Hi Lola,
Thankyou so much for this lead. Now I'm off on a new quest to find out what I can about aflatoxins and any other molds associated with p.b. I'll post my findings if I find out more.
You have been a great help!
Maggie

Hi Shan,
Just wanted to cheer you on in your search for a doctor with a clue! I tried out so many new pediatricians and was disappointed for about 4 years - and most of these doctors were referred to me as being "so wonderful". But it's a different doctor-patient-parent relationship when your child needs more than an annual checkup and the occasional prescription for an antibiotic. I FINALLY found a super allergist and a super pediatrician.
The first allergist I took my son to was terrible - and oddly so, because she is affiliated with a very reputable hospital in town. Through my sister I spoke with a lady whose son suffers multiple food allergies including pa who referred me to our current allergist. As for the pediatrician, it just took a while, but we finally found one and she is a Licensed Nurse Practitioner in a highly-regarded doctor's office.
Peanut reactions do seem to behave in peculiar ways - baffling. My son's first reaction was anapylactic and scared the living daylights out of my and my husband. He was one at the time. The second time he was exposed to peanut butter (around age 2) he had NO reaction at all, but the third time he reacted immediately - merely to touching it. It's just unpredictable. The discussion about molds and aflatoxins (sp?) fascinates me. I'm also reading an interesting book titled Allergic to the Twentieth Century.
I have found that you cannot always rely on a doctor's opinion - there is a lot to be said for the gut instinct. I think doctors are finally getting the word, though, on peanut allergies. Some friends of mine have received advice not to feed their child anything with peanuts during the first few years - what a difference from only 5 years ago when my son was born.
[This message has been edited by ColleenMarie (edited April 04, 2000).]

Hi Maggie~here's a site US Dept of Agriculture Nat'l Peanut Research Lab: [url="http://nprl.usda.gov/Research/MycotoxinControl.htm"]http://nprl.usda.gov/Research/MycotoxinControl.htm[/url]
It mentions aflatoxins produced by fungi on peanuts. I don't know much about aflatoxin but check out the FDA *safe level* at 20 ppb and the European Union set at 4 ppd. Does US import alot of peanuts I wonder. And what is this measurement ppb? Let me know what you find. If the link doesn't work the homepage is [url="http://nprl.usda.gov/"]http://nprl.usda.gov/[/url]

Thanks for the link Diane. So far all I have found out indicates that this is an extremely nasty toxin and it is monitored extensively. I have found no info to date linking it to allergy, but I'll keep looking.

Hi Shan,
From what I have read it seems that it is impossible to eradicate these fungi from all peanuts. They occur in the field as well as in storage, therefore low levels have been approved both in the U.S.& E.U. In large amounts they are extremely toxic,but low levels of aflatoxins have been approved as acceptable. It would seem that in all probability they are always present in peanut butter.
We still share a problem, the allergy testing has just not supplied enough evidence to satisfy us. I really do not know how far to go with this. What would happen if Hannah was tested with p.b. and not pure peanut? What would happen if your daughter was tested with pure peanut and not p.b.? I am driving myself crazy with this.
To add to the confusion I spoke today with a very knowledgeble lady who asked me how many peanuts had been eaten during the challenge, I said one, but in fact it was a half of one. She said the recommended amount is between eight and sixteen, so I now can't even rely on the result of the challenge. Boy, this makes you want to tear your hair out! I am really fed up......

Hi Shan,
From what I have read it seems that it is impossible to eradicate these fungi from all peanuts. They occur in the field as well as in storage, therefore low levels have been approved both in the U.S.& E.U. In large amounts they are extremely toxic,but low levels of aflatoxins have been approved as acceptable. It would seem that in all probability they are always present in peanut butter.
We still share a problem, the allergy testing has just not supplied enough evidence to satisfy us. I really do not know how far to go with this. What would happen if Hannah was tested with p.b. and not pure peanut? What would happen if your daughter was tested with pure peanut and not p.b.? I am driving myself crazy with this.
To add to the confusion I spoke today with a very knowledgeble lady who asked me how many peanuts had been eaten during the challenge, I said one, but in fact it was a half of one. She said the recommended amount is between eight and sixteen, so I now can't even rely on the result of the challenge. Boy, this makes you want to tear your hair out! I am really fed up......

Hi Shan,
Try to get a referral to a "Pediatric Allergist" if there is one in your area. We just learned that there was such a specialist at the FAN conference in March. If you can find one, they are apparently more likely to familiar with food allergies, the latest research, treatment etc.
Good Luck.