Do You Think Anaphylactic Allergies Are Hereditary?

So, sorry, but the question perhaps more clearly, before your child or you were diagnosed with PA (or other food or drug allergies or environmental allergies that are anaphylactic), was there ANYONE that you knew of in your family or your partner's family that had a similar allergy?

Or, is your child/yourself, the first?

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

We're kind of hoping it's not....

Geoff & Helen

Geoff & Helen, that's so cute. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Hanging out by the computer waiting for your water to break are you? Actually, my water never broke either time, just started to be in pain. And with Jesse it was funny. I was scheduled to be induced because he was late. I didn't know anything about back labour and I had been having pains in my back but I didn't know and there was no water breakage, as I said, so we take a cab down to the hospital for me to get the induction gel stuff put in.

I guess I wasn't dialated (?) enough at that point for my ob/gyn to notice or not notice anything, so he put the induction gel in, I laid there for a bit and then I was sent home, despite the fact that I could not stand up to walk because of the pain and also pleading that I had quite a long way to go, could I not simply wait there?

Well, since I was already in labour (but back labour) and didn't know it, the induction gel worked even faster than it normally would have. I was scheduled to return to hospital the next morning, a good 12 hours after having received the gel. We did manage to get back home and then the fun began. I had a warm bath to try to help matters. I laid down on my bed, calling DH only a name his family calls him (it's nothing horrid, it's Ronny, instead of Ron) and after about an hour of that, I asked him to please call the ambulance.

Well, we have the system here where if you dial 911 you get fire, ambulance and police, and since we lived right across the street from the fire hall, the fire personnel arrived first. I don't know how many firemen (there was NOT a woman amongst them) looked at me to see if the baby was coming out or not! It wasn't. I often thought of that later when I would walk by that fire hall. However. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img]

Police came and also checked me and then the ambulance finally came and I cursed and carried on and they told me not to be afraid that they were putting the siren on but that it would get me there faster.

Not clear of the point of that story, sorry. Oh, your water may not break and you may have back labour.

I'm getting SO excited for you two (three)! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Now looking back, I can see that although there are no food allergies in my family, there was plenty of other things.
Ezcema, asthma , hay fever.
my grandad had terrible skin, and my uncles, ( my mum had 6 brothers , poor woman!) most of them had the itchy skin . One I remember having it really bad on his feet, that he spent a fair while with feet in a bowl that had some sort of wierd concoction from the doc.
my uncle who is nearest to me in age ( 6 yrs older) has terrible asthma, and spent most of his time at school resting, so that he could have the strength to walk back home after school.
As an adult he has sea food allergy, which is severe.

On my hubbys side, MIL was puzzled as to why william was the only one. But as hubby has adult onset asthma and hayfever, i wasnt surprised.
SIL has produced children with asthma and food intolerances.
So , even if it wasnt visable, the allergy gene pool on both our sides is making its presence felt.

I am a typical itchy person, and only yesterday I was talking to my mum about being an organ doner, she suggested her skin.(being a v heavy smoker all other internal organs must be completly worn out)
I laughed at that, and told her that i would have lots of pity for the person that got a chunk of her skin on them.
Never to be able to wear gold or perfume , or clothes washed in any fabric conditioner, no hairspray, no make up.

who wants skin like that?
LOL
sarah

On the good front , have met adults who have severe allergy and have not gone on to produce food allergic children.

yes

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Ellen
Allergic to Shellfish/ Mom to Jesse 9/01 who has PA

Sometimes I just want to say "blah blah blah blah blah."

Can I say yes and no?

I know that siblings of allergic kids are more like to have allergies.

But no one in my family or my husband's has PA. Many have seasonal allergies (which I don't think are related), and some have sensitivity to the acid in OJ and tomatoes.

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[i][b]Allergy Patrol[/b][/i]

I think allergies in general are hereditary. My siblings and I were on allery shots, one had the eczema, etc. Mine was mostly foods I grew out of. No one severe. My Uncle has severe shellfish allergy. I think if you are prone to allergies, you are more at risk.

Funny thing - Being one of eight children, and having 4 of our 23 grandchildren, you would know that MY kids are the only ones with eczema and severe allergies. Actually, the only ones with food allergies, period. One of my SIL has shellfish allergy, but none of her kids have any allergies. DH has no allergies.

Rachel

I read someplace that 75% of the population is allergic to poison ivy, which is the most common allergy. So while food allergies are relatively rare, having some family history of allergy is not. We just tend not to think about food allergy and getting poison ivy in the same context.

T.

In our families, it doesn't seem that anaphylactic allergies are hereditary, but the atopic triad sure is.

In DH's family: food, drug, seasonal and dander allergies are common. Eczema is an issue for DH and his father.

In my family, it's mostly hayfever and metal allergies. I was the only one with eczema until my kids were born. I have a sister who developed allergies to apricots and peaches as a teenager. My mother, my sisters and I are aspartame intolerant.

On my husband's side there are a few allergies. Our neice is allergic to pennicilin, hubby's brother is anphalatic to shellfish, hubby's sister has environmental allergies, hubby has environmental allergies. So yes I do believe it is hereditary..

Pam

In my family I'll have to say yes, Dh is highly allergic to trace Brazil nut oil. I have what could be serious now i don't know; allergy to shrimp and mangos, dd had a really bad hives reaction to a pork rind. I guess we weren't overly surprised that ds has food allergies as well.

My sister is allergic to bee stings as is her son.

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dd:7 pork rind allergy
ds: 18 months PNA, fish

Doesn't anyone find it queer (if this happens to anyone else) that you don't hear about other allergies on say your husband's side of the family until LONG after diagnosis?

