Hi everyone. I'm Chris. SAHMommy to two. Meagan is 2.5yo and Matt is 21mo. Matt is allergic to peanuts. Which brings me here. lol I have a few questions for anyone who can answer them, but first I want to say that no, Matt has not been officially tested for peanut allergy. We discovered his allergy here at home, by accident and then had it confirmed by accident. Our daughter helped by giving baby brother some pbj sandwhich.
The first time he just got a bit on his lip and within minutes it had swollen up 3 times it's normal size and his face was red and splotchy. I just wanted to cry looking at him, and was at the ready for a trip to the ER in case the antihistamine that I gave him didn't do the trick. Thankfully it did. The second time he had held the bite of sandwhich in his hand and had also touched it to his mouth. Whether or not he ingested any, we don't know. This time, again within minutes, his hands both started to turn red and swell, as did his face. He also started sneezing, and his eyes started to tear. We got some antihistamine in him right away, washed his face and hands real good and then sat on the couch purse and keys in hand...just in case. Again, we were lucky and we didn't have to make a trip to the ER.
Now come the questions. lol #1 Are we right to assume he is allergic to peanuts? Since the second episode (at about 5-6mo of age) we have, and we've kept most peanut products out of the house. I can't say ALL, cause I'm not sure what all contains 'hidden' peanut oils and things. #2 Could his FTT and other miscellanous problems (goopy eyes, lack of appetite for long stretches at a time, general 'sick' appearance, etc) that all started shortly after his first DPaT and Hib shots been caused or related to his peanut allergy? #3 I noticed on here somewhere that plain M&Ms were not peanut safe. Matt has had (as recently as tonight, in fact) plain M&Ms with no noticeable effects. Does this mean he has outgrown his allergy? Or maybe he just is not AS allergic to peanuts as others might be? and finally #4 Do they make epipens in small enough dosages for a 30" 22-23lb 21mo old (my doc said they did not, when I asked...he won't discuss his allergy with me at all..grrrr!), and if they do, should I get one?
Ok, I'm done with the questions for now. =) I look forward to meeting everyone!!
Chris
Mommy to
Meagan (12-17-97) and Matt (12-29-98)
Welcome Matt's Mom (and Megan's too)!!!
I don't have much time so I thought I'd try to quickly answer your questions...I'm sure others will be able to help also!
1. Yes, he definitely sounds allergic and I wouldn't fool with peanut/nuts! Call an allergist right away(as it can take a while to get in to one)to confirm this and to get your questions answered...A good doctor should not get aggravated by questions a concerned mother has! It is hard to find a good doctor, I know!
2. Perhaps his problems have something to do with his allergies...maybe he has other food allergies (or environmental) or nutritional challenges that are causing his problems...again, see an allergist or find a pediatrician that will look into this.(if not, at least you know!!)
3. Plain M&M's are a danger because of cross contamination...you won't necessarily have a reaction but could at any point(even if you have had them before). I would not assume he has outgrown his peanut allergy.
4. My son has had an epipen since he was 6 months old...he just now weighs about 22 lbs. and he is almost 21 months old. (Again, ask an allergist his opinion!)
I hope this helps some! Take care!
tkiaml (to find out more about me-see mom of PA kids-tkiaml In the main discussion.)
Hi there and welcome to you!
First off, your son sounds like he has a definate Peanut Allergy. I also have a 2 1/2 year pld son and he was diagnosed about a year ago after a reaction that required adrenaline to stop. And yes there is an injectable pen for someone as young as your son, and epi-pen jr. What I would suggest to you is to go out and find a new doctor who is more informed on food allergies, sounds to me like yours could use some educating. I find it upsetting that he seems so unconcerned about your son. My son Wade also has experienced some of the symptome that you described. In his case he was suffering from severe anemia which explained his poor appetite and lethargy. You might want to check that out. Another option with regard to your doctor is to go to the Food Allergy Network or the Calgary Allergy Network web sites and print off some relevant articles (they have many) and show them to your doctor as well you should be demanding a referral to a qualified allergist. The articles can also be an invaluable source information for you, I found many answers to my questions there!
Good luck to you and please let me know how your doctor responds!
