1 y.o. Son has Peanut Allergy - Help Me Understand...

Hi Jules-sorry to hear of your son's recent reaction. I'm glad to hear he is okay.

Unfortunately there really are no clear answers to your questions. Food allergies are a complex thing and all people and all allergies are different.

Your son could have hives the next 3 reactions and then have a severe reaction the 4th time and then go back to hives the 5th time. There are so many things that factor into reactions and it's so individual.

The best course of action is to keep him away from peanuts and to carry the epi pen at all times just in case.

Regarding walnuts and tree nuts-if he has never eaten them, I would not consider him in the clear. He's still pretty young.

Before my son could talk-he would not eat foods that he was allergic to. We didn't know why at the time. My guess is they caused him some discomfort. At times he would even spit food out and scratch at his tongue.

Walnuts and other tree nuts are often processed in a facility with peanuts and may be contaminated with peanut protein-so many people with peanut allergies also avoid tree nuts...or find tree nuts that need to be shelled or are not processed in the same facility as peanuts.

I would encourage you to see an allergist and have allergy testing done...if they will do it that young. Some allergists won't.

Keep in mind though that there is a high rate of false positives on allergy tests, therefore results must be taken into consideration with history of reaction.

I am not an allergist-but in my opinion a positive test with no history of reaction to a food warrants a food challenge. I would discuss with your allergist what foods you should avoid and also do some reading here and on other sites. Be careful though about avoiding foods or eliminating foods that your son has not had a reaction to as this can also at times cause and allergy in predisposed individuals. Again-discuss with an allergist.

Any other questions-feel free to ask!
Ruth

thanks for the insite. we're going to see an allergist shortly, and hopefully, i'll be able to get more information about my son's allergies.

Thanks again,
jules