new allergy

Hi Cheryl - welcome. As I understand it, allergic reactions can be highly variable. One time there might be a little tingling, one time a rash, the next time anaphylaxis.

So yes, I would advise treating the potential allergy as very serious. The basics of this are (1) get epipens, (2) read all labels carefully and eliminate food that may contain peanuts, and (3) be aware of the possibility of cross-contamination. (like the fact that jelly jars in most households will have peanut contamination from people making PBJ sandwiches).

It puzzles me that your allergist didn't automatically perscribe an epipen, given the positive test results of both the blood test and the skin prick. It may be the fact that she has eaten peanuts before without reaction, and he suspects a false positive, but given the possible consequences, I would prefer to have the epipen available. I would definitely follow up with him on this.

Take care, and let us know what happens.

Thank you so much for your response. I can appreciate the need for support, such as this site offers. I posted my original message only a few hours after confirmation that my daughter did in fact have an allergy to peanuts. I was in denial then, but since, I have had a few revelations. On two separate occasions, my daughter's entire trunk was covered in a red splotty rash, which I attributed to a reaction from antibiotics that she was taking. However, on one of those occasions, I now specifically recall giving her a peanut butter cracker minutes before I noticed the rash. Also, my husband inadvertantly gave her peanut butter cereal a few days ago and within minutes her nose started running excessively and has not stopped yet. It has been over 48 hours. She did have a slight rash on her shoulders, but not the big splotty rash that developed while on the antibiotics. She now has developed a cough with a little wheezing. Although I was angry at my husband for giving her peanut butter, I guess now I can at least attribute many of her past "cold symptoms" as allergy reactions and know that this is directly related to peanuts. Does anyone know if the antibiotics could trigger a different allergy reaction to peanut butter, hence the red spots covering her trunk? I am confused as to why I would see such a variance in symptoms. Or maybe it was in fact a reaction to the antibiotics? Regardless, I stepped out of denial, got two jr. Epi-pens, and am working on keeping her free of peanut products.

My son's reactions have varied from sneezing uncontrollably, to swelling, hives, and the full blown anaphalytic reaction. He has even had unexplained fevers, that in retrospect, I feel was from second hand contact at school. What I do know is that I can never predict how his little body will react.