new to peanut allergy

Welcome aboard...you are already one step ahead of most new parents having to deal with pa. It is not as bad as it seems...just read labels, watch what your child puts in his mouth, keep eye out for cross-contamination, accompany child to social functions and keep a close eye, educate all teachers/caregivers etc., and start teaching your child now with what can be understood. Knowledge is power..not only to you but also to your child. Be aware that relatives may not understand, parents of your child's friends may not understand, and be aware that it's okay to be overprotective a little bit. You know who will understand...another child. They are easily adaptable and much more understanding than adults. Restaurants can be difficult, but if they aren't willing to help you learn of their ingredients, then basically you leave without giving them business. You will learn a lot about discrimination and what it feels like to be different...you will learn from it about how other's are viewed with handicaps you can see, and you will appreciate things a little more...but mainly..it is a pain in the butt..but you get used to it and it becomes a natural thing to deal with...and you will get to the point when you won't see it as dealing with it...just part of life. Best of luck and best wishes. Kim
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I am a mom of two anaphalactic allergy PA boys and my daughter and myself also have allergies. You may e-mail me at: [email]mkruby@pcspower.net[/email]

Welcome!!!! It is a very scary thing at first. Mkruby is right, your just need to be aware at all times and help educate as many people as you can. I'm sure you will find a wealth of knowledge on this website. Everyone is very friendly and willing to help answer all your questions. My 7 year old is PA, and he does well. We have had a couple close calls, but everything was fine. The trick is to read, read, and read. I am a professional label reader, and if you still are unsure, call the manufacturer, most of the time they are willing to help. Stay safe!!!

Hi, Welcome to these boards. Hope your DD didn't have serious reaction to learn of her allergies to nuts. My son is highly allergic to all nuts and some other foods. We found out gradually through testing- skin and later CAP RAST blood work. Our son is almost 11 and we've been able to keep him safe. I've gotten lots of help from FAAN and this web site.
Take Care and stay safe,
Jandy

Jandy,
Thank you for your reply. We found out about Elizabeth's allergy when she tasted a bite of my english muffin with pb on it. Within 10 minutes she had hives all around her mouth, I gave her Benadryl and within 20 minutes they were gone. We had her Rast tested and it came back with a moderaate allergy to peanuts and a mild allgery to walnuts, cashews and hazelnuts. I don't know the numbers yet, I will find them out on the 22nd when we have another doctors appointment. My dh had asthma and food allergies until he was 6, so I hoping she outgrows them.
Thanks again for your support and suggestions!
Jayne

You have found a great resource here. Please see my post on these boards:
[url="http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum17/HTML/000255.html"]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum17/HTML/000255.html[/url]
Stay Safe,
Rhonda

I don't know of a single granola bar that doesn't have a warning for nuts on it, here in Canada. We do not buy granola bars of any kind at all anymore.
Gee, your son's scenario is a perfect example of how the "next" exposure can be the scary one!!! Even if past exposures were mild, right? Wow ...
Good luck! You will find this site to be invaluable to you in the coming years!

I am also quite new to this PA thing. I have been doing an enormous amount of reading, which leaves little time to post. However, I can tell you that my PA son who is 2 1/2 used to eat all sorts of things, including nutty buddy bars which are full of peanuts. He tested class 5 (out of 6) for Peanuts. My dh as well as my mom (who babysat for me while I worked) both ate PBJ sandwiches all the time- and kissed my PA ds. Yet, there were times when one of his eyes would start to swell or his face would get all blotchy and I never could figure it out (before all the tests). The body reacts differently to each exposure. I try to monitor everything he eats. Sometimes I am successful other times I am not. My suggestion is to get a *few* allergy cookbooks and start experimenting with different snacks you can make. I make granola bars for my ds from a cookbook I have called "Mommy's best recipes for fun food" I'm not sure that is right- I'm at work and I can't remember the name. Anyway, it is overwhelming at first to think you have to be so vigilant about food. For me, I have tried to pace myself trying new recipes every other week or so and writing down which ones are good. Take it one day at a time.

Welcome!
I hope you find what you need here. This is a great site, and I've learned a lot here.
What sort of foods have you introduced so far? Can your child eat rice, fruits, veggies, meats, corn?
If you are looking for recipes for multiple food allergies, you may find it worthwhile to join [url="http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org"]www.kidswithfoodallergies.org[/url] They have many members whose young kids have multiple food allergies AND a great recipe section. If you can't afford the membership fee, they will sponsor you for a free membership. All you have to do is ask.
If you have any questions regarding peanut allergy, ask away [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Oh, and I just want to make sure you have epipens for your little guy, just in case.
Cathy
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Mom to 7 yr old PA/TNA daughter and 3 1/2 yr old son who is allergic to eggs.
[This message has been edited by Momcat (edited November 28, 2006).]

Yes, we have our epipens and benadryl on hand all the time. I will join that website for sure. Any help I can get, I'll take it.
Our son is still getting most of his nutrients from nutramigen, but seems to be ok with oatmeal, various fruits, having hard time with veggies, but does well with squash and spinach and potatoes and eats avocado almost daily. he eats cheerios daily and ok with that, and rice. he's had chicken and turkey. Its hard to tell, because he is always congested, and has little bumps on his face (not hives, but little, tiny bumps) and occasionally has hoarse voice. He also has small patch of excema on his ankle. He also rubs his nose aggressively like it itches. Allergist suspects it is from our cat, which we keep out of main area of house and have thankfully just found a home for and will be shipping our poor kitty off to Seattle (my friend offered to take), so we will be able to tell after that, if all of those symptoms go away. even though cat is not in main area of house, we still track in the dander, I suppose.
the allergist told us to rotate the meats, so I've been trying to do that, but he only seems to really like ground turkey. We saute it with a little onion and olive oil and a little salt & pepper. I think that olive oil is ok?????
I noticed that some of the earths best baby foods have barley in them. I'm wondering if he may have allergy to that? Is that common? So many questions. Sorry.
Thanks so much!
Elena

Did you know that Cheerios brand cereal contains wheat starch? There are other brands of O's that are wheat-free. If you are using the brand with wheat starch, you might try switching to a different brand. You could try to carefully avoid all his allergens for a couple of weeks to see if those nagging symptoms--congestion, itchy nose, eczema, bumpy rash, hoarseness, etc. clear up.
I would think that most brands of olive oil are ok. I don't know about barley and wheat allergy but I have heard that some people are allergic to gluten and I know that gluten is in both barley and wheat. It would be a good question to ask the allergist.
I hope you get things figured out! As far as other veggies to try, what about yams, carrots, cauliflower, corn? I'm not sure what to tell you about meats, but my kids were always sensitive to texture at that age. If he likes ground meat, try different ground meats.
Cathy