Vomit

Hi Orla,

My first suggestion is to ask your pediatrician or allergist. They are the people with the medical background. That being said, I don't think that involuntary vomiting completely removes the peanuts from the body. There may be some solid material coming up, but that pesky protein is still in the system. I make a comparison to inducing vomiting after ingesting bleach. All you're doing is reintroducing the poison back up the entire digestive system.

Yes, it is true. When they vomit, they reintroduce the allergen into their system. This happened to my daughter. Not only did she eat the PB accidentally, but she threw up, very violently, and re-reacted several times over the course of the next 2-3 hours, one symptom after another. When she vomited, I saw the rash travel right up her body as she was doing it. It was very scary! My allergist told me that if she throws up, along with the other symptoms, to immediately give the Epi.

Thanks for your replies so quickly.
She has thrown up and then gets very pale in
colour, she doesn't seem to get a rash (yet)
that a lot of you have mentioned but she
does get very lathergic and all she wants to do is go to sleep and sometimes her mouth and throat feels tingly.
If she throws up (one occasion tummy cramps) or complains about her mouth feeling funny and tingly, should I then give her the epi.
I have got such a wide range of answers from
my Doctor. I can't seem to get a yes or no
answer, I think because the reactions seem to be a little different every time.

Orla,

The symptoms you're describing are very worrisome. I have heard from other parents here that paleness and lethary after ingesting peanuts are signs that the blood pressure is dropping. I'd love to be able to tell you to administer the epi ASAP, but I can't. I'm sure others here can be of more help or support. If you are administering Benadryl or another antihistamine, sometimes they can cause side effects.

I'm also curious as to how many times your daughter has ingested peanuts or pn containing products? Is it very hard to avoid where you come from? What has been your method of treatment so far?

L&MOJOE
Thanks for your help
Orla has not had peanuts as such it was
food "may contain peanut" or food which was
not labelled properly.
She has had two occassions where she had
something with "main contain". Actually the
first time I didn't realise it was the peanut that made her sick.
The second time she didn't get sick but had
tummy cramps and wasn't feeling well for a few hours. Lathargic etc as I described earlier.
Another occassion my husband had been eating peanuts before he came home from work and then he started playing with her and she got a few hives on her face.
We give her Piriton, it is an antihistamine.
We live in Cork, Ireland.
When we got the epi prescribed from the allergist on 31st May last, he didn't even have a trainer to show us how to use it. Just talked us through it.
The other night she took a sweet from her
cousin. She thought it was a smartie, (you know the coloured cover choc) and straight away she felt funny. (She is normally very
good to check before she eats something different but the problem here is it can vary
from one week to another with the same food,
especially bars and biscuits.
I gave her the piriton, and I was terrified
in case i had to use the epi, I thought I
would be relieved when I got it.
What do I do next??
Orla's Mum

Hi Orla's Mum

I don't really have too much advice for you as I haven't had a reaction (thankfully) since I got my ana pen 2 years ago.
The only thing I will say is that the lethargy that Orla gets will only be made much worse by Piriton. I take it myself when I get little hives on my mouth and face (lord knows what from) and it makes me really drowsy, so I can only imagine what it does to a child!! Just thinking about it is making me sleepy!
Maybe you could try another brand that won't make her so drowsy? I think you can get Zyrtek without prescription, but I'm not sure if that is a fast acting one or not. The chemist should be able to advise you though.

Gwen

Gwen
I have heard that Piriton can make you drowsy
but it doesn't seem to effect Orla that way
I have given it as a precaution one or two other times when she may have had a mild
reaction.
Thanks, for your help, I will ask the pharmacy for something else though.
Cath

Oops! I thought your name was Orla.

Anyway, I work in a medical office and was able to find the family name and information for Piriton. Piriton is an anti histamine classified as a chlorpheniramine maleate. It is a non-selective alkylamines. According the Drug Facts and Comparisons - The prescribing indications for a chloropheniramine maleate is : Allergic rhinitis: For the temporary relief of sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, itchy throat and runny nose due to hay fever and other upper respiratory allergies (oral only). Parenteral therapy (shots) is indicated for the amelioration of allergic reactions to blood and plasma; adjunctive anaphylaxis therapy; and other uncomplicated allergic conditions of the immediate type when oral therapy is impossible or contraindicated.

I did not find specific side effects with regards to this medicine. If you get me the active ingredient, I can get the possible side effects.

The side effects for anti-histamines in general are dizziness; fatigue; loss of coordination; confusion; restlessness; excitation; tremor; headaches; insomnia.

Even better, Orla's mom, is if you can find the American equivalent of this medication. That way I can look it up in the Physician's Desk Reference.

My next project is to investigate the Epi-pen and see what my medical journals say about the indications and side effects of that. I'll do a new post for any info I find re: epinephrine.

Hi, it's me again. While I was composing my last post someone suggested Zyrtec. I can tell you that Zyrtec is cetrizine hydrochloride. It is also an anti histamine. " The indications are for seasonal allergic rhinitis (ragweed, grass, and tree pollen), perennial allergic rhinitis (dust mites, animal dander, and molds) and for chronic uticaria, reducing the occurrence, severity, and duration of hives and significantly reduces pruritus." There are side effects documented with this drug including dry mouth, headache, fatigue, dizziness, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

I can't find any indications for Zyretc with regards to food induced allergic reactions or anaphylaxis.

