Where to start...Since my son was two, he's been eating peanut butter without any rxn (about three months). At about 26 mo he ate about 8 pistachios, I noticed 30 min later he had a runny nose, he appeared to be breathing harder, but not sure if this was so, as I was really looking for some sort of reaction; anyhow, he was running around as usual and I didn't think much of it. Just to be sure, I made an appt with the allergist (a month later). He did test positive (via skin test prick) for pistachios, neg for peanuts. I was prescibed the epi pens; he is to follow a strict TN and PN free diet. I have a follow up with another allergist just to get more info., now with a million unanswered questions. I keep thinking about all the contaminated foods my son ate between the time he ate the pistachios, and the time I took him to the allergist!! Glad to find such a wonderful site.
Son with pistachio allergy
Posted on: Thu, 02/23/2006 - 11:10pm
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Glad to hear that so far, your child is NOT peanut allergic! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
But welcome to the boards. You'll find that most of the parents here are very familiar with tree nut allergies. They seem to come as a package deal with a peanut allergy. LOL!
My daughter is also highly allergic to pistachios. There are a few things to bear in mind with this one... be very careful with ice creams (some contain pistachios specifically), with Mediterranean (Turkish, Lebanese,Moroccan, or upscale Italian) food and fusion restaurant food, with deli sliced ANYTHING (mortadella contains pistachios) and with pudding and boxed jello. Other than that, it isn't too bad.
You should also be wary of dried fruit that comes from California or anywhere in the Mediterranean, as these are enormous pistachio-growing areas. This means that processing areas are often shared.
Cashews are one other tree nut to be particularly careful of as this is in the same botanical family as pistchio and has some very similar proteins.
But really, it isn't too hard. The fact that pistachios are bright green makes it pretty easy to spot where they are used (at least in a big way). We are very careful with food products that are that color.
I am just curious, but why (if your child had seemingly dodged the bullet with peanut) were you "looking for" a reaction with tree nuts? (I mean, I understand. We have nut allergies in my family but no PA...just curious I guess.)
Again, welcome. Even though the purpose of this site is PA specific, you will find it is one of the best places to find information about ALL food allergies.
[img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
I'm not sure why I was so wary; maybe all the media attention lately. I also have a friend whose daughter had a severe ana rxn from just touching peanuts during a plane ride. My son has a speech delay, so he couldn't verbalize if something was bothering him. All this and yet I still gave him those nuts!?! Thanks for the tips about the foods to watch out for. He eats a ton of raisins (SunMaid -- Ca) I've been getting Breyer's ice cream once in a while, but he usually prefers sherbet, which seems to be safer?
[This message has been edited by MarkiesMom (edited February 24, 2006).]
[This message has been edited by MarkiesMom (edited February 24, 2006).]
Unfortunately, I hesitate to give you specifics because so much can change so suddenly...
You should probably call SunMaid. They are very responsive re: PA, so if you explain your pistachio situation they will probably be quite helpful.
As for ice cream, in general my advice is to make your own. Pretty much all (US) commercial ice cream is contaminated with peanuts. This tends to be a comfort zone thing, though. Some people here are OK eating plain vanilla ice cream from various companies and some aren't.
One question you'll have to answer for yourself is how strictly you want to avoid peanuts and other tree nuts. Does your child (or anyone else in your family) have other food allergies? If so, you may find that you are less adventurous, at least until he is around 5 y.o. I mean, there's avoidance and then there's [b]avoidance[/b] if you see what I mean.
(We are not able to give our daughter products which share manufacturing space with peanuts. Some people find that just avoiding food which obviously contains peanuts is enough precaution. )
Oh dear.... I should have corrected my earlier post! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img] Most here know that my daughter is highly allergic to pn. But my point was that she was the first in the family to be PA. So we expected a TNA, but not PA.
Hi Markie's Mom! This is a good site for us tree-nut moms too. Everyone has been welcoming and helpful.
My nine year old daughter is pistachio and cashew allergic, and this year tested postive for Brazil nuts as well. We avoid all tree nuts.
She is not allergic to peanuts. We do not avoid peanut butter, but we do avoid whole peanuts. This is the advice from our allergist. Everyone has a different comfort zone.
Our main avoids are ice cream (she eats plain vanilla or chocolate after we contact the manufacturer), ethnic restaurants and baked goods.
