Hi,
My daughter is 4. She has had 3 reactions. At 18months she broke out in hives from a few bits of a pbj sandwich. At 21/2 she broke out in hives from spreading pbj but not eating it. At 3 she was given a chocolate candy at a party that had peanut butter in it. She put it in her mouth, chewed it, spit it out, and started screaming for me. She flushed, hived, vomited, and got lethargic.
It took all this to realize we had a problem. Her first pediatrician told us at 18mo, "If she can eat an M&M, then she probably doesn't have a true allergy." Her next pediatrician told us to keep her away from peanuts. He did give us an epi after the last reaction.
Sorry so long. My question is this. Because the professionals blew this off, she has had everything. M&M, may contain products, bakery products, and processed in products. She has never reacted to any of these things. I feel terrible having to tell her she can't eat all these things she has had in the past. Is it really necessary if she hasn't had a problem before? These doctors don't seem too concerned?
Has your daughter been seen by an allergist? You should schedule her for skin testing by an allergist ASAP. What you've described sounds like a peanut allergy whose reactions are getting more severe due to repeated exposure. In my opinion you're better off safe than sorry by not giving her peanuts/nuts and waiting for the test results.
Pediatricians are not always the best when it comes to diagnosing allergies. Check the "Doctors need more Education" forum for some hair-raising examples.
Your daughter may surprise you by not lamenting the loss of her former treats. She knows first-hand now how sick they will make her. This might be enough for her to accept the idea. There are still lots of treats she can enjoy without worry. Peruse the threads on this website for ideas galore.
Welcome to the board. When I read your thread it reminded me of our situation exactly.
My son is four years old and has never liked peanuts/PB. We would try to trick him into eating something because what little child does not like PB. He would always start coughing, gagging, grabbing his throat and screaming that it hurt. We just assumed that he didn't like the texture of it and that he was a picky eater.
In December he was at a next door neighbors house and they gave him a PB cracker. They told me he took a little nip out of the corner, spit it out immediately and ran home. He had saliva pouring from his mouth, hives, and diarhea. When we mentioned it to the pediatrician they said, "Keep him away from peanuts." Never mentioned the seriousness of this allergy or an Epi.
About seven months ago he ate three small pieces of cashews. Within 15 seconds he had hives, excessive saliva (I had to use a bowl to catch it all because the towel was soaked), vomitting, diarhea, and in the beginning rapid heart beat, but then became very lethargic. I thought maybe it just wore him out but it was like he was looking right through me. During this reaction I called the pediatricians office but never heard back from them. Finally after 27 minutes I called them back again. The nurse told me to give him 1 tsp. of Benadryl and to watch him. That was it. They never mentioned that the reaction could happen again after the Benadryl wore off. I did inquire about an allergist and a shot but she didn't think it was necessary.
To make a long story short, the pediatrician called in a shot but I was never shown how to use it and did not feel comfortable without someone at least explaining it to me. I eventually had to make the appt. with an allergist myself. When the pediatricians office attempted to do it the appointment was in 6 weeks and we were planning to go out of town two different times during those six weeks.
He recently had, what I think, a slight reaction to the smell of peanuts. We went to a fair and there were stands selling boiled peanuts and roasted peanuts and he became very lethargic! Fifteen minutes after we left he was back to his energenic self again.
About the warning labels on products. That has to do with your own comfort level. I do not allow my son to eat anything with warning labels. He used to eat them all the time but just because they ate it once and was fine does not mean that they will be safe the next time. One package of M&M's may not be contaminated and the next one will be. My son recently reacted to Swiss Miss Chocolate Pudding that he has eaten before. They make a Chocolate & PB pudding on the same line and do not have a warning label on the box. It was that one cup that must have been contaminated. If your daughter is like my son then she will remember the reaction and be okay when you explain what could happen if she ate that food.
PA is very tricky. Just because your daughter did not react to eating an M&M does not mean that she is not PA. For your own peace of mind and for your child's safety I would definitely have her tested. Andy
There are so many foods your child CAN have. Don't risk it by giving something that may cause a reaction.
Check out Vermont Nut Free Chocolates. It is honestly the BEST chocolate I have ever tasted. And you will NEVER worry about cross contamination. Sometimes I forget that I buy it for Gavin.
My daughter has never been to an allergist. I asked both her pediatricians each time she reacted. They both said not to have her tested. It really makes me mad now that I didn't do it anyway. I will do it asap. Thanks for the advice.
Lauire, welcome to the boards. My son reacted (huge hives) to holding peanut butter jars with loose lids...my pediatrician said no need to test, no need to see an allergist, just keep him away from peanuts and all nuts. No info. about epipens, no info. about what could happen during anaphalaxis, no suggestion that he may be allergic to other things as well. I made an immediate appt. with an allergist...he perscribed epipens, tests revealed he is also severely allergic to soy and almond, and moderately alleric to wheat and eggs. He gave me info. on anaphalaxis, and told me to look for more info. on the internet...I'm so glad I didn't listen to my pediatrician! I'd also recommend finding an allergist ASAP...good luck!
Hey, My son's Dr. AND the allergist have told us not to have our sons tested. To just assume that they are all allergic (because my husband is allergic). My oldest son had a reaction last year, but neither he nor my other 4 children have been tested. I am very frustrated by this. Should they be tested? Why don't the Dr's want to test these children?
Does the test give an indication to how allergic they are?
In answer to the last posting YES, the skin test does give a degree of the allery. -,1,2,3,4,4+....so you would certainlly want a skin test done and while you are getting it done your child would be tested for other possible allergens. Another test they do is a test called RAST...it is a blood test...but not as definite results with it. You should certainly see an allergist to have testing done and get questions answered.
go to "rast vs skin test -info by Dr. Sikherer" I guess there is more to it than I just told you.
Lauire, I would have your child tested. But, also after reading your initial post, I would say that her three reactions are indicative of PA, with the 3rd one being worse than the previous two. However, because she has still eaten peanut products and "may contains" and you're not sure, and your doctors are of no bloody help, get her tested so you can be sure. Yes, it would be sad if you suddenly had to deprive her of foods that she has been eating all along, but I'm sure, when you find out if she's PA or not, if she is, come back in and ask other PA parents how they dealt with this when finding out their children were allergic at later ages. Do you know what I mean? I was fortunate, I found out my son was allergic at 18 months and immediately prescribed an Epi-pen Jr. although his 1st reaction was very similar to your daughter's 1st 2. His next two reactions were anaphylactic, and for this reason, I have never even had him tested. I just know.
Best wishes and welcome!
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