Never doubt, use the pen. I used the epi-pen jr when my son was 1 1/2 yrs. he took a sip of milk. He had immediate and violent vomiting and huge hives on his torso and face. I tried Benedryl seconds after he drank the milk (I saw it happen across the room-he mistook his friend's sippy cup). The benedryl CAME BACK UP! I gave the pen and almost immediately the hives were going down and the vomiting stopped. He was playing when the medics arrived.

Hi, everyone. I'm new to this list. My 21 mo son is PA. He was diagnosed at 12 mo. I carry an epi-pen jr. with me at all times and thankfully have not had to use it. But I wanted to respond to Orla's post about when to use the pen... I was told that the epi-pen can & should be used at the very first sign of allergic reaction...even if you are unsure of the severity. If it wasn't really necessary - no harm has been done - but if a true anaphylaxis-reaction was occurring using the epi-pen is critical. Of course, any time you use the pen it's imperative that you call 911!

I'm really looking forward to reading more on this board! I don't know very many people who have PA children and it can be very stressful!

Thanks to everyone for their help
thank God for the internet, websites, and
email
With a thing like PA what would we do without
it.
Cath (Orla's Mum)
Thanks again L&Mojoe for all your time and info.

Regarding the "use the pen" approach...

I am 33 and suffered my first anaphylactic reaction to peanuts @ 3 years of age (although back then no one knew anything about it). I have lived a relatively average life -- very careful but normal.

thankfully i have never had to use my epipen (i have 4 -- one in my purse, one at work, one at home and one with my husband). however, i have had epinephrine administered to me on more than one occasion. adrenaline can be very hard on the system and in some cases there can be very serious side effects to the adrenaline itself. with each injection, i have found that my body likes it less and less.

talk to your doctor about this. no one warned me and one time i thought i was experiencing a stroke (i can't imagine how a small child would respond). the pain was so excruciating that i couldn't stop screaming and i'm not generally a very vocal person.

i have since had great success with benadryl, but understand the problems with vomiting (first hand). my nasal passages have completely closed and my windpipes almost shut down after the secondary exposure caused by violent vomiting. very scary.

although i advocate doing whatever it takes to avoid throwing up, be careful not to administer epinephrine if it is not warranted. (also, since i started taking measures to avoid vomiting, my reactions have been more severe and last much longer.)

janfran, I am interested in what type of measures you now take to avoid vomitting. My PA, and TNA five year old profusely vomits from allergic reactions. I would love to know if there is anything I could do to help her with this, in case she should accidentally consume something she is allergic to. Thanks!

Just in case anyone is still wondering, the antihistamine with chlorphiramin maleate (or however you spell it) is Chlor Triplon. I used to take it years ago for my allergies (it is an older anti-histamine). I now use reactine which is better for eczema when I don't want to be drowsy and benadryl otherwise.

by the way, I read that some fatal allergic reactions have occurred because the epi was used too late - it is important to use it early on.

take care

deb

Calfornia Mom,

I have been away from the site and just noticed your post this afternoon...

Regarding measures to refrain from vomitting, both the epiniphrine and the benedryl act to deter vomitting. Since the first time I went to the hospital (I was 23 years old) and received injections of one or both of these I have not thrown up.

However, this may be more a function of getting older and my reactions changing over time. Come to think of it, as I got older my body "waited" longer and longer to vomit after exposure.

After all I've said, I can't decide which is worse -- vomitting and getting it out of the system, but also dealing with the side effects of that, or going through the process of having the allergen pass through my entire system.

Sorry, I don't think this is any help at all. But if it's any comfort, in all the reactions I suffered over the first 23 years of my life (approx. 8), I always vomitted and I believe the danger was not as great as when it has stayed in my system.

Thank you Janfran; I do appreciate your seeing my message and responding. My daughter has, unfortunately, still vomited when we have given her benadryl. We have not yet used the epi-pen. I hope that she will be successfull in avoiding allergic foods so that she will not have to go through any of it again. But, I imagine, there is only the slim chance that that will work out in the long term. I wish you all the best, and I thank you again for helping us moms of allergic kids learn more about dealing with these darned allergies.

Hi,

On the subject of vomiting, when I use to get a reaction and vomit involuntarily, the reaction got worse. But I found if I voluntarily vomit within 2-3 minutes of the reaction, it removes the nuts from my system and all symptoms go away. I have carried an epipen, but with my anaphalactic reaction, it doesn't help much, but the voluntary vomiting
stops my reaction.

I read on this website somewhere that an allergist or pediatrician said that vomiting was not always good because it reintroduces the allergens into the system again. Good question to ask the allergist.

Hi,

What did you do after your daughter vomited from the benadryl? Was she ok or did you go to the hospital? Why did you decide not to give the epi-pen?

Quote:Originally posted by California Mom:
[b]Thank you Janfran; I do appreciate your seeing my message and responding. My daughter has, unfortunately, still vomited when we have given her benadryl. We have not yet used the epi-pen. I hope that she will be successfull in avoiding allergic foods so that she will not have to go through any of it again. But, I imagine, there is only the slim chance that that will work out in the long term. I wish you all the best, and I thank you again for helping us moms of allergic kids learn more about dealing with these darned allergies.[/b]