Our biggest hazard thus far has been encountering pistachio shells left lying around on beaches (where they really blend in!) and playgrounds. People throw them anywhere just like peanut shells.
If you are avoiding all tree-nuts, check your skin and hair products. Almond oil is common because it smells so good. Ground nut shells can be in exfoliating products.
Feel free to email me any time you want to chat.
--Lori
Glad to hear that so far, your child is NOT peanut allergic! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
But welcome to the boards. You'll find that most of the parents here are very familiar with tree nut allergies. They seem to come as a package deal with a peanut allergy. LOL!
My daughter is also highly allergic to pistachios. There are a few things to bear in mind with this one... be very careful with ice creams (some contain pistachios specifically), with Mediterranean (Turkish, Lebanese,Moroccan, or upscale Italian) food and fusion restaurant food, with deli sliced ANYTHING (mortadella contains pistachios) and with pudding and boxed jello. Other than that, it isn't too bad.
You should also be wary of dried fruit that comes from California or anywhere in the Mediterranean, as these are enormous pistachio-growing areas. This means that processing areas are often shared.
Cashews are one other tree nut to be particularly careful of as this is in the same botanical family as pistchio and has some very similar proteins.
But really, it isn't too hard. The fact that pistachios are bright green makes it pretty easy to spot where they are used (at least in a big way). We are very careful with food products that are that color.
I am just curious, but why (if your child had seemingly dodged the bullet with peanut) were you "looking for" a reaction with tree nuts? (I mean, I understand. We have nut allergies in my family but no PA...just curious I guess.)
Again, welcome. Even though the purpose of this site is PA specific, you will find it is one of the best places to find information about ALL food allergies.
[img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
I'm not sure why I was so wary; maybe all the media attention lately. I also have a friend whose daughter had a severe ana rxn from just touching peanuts during a plane ride. My son has a speech delay, so he couldn't verbalize if something was bothering him. All this and yet I still gave him those nuts!?! Thanks for the tips about the foods to watch out for. He eats a ton of raisins (SunMaid -- Ca) I've been getting Breyer's ice cream once in a while, but he usually prefers sherbet, which seems to be safer?
[This message has been edited by MarkiesMom (edited February 24, 2006).]
[This message has been edited by MarkiesMom (edited February 24, 2006).]
Unfortunately, I hesitate to give you specifics because so much can change so suddenly...
You should probably call SunMaid. They are very responsive re: PA, so if you explain your pistachio situation they will probably be quite helpful.
As for ice cream, in general my advice is to make your own. Pretty much all (US) commercial ice cream is contaminated with peanuts. This tends to be a comfort zone thing, though. Some people here are OK eating plain vanilla ice cream from various companies and some aren't.
One question you'll have to answer for yourself is how strictly you want to avoid peanuts and other tree nuts. Does your child (or anyone else in your family) have other food allergies? If so, you may find that you are less adventurous, at least until he is around 5 y.o. I mean, there's avoidance and then there's [b]avoidance[/b] if you see what I mean.
(We are not able to give our daughter products which share manufacturing space with peanuts. Some people find that just avoiding food which obviously contains peanuts is enough precaution. )
Oh dear.... I should have corrected my earlier post! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/redface.gif[/img] Most here know that my daughter is highly allergic to pn. But my point was that she was the first in the family to be PA. So we expected a TNA, but not PA.
Hi Markie's Mom! This is a good site for us tree-nut moms too. Everyone has been welcoming and helpful.
My nine year old daughter is pistachio and cashew allergic, and this year tested postive for Brazil nuts as well. We avoid all tree nuts.
She is not allergic to peanuts. We do not avoid peanut butter, but we do avoid whole peanuts. This is the advice from our allergist. Everyone has a different comfort zone.
Our main avoids are ice cream (she eats plain vanilla or chocolate after we contact the manufacturer), ethnic restaurants and baked goods.
Our biggest hazard thus far has been encountering pistachio shells left lying around on beaches (where they really blend in!) and playgrounds. People throw them anywhere just like peanut shells.
If you are avoiding all tree-nuts, check your skin and hair products. Almond oil is common because it smells so good. Ground nut shells can be in exfoliating products.
Feel free to email me any time you want to chat.
--Lori