new here...have lots of ????

Shelley,
Sorry to here about your daughters reaction. It sounds exactly like the reaction my 2 year old son had.
Make an appointment with your pediatrician today and get a prescription for an Epipen Jr. Keep reading these boards there is a wealth of information here. You should also check out [url="http://www.foodallergy.org"]http://www.foodallergy.org[/url] . Between these two sites, you will find most of the answers to your questions.
Your right, this allergy is quite overwhelming when first diagnosed, but it gets a little easier as time goes on. Just keep reading everything you can about it.
Good Luck
B

I am not sure if I can remember all of your questions but I will try to answer some of them. Yes, there are various reactions. Some people only have minor reactions others have more serious reactions. The problem is that someone who has a minor reaction can have a severe reaction the next time (possibly with a smaller amount of the food). With our son's history, each exposure became more severe, but this is not the case for everyone. My son also used to consume "may contain" items but did react to an item through contamination without a label. You have to realize that "may contain" means that it "MAY" not that it does. Just because he didn't react one time doesn't confirm that he won't the next. I would definately not allow your daughter to continue eating "may contain" items. My son's first several reactions (before we realized the severity of this allergy) were what I consider minor compared to his last two which were anaphylactic. In the beginning only one system was effected but with prior exposures multiple ones. Let us know if you need more answers...my mind is not functioning properly today!

[This message has been edited by NaomiR (edited November 13, 2001).]

I'd recommend that you buy The Peanut Allergy Answer Book. It provides a lot of basic and not-so-basic info about peanut allergy, and is a good introduction to what you need to do to protect your child.

I'd also recommend that you make an appointment with your pediatrician or an allergist, and ask them (right away, when you call) for a prescription for an EpiPen Jr. That way, if your child has a severe reaction again before the appointment, you will have the EpiPen to use.

Our allergist also recommended that we join the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network ([url]http://www.foodallergy.org[/url]). They have a lot of materials you can buy to learn more about peanut allergies, too. (I found the book, and my Internet searches, more helpful, but YMMV.)

I just reread your post. To answer a couple more of your questions, there are varying degrees of peanut allergies. Some people can react severely just by smelling peanuts, while others have to actually eat peanuts before they're affected. Our son was diagnosed with a peanut allergy (skin test 4+), but we don't know how sensitive he is to peanuts. The allergist says that we probably won't know until he's obviously exposed and has another reaction.

He's had one reaction, before we knew he was allergic. I think what happened was that I ate something with peanuts in it, then held Tim to feed him his bottle (without washing my hands first). Suddenly, he was covered all over with hives/rash, his eyes started swelling up, and his lips and the area around his mouth turned red.

Our allergist told us to avoid anything with a "may contain" label. We're also to be wary of anything baked in a commercial kitchen that also bakes nut products.

It gets even trickier. Some companies don't label things with "may contain" warnings, even though they're produced on shared lines. Or, products (like cake mixes) may have peanut-derived "natural flavorings" that aren't identified as such.

Our son was only diagnosed a couple of months ago, so I'm still trying to sort through all the info I've found about peanut allergy and figure out what's safe for him to eat. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img]

BTW, Betty Crocker and General Mills are supposedly very good about labeling things. I've been told that if something of theirs is produced on a shared line, they will label it "may contain."

P.S. I've called Gerber, and they told me that all of their infant/toddler baked goods (cookies, crackers, etc.) are safe except the "wagon wheels." We've been feeding Tim the banana cookies and the cereal squares. I did notice that Heinz is now making some fruit-flavored o-type cereal that is labeled "may contain," too. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/frown.gif[/img]

My daughter had a very similar first exposure at 18 months of age. We were fairly casual about the "may contain" products until she had two more reactions, one to contact and one to very trace amounts. I have found great information including articles and useful handouts on a Canadian web site, ([url]http://www.calgaryallergy.ca[/url])The US food allergy network referred to above is also very good and has a great emergency plan that you can print and use for child care providers anywhere your child goes. I think it is under the anaphylaxis heading. Definitely get an Epipen Jr. I also think a MedicAlert bracelet is a good idea, especially for a young child. Go to [url="http://www.medicalert.org"]www.medicalert.org[/url] They have child sized bracelets and will even supply you with longer chains as your child grows. Good luck. It is definitely a learning process and you have found a great place for information and support here.

I am so sorry about your daughters' exposure. We all know and understand how scary dealing with this is! We had our first exposure (which was similar to yours) when our daughters were about the same age that your daughter is now. I have learned so much from the stories on this website. The previous posts have answered your questions very well. Our daughters first reactions were hives, red blotches, swollen lips. They were triggered later and had respiratory and gastrointestinal responses immediately after the exposure. (It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. We did not have an epi-pen!) My best advice is to make sure that your pediatrician/family physician REALLY understands peanut allergy and does not give you "the brush off". Our original pediatrician did not give us any information and did not explain the necessity of having Benadryl and (2) epi-pens with the children AT ALL TIMES. Good luck in your endeavor to get all of your questions answered. You are very blessed to have found this site so quickly. Best Wishes.