scared to give them shrimp the first time

There are no seafood allergies in our family and DH and I eat shrimp all the time. The Pedi said we could give the girls shrimp after they turned two. Well, now I'm scared to give it to them. I just don't know what we'd do if they had a reaction to it. Tell me I'm being irrational. I was never nervous to give them any other food for the first time.

 

Beth, we had the same fears in our house. DH and I do not have seafood allergies but his sister does and so does my cousin. Our pedi gave us the okay to try it out and said she did not think they would have an allergy and would be more concerned if either one of us had an allergy. We did give them shrimp and so far, so good...no allergic reaction. I think shellfish was the only food I was hesitant about giving them.

 

Make sure you and the hubby are both home when doing it. That's what I would do. Good luck. :hug:

 

I agree...do it when you are home and during the daytime so that you can get access to help if needed.

Shrimp is my son's favorite food. He could eat it day and night, in Chinese food, in tacos, in Jambalaya, cold with cocktail sauce. He is a junkie. (I gave it to them at one...I didn't know it was a high-allergen food at the time. :blush: )

 

I agree with this! Also, keep in mind that people often don't have a reaction the first time they try something; it can be on the 2nd, 3rd, or 8th time.

I have family members who won't give things like peanut butter to their LOs until they're about 4-5. To me, this pretty much assures you that they're going to get exposed when you are not there (daycare, preschool, etc.). Personally I'd rather expose my kids to "concerning" foods a few times in a very controlled environment so I can watch them and take action if necessary. I always joked that I was going to give peanut butter to my boys for the first time with Benadryl in one hand and the car keys in the other. A little extreme, but it's not a bad idea to have a plan of action just in case something happens.


I've never fed my guys shellfish, but that's because we don't eat almost any of it. Their Mama is a picky eater!

But I don't think you are being irrational at all; food allergies are scary! You're doing what you think is best for your kids. I hope that your girls are able to enjoy shrimp as much as you and DH do!

 

Well, considering I just dealt with an allergic reaction that resulted with a trip to the ER, here is my advice:

Make sure to have benadryl on hand. In the event they develop hives, give them 1 teaspoon. If they show ANY signs of having trouble breathing, take them to the ER ASAP.

My boys had their 2 year well baby visit on the 8th. I asked if it was ok to give them peanut butter. She said yes and at this age they can pretty much eat anything I eat.

So the next day I go to Trader Joe's and buy their natural peanut butter. For some reason I decided to wait to give it to them because we had my sister's 50th birthday party that night. On Sunday I was hungry and decided to make a PB sandwich and see if they like it. At first I gave them a little taste to see if they liked it. They did so I made my sandwich and they eat took a bite.

Within 15 minutes Jake's face started to get red. He began to rub his nose and eyes. I tried to give him lunch (not PB) and he would not eat and wanted to be held. All of a sudden he was laying his head on my shoulder and he acted very tired. It was close to their naptime so I put them down and then googled "peanut allergy symptoms". I did not like what I read and I went into their room and Jake was just laying their looking at the ceiling. He sounded like he was having problems breathing so I picked him up and called his pedi. She said to take him to the ER.

When he first started having symptoms I gave him 1/2 teaspoon of zyrtec. The pedi told me to give him an additional 1/2 teaspoon and we left for the ER which was about 10 minutes from the house. When we got there his eyes were beginning to swell. The zyrtec kicked in and they just watched him for 2 hours.

I took him to an allergist on Monday and he does have a peanut allergy. If he injests them it could be life threating. I now have to carry an EpiPen with me at all times along with benadryl. I also have to make sure anyone who watches him knows what to do in the event he eats peanuts. DH's nephew also has a peanut allergy but nobody else that we know of.

Apparently, benadryl is better than zyrtec for an allergic food reaction. The Dr. in the ER said benadryl is a good thing to have in the house at all times.

Now, I never knew shrimp could cause an allergic reaction. I've been feeding it to them since they were about 15 months.

I'm glad I now know what to look for and I hope I did not scare you.

 

Judy, thanks for sharing your story and for the good advice. I'm so sorry your son went through this, and that you have to deal with a food allergy. That's rough! Are they looking at doing oral immunotherapy for Jake to reduce his sensitivity? I've heard promising things about this and wondered if doctors were actually putting it into practice.

I do keep a bottle of liquid Benadryl around at all times just in case.

 

This might sound over the top but we have some severe food allergies in my family (though DH and I don't have any ourselves) so I'm prepared. A friend said if there's a food you're really nervous to give your kid, drive to a hospital parking lot and feed it to them there! Then you're right there if they do have a severe reaction. I might actually do this when we introduce eggs, peanuts and fish. (My brother has a severe allergy to fish--can't even be in the house when it's cooking--and my other brother's daughter has an anaphylactic reaction to nuts and shellfish.)

 

I never heard of this and no, the Dr. did not mention it. She said to avoid all peanut products. His allergy is severe but not so severe that I need to be concerned if a product states it was made in a plant that process peanut products.

He'll see her on a yearly basis and in 5 years they will test him again to see if he's outgrown it but chances are he won't.

Maybe in the next few years they'll come further along with the oral immunotherapy and it will be an option for him.

 

my girls' grandfather gave them shrimp last summer when they were like 14 months old without me knowing it, we were at a family reunion and there was a bunch of food and i was visiting with my grandmother and found out a couple of hours later that they'd been eating shrimp. i was not happy. but luckily there were no reactions.