Peanut Butter

I am almost positive that they have had a small amy of it in the past on a cracker or something but I cant remember.

At what age can they start eatting say a peanut butter sandwich? We missed our 2 year well visit b/c we were sick and I cant get a new appt for a while so i cant ask the dr.

what do you think?

 

We have no family history of allergies and we were told to wait until 2. I think our ped is being more cautious now with all the nut allergies, because with my oldest DD he used to let you try it at 15 months, and now he says 2.

 

I did a lot of reading about this and it seems the professionals have many different opinions about this. Some say after 1 is ok, and others say after 2 or after 3 is ok. I even read a book that says you should wait until after 5!!! It also depends if there is any family history of peanut allergy in the family. I decided to introduce peanut butter after they turned 2 and we had no problems. One thing, you want to use the smooth peanut butter, not crunchy, due to chocking risk.

thea

 

mine have eaten nuts and peanut butter since 12 months with no issues - of course there are no allergies in our family either

 

We have no allergies and my girls have had peanut butter since they were 1. Since then they have also had various types of nuts with no issues either.

 

We decided to wait until they are 3 so that's this Sunday. We don't have any history of peanut allergies in the family, but I do have lots of other allergies so we decided it was better to be safe. My DH actually read somewhere that it's more important to refrain from the peanuts when you are pregnant/nursing. I did that with the girls on the advice of my allergist and am doing it again with this pregnancy. My friend has a daughter who is allergic and she lived off of peanut butter when she was pregnant. I have no idea if there is any correlation, but just to be safe, we have been fairly strict with it.

 

We were given the go ahead for Liam today. As long as there are no allergies in the family and no other known allergies in the child, our pedi starts at 1.

 

QUOTE(egoury @ Jan 28 2008, 07:50 PM) [snapback]593577[/snapback]
We decided to wait until they are 3 so that's this Sunday. We don't have any history of peanut allergies in the family, but I do have lots of other allergies so we decided it was better to be safe. My DH actually read somewhere that it's more important to refrain from the peanuts when you are pregnant/nursing. I did that with the girls on the advice of my allergist and am doing it again with this pregnancy. My friend has a daughter who is allergic and she lived off of peanut butter when she was pregnant. I have no idea if there is any correlation, but just to be safe, we have been fairly strict with it.



I have never heard that before. one of my first cravings with the boys and even the pg we lost was peanuts, peanut butter and any other type of nuts and I at them through out my preg. We have no family history of it either though..
Very interesting.

 

I was waiting until 3, my cousins little girl has severe allergies, but DH gave them peanut butter crackers at the hospital when my niece was born. That was in Sept. so they were close to 2 1/2.

 

My dr said that if you already had a lot of allergies, your kids were more suseptible so as a precaution, it's best to stay away from those things. I didn't question her really, just went along with it although I sure do miss my PB. But, it did make me feel better when my DH found the article on the allergies...it basically reinforced what my allergist had told me to do. But, I guess you never really know...here's the article he read.

More Children with Peanut Allergies
If it seems that there are there a lot more kids with peanut allergies than there used to be, unfortunately, it is not your imagination. A study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in late 2003 reported that the prevalence of peanut allergies in children doubled between 1997 and 2002, increasing from 0.4 percent to 0.8 percent of children. That means an estimated one in 125 children suffers from a peanut allergy.

The results can be deadly. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, peanut allergies are to blame for nearly 100 deaths and 15,000 emergency room visits each year, accounting for about half of the deaths and ER visits caused by all food allergies.

Tree nuts, such as almonds, cashews, pecans and walnuts, are also a concern. One survey found that 1.3 percent of adults -- about 1 in 77 -- are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts. Allergies to either peanuts or tree nuts cause about 80 percent of the 30,000 anaphylaxis cases seen in U.S. emergency rooms each year.

To help stem that tide, in 2004 Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which required the top eight allergens in foods to be listed on labels by Jan. 1, 2006. The top eight allergens are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy. Manufacturers must use ingredients' common or usual names so consumers can easily determine if they are in the product. For example, if a product contains the milk-derived protein casein, the label must include "milk" so that people could easily see the food they're buying contains a milk product.

Scientists suspect that peanut allergies are on the rise because children younger than 3 years old are given peanut butter sandwiches or crackers as a quick meal or snack. At such a young age, their immune systems haven't had a chance to develop, and some children's systems react by rejecting the peanut protein. Families with a history of peanut allergies are advised to avoid giving children under age 3 any peanut-based food. Some doctors even advise women to avoid peanuts during pregnancy if peanut allergies run in the family.

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network advises anyone with a peanut or tree nut allergy to carry epinephrine, medication that could control a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. In 2003, the group found that only 46 percent of children and 23 percent of adults who were evaluated for food allergies were prescribed epinephrine.

This article originally appeared in Chow Line (1/8/2006), a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and was adapted for use on NetWellness with permission, 2005.

 

Our pedi says 2. Neither dh nor myself have allergies and I want to try...but I have a niece that is severly allergic, so I'm so nervous. Can you call the pedi and ask?

 

Our ped told us to wait till 3. However, his nurse then told me that if we had no history of allergies or bad food reactions so far, we could start at 18 months or so.

I was going to wait till they were 2, but I got tired of having to screen all baked goods for the possible presence of nuts. They had also already taken a few bites of my powerbar, which I know has nuts in it somewhere. So I officially tried them on nuts one day at about 20 months, but I'm pretty sure they had had them already by that point.

I also ate tons of nuts and PB when I was pregnant. I did try at first to avoid them, but I was so desperate for calories and protein, and there is no history of serious food allergies in our family, so I went ahead and ate them.

 

I was going to wait until our 15 mos check up to ask about this, but started a couple days ago giving them a little bit of creamy peanut butter spread on toast or waffles for their breakfast. Neither myself or DH have any history/family history of food allergies so I felt okay about doing it and they seem to like it!

 

I have a severe seafood allergy (anything iodine, edible or topical) and carry an epipen sometimes since it is so bad, so we are waiting until they are 2. Although we gave it to DD1 at 15 months with no problem... I'm more nervous since there are two of them, and I know more now.

 

We started @ 1 year but have no history in our family.

 

My guys had it at 11 months--by accident! We were having a friendly neighborhood gathering, and some of the older kids finished their sandwiches and walked away. Before we realized it, the boys had "stolen" and eaten the leftovers. They were fine, but like others, we have no history of allergies on either side.

A side note to that study--my SIL's cousin went on a diet while pregnant with her first that was supposed to avoid allergies, by having her avoid basically all the major allergy groups while pregnant. That child is allergic to all the foods that she avoided. Her other three pregnancies, she ate normally, and none of those children have any allergies.

 

Lots of very interesteing info... Thanks for posting the article Ellen!

 

We start around 2 years old. Maybe a few bites of cookie or PB toast earlier. Never before 1. We have no signs of a peanut allergy in either side of the family. Our kiddos are/did doing fine.

 

We have no history of allergies but decided to wait until 3.

 

We have food allergies here, my son is allergic to dairy, eggs and weirdly enough PEAS! My nephew has a severe peanut allergy (and egg too) so we have stayed away from it. Just turned 3 and got the go ahead to try it and of course being typical 3 year olds it's something new and they refuse to try PB & J sandwiches! ahh well.

 

I would wait to introduce peanuts, my little one is severley allergic to peanuts and only found out when he touched peanut butter and rubbed it on his face. I would have some Benadryl on hand when you first introduce it just in case. Neither of my other two are allergic to any foods and neither are dh or I.