Hi, I live in Canada and was at my dd's preschool check-up today at the public health nurse. Of course, her peanut allergy came up in discussion. (we have two dd's with pa/tna) According to her, the latest public health recommendation is to introduce peanut product to babies at the same time grains are introduced, which would be at about 8-9 months. Has anyone else heard about this? We are still holding off exposing our 3rd child, but I thought this was an interesting change in their policy. What do you think?
Cheers, Gilli
I haven't. What are the studies and proof...I would want to see that first. And if it's in families with peanut allergies in siblings??? I have 4 kids, my 1st is not PA....my 2nd is and not sure about #3 and #4 yet....It would be worth seeign more info, but I won't go holdign my breath just yet, sounds VERY risky!!
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Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig)
Savannah-1 (milk and egg)
The American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines have said peanuts/tree nuts and shellfish need to wait until three. In the Weisnagel review articcle that has been quoted here many times there was some mention of longer (perhaps 5 ) in siblings.
New research may change these guidelines but this may be a few years away.
Personally I wouldn't vary from these recommendations without consulting a board certified allergist
[This message has been edited by alliedhealth (edited February 07, 2007).]
What??? I'm in Canada and last I heard they said wait until at least three! Eek. Do you know who was recommending it (where she got her info from?). That's scary that she's recommending it at that age.
Well, whaddaya know...I found this...
[url="http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-gs/know-savoir/inf_feed_e.html"]http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-gs/know-savoir/inf_feed_e.html[/url]
"After baby is 9 months old, when you start to give him or her peanut butter, choose smooth peanut butter and spread it thinly."
It said the page was last updated in 2005. I know for SURE that our public health unit does not recommend it until at least age 2, preferably age three.
that could be a very scary siuation, for the people who don't know about allergies. Honeslty, I would need to go back and look but I may have offered Jake pb around age 1...I had no clue about any possible allergies at that time. They don't tell you to wait longer until something has already happened. With his siblings I waited until age 3 for Carson(he's only had one tatse and I decided to hold off again) they suggested to age 5 now! And for mom nursing not to eat it...but that has been new, they didn't tell me otherwise when my 3r old was a baby, I ate it.
They really should think about printing stuff like this, but I know LOTS of people that give it to young kids and most are fine...it's the very few that aren't fine and this becomes a scary piece of information.
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Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig)
Savannah-1 (milk and egg)
Thats absolutley crazy! Why in the world would you give your child pb at that age? They must not have had allergies in mind whoever wrote that and besides, pb is gooey and would get stuck in their mouths and throat anyhow regardless of any allergy.
There are far too many risks to even consider trying this foolishness.
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Isaiah 53:5
The information I recieved came from our provincial public health department this year. I assume it comes from the latest relevent research, I doubt they would make a decision such as this on a whim. It was suggested you could give the PB on toast or such. They did not suggest that I give it to my baby since he has allergic sisters, but said this was for the typical child with no allergic history. Hope that answers some of the question.
Cheers, Gilli
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND WOULD PERSONALLY NEVER FEED ANY OF MY CHILDREN PB BEFORE AGE 5, GIVEN OUR FAMILY HISTORY.
However, there was some study, a while ago, about occurance of PA in Isreal, where children under the age of one are routinuely given a peanut-containing biscuit as a teething aid. Their rate of PA was lower. I'm not sure how they controlled for other factors, but the underlying theory is that large doses of peanut protein at an early age can help prevent PA, while small exposures (e.g., peanut via breast milk or peanut oil in baby lotion) may trigger it.
This is the same theory behind the current recommendation to make sure that kids who have outgrown their peanut allergies eat peanuts regularly, to keep the PA from coming back.
I'll see if I can find the specific reference.
I also live in Canada. My paediatrician, who I absolutely trust and think he's great, told us to wait until our kids were 1 before offering pb. Unfortunately, my youngest son had a face rash and we found out he was allergic to pb. There is no family history or anything like that and his older brother is not allergic.
Quick question, since I'm keeping both kids off of pb, is it possible that my older son will not be able to tolerate pb in the future if he avoids it for the next 10-15 years of his life?
thanks.
Sharon - son #1 (almost 5) - NKA; son #2 (1 1/2) - PB allergy
Quote:Originally posted by SallyL:
Well, whaddaya know...I found this...
[url="http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-gs/know-savoir/inf_feed_e.html"]http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-gs/know-savoir/inf_feed_e.html[/url]
"After baby is 9 months old, when you start to give him or her peanut butter, choose smooth peanut butter and spread it thinly."
Huh.... well, whaddaya know. That's [i]exactly[/i] what [b]we[/b] did... How come it turned out so baaaaaad? That is [i]sooooo[/i] NOT FAIR.
We followed the [i]directions[/i] that came with our baby.... [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/tongue.gif[/img]
(I'm being totally facetious, BTW... I think my DD would have been every bit as allergic no matter when that exposure happened...3 months or 8 years. It wouldn't have mattered in her case.)
Ed to fix [i]
[This message has been edited by Corvallis Mom (edited February 08, 2007).]