Questions from a \"new\" mom

[b]
Here's my question: My son was exposed to a cereal with peanut butter as a main ingredient. Minutes after he had puffy swollen eyes, white of his eyes were red, runny nose, hives all over his face, slightly swollen lips, and shortness of breath. My husband took him to the ER of course. After treatment, he was sent home with a prescription for prednisone. Is that considered an anyphylactic reaction?[/b]

It sounds like one to me because more than one body system was affected and because he suffered shortness of breath (especially concerning!)

[b] I ask because after we tested (this was after his ER visit), all the allergist wrote was for us to avoid eggs, peanuts, and cats. He didn't prescribe an epi. I called the NP who they listed to contact if I had questions. I asked her what I should do should he accidentally ingest peanuts or eggs and she asked if I had an epi pen. When I said no, she called the pharmacy right away to prescribe him one. [/b]

I agree with the nurse practioner! He should definitely have a prescription for Epipen Jr. Make sure you get a twin pack so you have an extra.

[b]I know he only scored a 3, but his reaction to me was scary. He scored a 4 eggs but the only time he was exposed to that was when he was 1 and he only thing that happened was he got hives all over his body. Is it possible for him to have a worse reaction to eggs if he gets exposed to it again? [/b]

Absolutely.

[b]Should I get a bracelet for him?[/b]

I highly recommend getting him a Medic Alert bracelet. They make a petite size just right for a two year old. They will help you figure out what you need to have engraved on the bracelet. Their bracelets are very rugged and he won't be able to get it off or lose it. [url="http://www.medicalert.org/home/Homegradient.aspx"]http://www.medicalert.org/home/Homegradient.aspx[/url]

Cathy

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Mom to 8 yr old PA/TNA daughter and 4 yr old son who is allergic to eggs.

[This message has been edited by Momcat (edited July 13, 2007).]

[This message has been edited by Momcat (edited July 13, 2007).]

if it helps to have another opinion...I agree with everything momcat said! My son is peanut/tree nut and egg allergic and he has had anaphylaxic reactions to all of the above! Keep those Epi's on hand at ALL times, and the bracelt is a GREAT idea(IMO). HUGS and welcome(sorry you're here though)

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Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 1/2(beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 1/2(peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-4 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig and EE)
Savannah-1 1/2 (milk and egg)

Thank you Cathy and Chanda! This is all new to me. I don't know anyone personally who has or has a child with severe food allergies. Naive of me, but all this time I thought allergies would only cause hives and sneezing.

Is it easy to be complacent when our kids don't have reactions for a long time? My parents sometimes watch my kids. My sister's family lives near her too and so are over there a lot. How did you explain to your relatives about your child's allergies? I am afraid that because he does not look sick that they won't take his allergies seriously, specially his cousins.

Just like their are good and bad teachers, or artists ect there are good and bad doctors. Food allergies are on the rise and some doctors are not up to date on anaphylaxis.

If you are allergic to peanut, you are at risk for anaphylaxis. The "score" on a blood test or skin test does not predict the severity of reactions. And in addition, reactions change over time. One reaction can be mild, the next severe, the next mild. They're not predictable.

THere is an article in one of the AllergyMoms newsletters that was written by Dr Robert Wood on Testing.

[url="http://www.allergymoms.com/uploads/newsletters/allergymoms_newsletter_05_13_07.html"]http://www.allergymoms.com/uploads/newsletters/allergymoms_newsletter_05_13_07.html[/url]

(You can copy and paste this or go to "Archives" on [url="http://www.allergymoms.com"]www.allergymoms.com[/url] and clik on the May issue)

You might want to take a look at that and even his book:
Food Allergies for Dummies, which I'd recommend.

Good Luck to you!
Gina
[url="http://www.AllergyMoms.com"]www.AllergyMoms.com[/url]

Thanks Gina for the info. I like your website by the way. :-)

Another question for you all...I was thinking about my daughter. Last year I thought she had what was a reaction to peanut butter. When my hubby gave her a peanut butter sandwich she developed a small rash or red area around her chin and then she complained that her tongue felt tingly. Other than that she was fine. She had the peanut butter based cereal my son ate, but she did not react to it. I'm wondering if I should still be careful about her eating peanuts or was she not allergic to peanuts after all?

Have you had your daughter also tested?? I got all 4 of my kids tested, the younger ones I test yearly even. That would be my best answer for you, or just avoid, since you have to for your son anyways(like my oldest can eat it, but we don't have it in the house...so unless she has it at a friends or something, she would never get it anyways).

As for your other question, getting family to take you seriously....I still don't get that from mine. My MIL had a bowl of mixed nuts sitting next to all the other food at xmas! My mom acts liek she gets it, btu then offers to take the kids to Dairy Queen! All you can do is educate, educate until you are blue in the face! I even email my mom links to stories...links from FAAN, anything that she can read and hopefully understand on a minor level. I had my mom and her hubby take a first aide/CPR class with me and hubby(instructor spent time on the Epipen) they had to do that to coninue occasional sleepovers and babysitting(which is rare). So you need to decide how involved you want them and take it from there. I would suggest the Epipen training if they are alone with your kids, it could save their life one day(plus instuctions on what to do in an emergency etc...). Good luck, it's a long hard path, but worth the travel!

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Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 1/2(beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 1/2(peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-4 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig and EE)
Savannah-1 1/2 (milk and egg)