Regards,
Katiee (Wade's mom)
My son weighed 19 lbs when he finally saw an allergist at 18 mos. The allergist felt he did not weigh enough for the epi-pen jr. We had to carry around a tiny little vial of epinephrine and a syringe. We were only supposed to administer .1 ML. I think the epi jr is .15 ML.
He didn't prescribe the epi jr until he weighed about 25 lbs. Deanna
[This message has been edited by DMB (edited October 18, 2000).]
It sounds like your son definitely has PA. My daughter never reacted to M&M, but we stopped when the contamination warning came out. The eyes and other symptoms sounds like my third daughter. When we brought her for testing, she was allergic to many foods. I would try to see an allergist as soon as possible. If he is allergic to things he is eating now, you will probably see a happier, healthier looking child when he avoids those foods!
Thanks for all the answers! =) Yes, Matt is anemic. Well, I should rephrase that. He was anemic at 2mo, he hasn't been tested since, so I'm just working under the assumption here. That too, was one of the things that I disliked about our doc. When Matt was diagnosed anemic, he just said to maybe give him some iron fortified vitamins or supplement with iron-fortified formula (at the time Matt was exclusively breastfed). It wasn't until he started looking and acting real sick that I started doing research and discovered that a diagnosis of anemia at 2mo SHOULD have been a major red flag that something else was going on, as iron-deficiency anemia typically will not show itself until around 9mo.
Right now we're waiting for new health insurance to start on the kids. Once it does we are switching doctors, and the peanut allergy is one of the very first things we intend to mention/discuss. We have wanted to get Matt tested for other allergies as well, for awhile now, so we're really hoping the new ped will give us a referral. Thanks again for all the replies. I'm already learning a ton by digging around on this site! =)
Hi Matts mom,
Just one more thought, when Wade was diagnosed with anemia last year, the hospital wrote me a prescription for an oral iron supplement (ferrous sulfate (sp?)) which he is still taking today twice a day. I had asked at the time if just feeding him more iron rich foods and giving him an iron fortified multi-vitamin would be enough and was told that NO he would have to have the actual iron supplement in order to bring his iron levels back to where they should be. They also had me restrict his milk and juice intake (which Wade loved) as it seemed to be contributing to his anemia (he would fill up on those and refuse food). Even today it is a strugle to get him to eat properly but at least he is healthier than he was a year ago!
Good luck!
Katiee (Wade's mom)
I asked about that too, but was told the opposite, because of the quantity of formula he was taking each day. The doctor and I figured up the level of iron he was getting from the formula each day and if we had added the amount in the vitamins it would have given him about twice as much as was safe, so after the first dose of vitamins (which he only actually took about 1/4 of...) the doctor told us NOT to give him any more so long as he was still taking the same (HUGE) amount of formula each day.
MattsMom, Hi. I don't have much time, and I agree with the other replies, but I do want to make one comment: You said you hope the new ped. will give you a referral. Based on what info. you gave about your son's allergies, I would absolutely insist on a referral. I don't want to sound pushy, but this whole referral business really gets me going! I am a therapist and have had to fight for my patients to get referrals. It drives me crazy when the doctors try to control those things. My favorite line when I was working was (to the insurance co. rep), "Are you going to be responsible for the problems this person has from not getting the referral??" That's not to say you won't get one easily, but don't be afraid to push for one if you need to! Good luck!
Hi MattsMom
Are you still breastfeeding? If you are, you should avoid peanuts as well. Also, it is important that you get allergy testing for other foods as well, since many kids are also allergic to other things such as eggs, milk, soy, etc.
I hope you find a good allergist. Keep reading the message boards here, both current and back-posts, since there is a wealth of information.
Amy
Mattsmom - first of all, welcome. I am fiarly new to this website (in fact I never formally introduced myself since I didn't find this thread before I started posting). I can't answer all your questions but I can tell you that my son was given an epipen jr. at 12 months. He was 20 lbs. then. Maybe a pharmacist can tell you the weight ranges for the epipen jr.
Also, as far as M&Ms go, there is information on this website which you can do a search for. I believe plain M&M's list "may contain peanuts". Therefore, I wouldn't assume that just because your son didn't have a reaction that he has outgrown it.
I'm wondering why your doctor won't talk to you about the allergy though. Also, is there a reason why Matt hasn't been tested by an allergist to confirm your findings?
Pages