't even use "almond flavoring", in such things as cheesecake or frostings.

I've also heard the same thing about peanut allergies, although nobody in my immediate family has allergies (I used to work in a check out lane at a grocery store, you wouldn't believe the conversations I've had! LOL) That you have to be really really careful.

Good luck finding out for sure!

 

Noah is highly allergic to the cats and dog at my mom's house. He must have touched something right before we left, rubbed his eyes on the car ride home (20 min), and his eyes were swollen shut by the time we got home. Three doses of Benedryl and about 24 hrs to get him back to normal.

Aiden gets hives if he eats or touches anything contaminated by strawberries. The hives tend to take 2-3 days to go away completely with regular Benedryl.

I highly recommend getting an EpiPen Jr and a referal for allergy testing.

 

Hi, my kiddos arnt allergic to anything, but as a child I was severly allergic to peanut butter. To answer your questions

1) The first time I had reaction it took me about three days to get back to normal, after they had figured out what it was and started giving me benedryl as soon as I started breaking out in hives it only lasted for about 8-12 hours.

2) Its probably best to wait until after they are 3 to actually try it again, but another thing you could do is just put a little bit on her arm and see if a rash developes around the area that has come in contact with the peanut butter. (its a good way to check and see if she has outgrown it, without it getting into her system).

3) The best thing would be to keep reminding them that she cannot have peanuts/peanutbutter. When I had gotten old enough and went to birthday parties and stuff I used to always ask if there was peanut butted in every cookie I was offered, (apparently I was good at reminding them because eventually everybody knew not to offer me peanuts). Another cute idea is to get her a bracelet with "allergic to peanuts" ingraved on it. I used to treasure mine and wear it around everywhere, it was fun to show people and tell them about it!

Good luck!

 

I don't have any answers to your questions. I'm sorry. We also had a reaction to a nut recently(candied walnut) and cake icing on first birthday (didn't know that pb might be the culprit), but not as severely.

However I'm curious why so many moms were able to go to an allergist. I've repeatedly asked my pedi and others in the office about an allergy test and they keep telling me that there is NO TEST. They say it is just trial and error, and to avoid nuts now that we know there is an issue with my daughter. How do you get referred to an allergist????

 

Ellen-

I talked to my pedi and asked her about a referral or should we go (our insurance doesn't require a referral) but she said no. Just no peanuts, peanut butter or anything with peanut oils. I asked her about an epi pen and she didn't seem to think that was needed ?? I am not going to give Kaysie pb for a VERY VERY LONG time and putting it on her skin is a great idea- DOWN THE ROAD- WAY DOWN- from now. My pedi was for or against a referral - just said to simply stay away from those items. ?? I was thinking of going to see a specialist anyhow- just so we can track it since it was sooooo scary! Today is day 3 and her eye is less puffy- still has a couple hives or scratches from itching and her eye looks somewhat like someone punched her. Poor thing. And then my dad came today and brought peanut butter cookies, and lots of bakery items! UGH!!!!!

 

quote:
Originally posted by kaysyd:
Kaysie apparently is allergic to peanut butter- swollen eyes and face and red hives and rash all over her body.


Ok, seriously, if that is how strongly she reacted the first time having peanuts, you can assume that the next exposure will be worse, possibly anaphylactic. Demand an EpiPen Jr. Seriouly.

 

Have you given her any benadryl??

I was really disappointed that my pediatrician's office was so lackadaisical when I called asking for advice on Sam's allergy. They said just to avoid peanuts and we didn't need to see an allergist. But with my insurance, I don't need a referral to see a specialist so we went anyway. I'm very glad we did. There's a lot more to handling a peanut allergy than just avoiding peanuts, as I've found out through all the reading I've done.

Peanut (along with tree nuts and shellfish) are the most likely allergens to cause anaphlaxis. Anaphlaxis is a very dangerous reaction involving several organ systems (not just the skin) and can be deadly. The problem is that you never know if the next reaction your child has will be anaphlactic. You should have an epipen with you at all times and you need to know when and how to use it. Benadryl will not touch anaphlaxis. An epipen buys you 20 minutes to get your child to a hospital. You need to know about bi-phasic reactions and what to do if your child has one.

It's complicated and dangerous stuff which I would not rely on a regular pediatrician for. Other types of allergy (milk, for example) are more easily outgrown and not as dangerous as peanut. Maybe you can get away with seeing a regular pedi for a milk allergy, but I would see a specialist for peanut.

The other advantage to seeing an allergist is they can monitor the allergy by testing. (The skin test is not perfect - you can have false positives. But you are unlikely to have a false negative.) Our doctor wants Sam to be retested at age 2. The only way to know if they've outgrown it is to have the allergist retest them. It's too dangerous to "test" them on your own. And if you "test" her and she reacts again, you are decreasing her already slim chance of outgrowing the allergy.

Some good resources that may help you: FAAN
The Peanut Allergy Answer Book

Michelle

 

THank you all!!!!!! I have decided to call an specialist tomorrow and go from there! Thanks for the link Michelle- I'm going to check that out!!!!