Peanut-Free/Nut-Free Directory
Our directory is intended as a resource for people with peanut and nut allergies. It contains foods, helpful products, and much more.
Hi. My son was diagnosed with PA in Feb. 2012. He was twelve years old at the time, but I believe his story goes back to when he was six.
He WAS NOT BORN with PA. Around six (probably following the series of required vaccinations for first grade), he developed what we thought was lactose intollerance. He later began having sores in the corner of his mouth that wouldn't heal. We treated him with lactose tablets and then took him to a dermatologist who tried to treat his mouth sores topically and NEVER ONCE mentioned a food allergy. It wasn't until his assistant noticed the lactose intollerance note in his file, that SHE suggested we might want to back off on milk products. We pulled everything milk-related out of his diet (which inadvertently elimated MOST things peanut-related.) His face cleared up!
It was only after my son had sudden onset of itching and swelling to his face following the ingestion of a walnut, that I decided I needed help from an allergist. (Note that this was also shortly following a Dtap booster he received when he turned twelve.)
His skin tests came back positive for peanut, chocolate, cherry, lima beans, and peas. The allergist told me to do an actual food test at home. The chocolate was okay (got a milk/peanut free pkg.) But the peanut really caused a reaction. We now have an epi pen.
Here's the problem: My son's is so sensitive that he cannot even go into a grocery store without experience swelling of his lip, cheeks, and tongue. Most instances resolve on their own, but not always. Cases, such entering a steaming shower where sunflower seeds have been left (RV Park bathroom, or or being right next to someone who has worked in a food repackaging plant all day, can send him right into anaphylaxis. We have been lucky enough to get a prednisone down him in time to control the swelling, but it was a very close call a couple of weeks ago.
My son IS the rare case of having airborne peanut allergy. IT IS not in his head because he hasn't even been aware of the presence of an allergen until AFTER the reaction. He is not able to go back to church (hot food is always being served and has cross-contaminents that fill the air), nor can he return to baseball. FORGET the fair or Disneyland. FORGET school...we can't even go to Costco! I took him to the grocery store, left him in the car while I shopped and upon returning to the car, his lip swelled. What could I have picked up in the store? (Except I DID have pass by the bulk peanuts in order to buy strawberries.
His allergist is suggesting peanut immunotherapy (IF insurance will approve a drug called Xolair to be used simultaneously.)
I BELIEVE his peanut allergy has been CAUSED by the
vaccinations he has been subjected to. Additionally, his reactions are NOT caused by his fears.
Is there anyone else with an experience like this?
I don't believe there is any causal research showing the peanut allergy is related to vaccines. I was 28 years old before I had my first peanut reaction, many years after any vaccines.
Peanut-Free/Nut-Free Directory
Our directory is intended as a resource for people with peanut and nut allergies. It contains foods, helpful products, and much more.
I'm similar but not to that extreme. i used to eat peanuts all the time! then one day when i was about 10 we went out for dinner and ordered chicken sate (spelling?). my lips began to swell to the point my skin was wrapping. my throat and mouth was incredibly itchy and i had horrible stomach cramps. this happened multiple times of the years. one day during senior year i went down to the shops with my friends to eat lunch. about 15mins before lunch was over i began to feel my lips swelling and the usual itchiness and cramping. i thought it would go away within a few hours like previous times. however, i began to experience other symptoms for the first time. as i was walking to my locker, my tongue began to swell up. by the time i was at my locker it got so bad i thought, "i have to go find someone" (my friends had left because they were 'late for class...'). i tried to find my grade coordinator but she was nowhere to be seen, so i went down to reception to call my mum. at this point my tongue was so swollen she couldn't understand me over the phone and i had to keep repeating myself. she said she was on her way so i waited on the couch. as i sat there i got INCREDIBLY hot. i was sweating through my uniform! i could not sit up straight and just sat on my side. mum finally came but had to sign me out of school. they wouldn't let me go because there was a huge party on that night and people were leaving earl to get read, and they just assumed i was one of them. after seeing the deputy she finally let me go. when i got to ER they took my blood pressure and said it was dropping so they gave me epipen. for 3 weeks i couldn't walk properly because my leg felt as though it was going to give way as if the needle had deteriorated my muscle. i have had incidences where i react to just smelling peanuts if I'm on the other side of the house. its just strange how it took 10 years for anything to appear.
one of the hardest parts is inconsiderate people. they think "you can't expect the world to alter their ways to suit your needs" thats never what I've ever intended. perhaps you could stop ordering peanut dishes when we go to restaurants and then breathing in my face.