Just found out son has peanut allergy

I am glad to hear that you are researching the subject. Initially, this is a difficult thing to do... but after a while, you'll be great at it! To answer your question, the main problem is peanuts, not peanut oil. Although many people, including myself will not let their children near the oil either! You will have to read every single label; look for possibilities of cross-contamination, and stay aware ANY time you eat out. The biggest dangers are restaurants, bakery foods, baked goods, candy, and foods that are baked by friends (since you can't see the ingredients). Ice cream may have touched PB, some BBQ sauce contains it, some fast food restaurants (like Subway and Boardwalk Fries) fry in Pn oil. Also, look out for Pringles potato chips, as many of us have had problems. Mostly, i suggest looking at this board, the board for FAST (food allergy survivors together) and the Food Allergy Network. Their newsletter is awesome. GOOD LUCK! And feel free to ask us any questions. We're all in the same boat!

Thanks for the info....I have 1 more question maybe someone could help with. The Doc said my son is allergic to peanuts, and to stay away from peanut oil and any other kind of nuts just to be safe....now I hear that someone I know who also has this allergy can't eat peas either. My son eats peas all the time and nothing has ever happened. Should I just not give them to him anymore? Thanks for any advice.

Thanks for the info....I have 1 more question maybe someone could help with. The Doc said my son is allergic to peanuts, and to stay away from peanut oil and any other kind of nuts just to be safe....now I hear that someone I know who also has this allergy can't eat peas either. My son eats peas all the time and nothing has ever happened. Should I just not give them to him anymore? Thanks for any advice.

My son is PA and he eats peas all of the time. Peas are in the legume family (with peanuts). Some PA people (very few, I think) may also have reactions to other legume family members. But if your child is happily eating peas with no problem, then don't worry about it.
Christine

I also noticed the following things: Arthur Treachers fries in peanut oil (big sign, thanks to them for that) Nestle's crunch bars, Chex Mix WITHOUT peanuts (peanut flour) Boo Berry and Count Chocula, Nesquick cereal (new, turns the milk chocolate.) Watch out at ice cream places where they throw the scoopers into the same bath water (gross!) my sister had a problem at Friendly's due to them throwing crushed peanuts on sundaes; they went everywhere. Watch McDonalds where they serve Butterfinger (not Blizzards, but the same thing.) Little Debbies are off limits. Veggie burgers can contain peanuts.

Read those labels! You will fall into a routine and there really are a lot of foods out there that are safe.

As for the legumes, etc., my son tests a class 3 for soybeans, but eats tofu raw, by the cake! My allergist says you can test positive, but if no symptoms appear, keep on eating that stuff. So peas should be OK if he is eating them now. My kid eats them and any other beans/legumes no problem.

Cathy,
In regards to the peas, my advice to you is to let your son eat them unless you notice that he coughs after eating. My daughter loved peas, but after a few years developed an allergy to them, we noticed that she stopped eating frozen peas and would only eat them canned and would often cough durring and after meals. My daughter is also very allergic to soy, but I understand that these allergies do not have to go hand in hand.

One reason that doctors recommend staying away from all nuts is that they are often processed with peanuts or on the same line as peanuts and wind up carrying the offending allergins with them.

MaryLynn

Hi! Peanuts, peas, soy, and other beans are all in the legume family. While there is a greater risk of being allergic to foods in the same family, there isn't any set answer. Some people can eat them, and some can't. Unfortunately, my son's worst allergies are peanuts, peas, and then soy. (I never even imagined peas---who knew?) But other PA people are fine with peas. Just make sure you watch carefully when he eats peas. My doctor also has my son avoid all tree nuts (for one, he's severely allergic to some tree nuts)--but second, there's a higher risk of cross-contamination of peanuts. I suggest reading all labels, and particularly avoid Chinese food, Thai food, any bakery foods, any homemade foods (especially around Christmas time, since nuts are often "special treats"). Subway and Boardwalk fries cook in peanut oil... Good luck!

HI, Cathy - I have a 16 month old PA boy - I can sympathize with how devastated you feel when you discover your baby has this problem! But, fortunately, it has not affected us as profoundly as I thought it might (at least, not yet). The dr. warned us that peanut allergies often go hand in hand with allergies to eggs, peas, beans, soy, and shellfish. But we do not seem to have allergies to any of those things. We stick with brands that we're familiar with and that we know the manufacturor's/distributors are careful about cross-contamination (but still do read labels), avoid bringing anything we know to contain peanuts into our home, and avoid eating take-out Chinese or anything at parties we're not familiar with. I know that, as he gets older, it will be more difficult to police everything he eats, but so far, we're doing OK. This board has been a tremendous help.

Anyway, not sure any of this has been helpful, but just wanted to offer empathy and support.

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Before I knew my son was allergic, I'd try to get him to try peanut butter because of the protein in it (he wouldn't eat meat). I gave up after a few tries, thank goodness, because we later found out about his PA. I won't let him have green beans because his dislike of them was the same as that to peanuts.

It seems daunting at this point, but you will become more confident over time. Please remember to trust your instincts. We really thought our son was allergic to mangoes, but couldn't see how this was possible. Years later, when the PA showed up and he was tested, he also tested positive for cashews, which has mango in it's family. A support group can really give you some great information, as can the sites already mentioned.

I wanted to mention to watch for labeling which is not specific, such as ones that have natural flavors, natural flavorings, spices, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (or similar type wording)... etc. which is not specified. Also to remind you to call the manufacturers if you see this to find out what ingredients are actually in their products and to request that they specify these on their labels. This thread is by no means all that you need to watch for but I am impressed. Keep up the good work.

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Stay Safe,

[email]"Chris@PeanutAllergy.Com"[/email]