I mean, my son was diagnosed PA at 18 months. Never heard word one about any other allergies in the family aside from environmental.

Then, my daughter (non-PA) developed an allergy to amoxicillin last year and only then was it that I heard bizarre rumblings about 'cillin allergies in both SIL's and possible bee sting allergies in one SIL and one niece. But again, no Epi-pens in sight.

Perhaps it's just my DH's family. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

I don't have a clue about allergies on my birthfather's side, but there are multiple allergies (none anaphylactic) on my mother's side. My grandfather was allergic to witch hazel and penicillin, along with numerous hay fever type allergies. My mother only has hay fever.

My husband has numerous environmental allergies although he seems to be the only one in his family to be truly bothered by them.

Now, as for myself, I had a LOT of trouble as a child that went undiagnosed. I was severely intolerant to every formula made as a baby, and ended up being fed soy because it was the only one I could keep down, even though I still reacted badly to it (skin rashes, tummy aches, loose stools). My mom tells me she had to introduce one food at a time and watch me closely, although she doesn't remember exactly what she was watching for LOL. As an older child, I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, which I am certain now was asthma. I was sick all the time and missed more school than I attended until I hit about 12 or 13 and finally got healthy.

I think I probably had food allergies. None anaphylactic, thank goodness - I wouldn't have survived my childhood. As an adult, I am not truly allergic to any foods, although I am definitely intolerant in regards to milk, soy, and strawberries. I am severely allergic to sulfa meds and witch hazel and maleleuca oil. I have been told I could potentially experience an anaphylactic reaction to sulfa, although I haven't in the past.

I do know that the predisposition to allergies is hereditary, but I wonder about the link to anaphylactic food allergies. I've had it explained to me that it's simply a predisposition to allergies turned to food instead of other allergens, and it becomes far more severe because of the nature of food proteins and how they enter the bloodstream. However, it doesn't answer the question of why so many children's systems are turning food into the enemy instead of pollen, for example.

I don't know that I necessarily buy the cleanliness theory. I think it's more a matter of our current diet of highly processed foods, many of which contain ingredients that we wouldn't normally expose our children to until later ages. And it could potentially have to do with innoculations - when you think about it, we are in essence activating our children's immune systems at early ages. I'm not a doctor, and could be way off base, but it seems like there could be a potential link there.

I'm anaphylactic to bees, and DD is anaphylactic to peanuts and tree nuts. The day after her anaphylactic reaction, an allergist told me that the tendency to be anaphylactic is hereditary, not just the tendency to be allergic. Therefore, because I'm anaphylactic to bees, she is at a higher risk of anaphylaxis. In her case, her system picks peanuts and tree nuts to anaphylax. She is also dairy, soy and wheat allergic (but not anaphylactic to those foods).

My father was anaphylactic to bees, so we have a strong 3 generation family history of anaphylaxis (plus asthma, eczema and hayfever).

Anne

Quote:Originally posted by csc:
[b]Doesn't anyone find it queer (if this happens to anyone else) that you don't hear about other allergies on say your husband's side of the family until LONG after diagnosis?
[/b]

Now see, in my family it was the opposite.

Before I ever got pregnant I knew that my fil had an allergy to penicillin and that bil had very bad seasonal allergies when he was younger.

When I got pregnant (or in a family way as fil says [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img] ) I was reminded (by fil) about his allergy to penicillin. He has had at least two anaphylactic reactions to it (won't wear a medic-alert bracelet). He never used the word anaphylactic - but that's what he described. And his last reaction was the most severe I've ever heard of anyone living through.

I know my sister didn't develop her allergies until after me - but I don't know about my brother. I didn't hear about until after, but then, he won't discuss it with me at all - his wife told me about it. All he did was confirm that she was correct and it's no big deal - drop it. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/rolleyes.gif[/img]

My cousin (anaph. to lobster) I remember hearing about when I was a kid. Actually - I had to fight her off of trying to steal my lobster.

I also have a cousin anaph. to wasps, and a half-nephew (is that a word?) that is allergic to some insect bite or sting. (Funny thing - one works as a garbage man and the other as some kind of environmentalist - living in the deep woods for weeks at a time, all alone. I guess neither of them want to let their allergy control them. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] ) The cousin I knew about since I was a teen - the half-nephew I never knew existed until the last 10 years or so. I found out about his allergy because when his mom found out about my allergies, and my son's, she raised the topic wanting to know about the epi-pen. Her son refuses to carry one because he said it buys time - and if it will take days for someone to reach him all he's doing to pronglonging his agony. I suggested he carry one when he's in the city. She said he would suggest that to him.

My uncle (anaph. to crab) I only heard about within the last 10 years. I only heard about it because I was discussing my allergies with another uncle and he mentioned that he and his brother had been out and stopped at a place for lunch. They both ordered Lobster Roll and the uncle with the allergy asked if they used any crab in the meat. (Crab was cheaper then lobster and a lot of places would mix the two together and not advertise it as mixed.) He explained about his life-threatening allergy and was assured they NEVER cut the meat with crab. They lied. I don't know whether or not my uncle was carrying epi - but he did go to the hospital and he is fine.

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That sounds like an awful lot of people with allergies doesn't it. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/confused.gif[/img] And they are all on my dad's side. But it's a really huge family. There are probably even more that I don't know about.

What was your question again? Oh right. Anaph. allergies being hereditary. I was going to say no. But, well, I think maybe I should say yes.

Although, Cin, my son's reactions have not been anaph.