My son is 4 1/2, he has pa and was last scratch tested for pa and tree nuts last summer. The allergist wants us to come back when he is 7 yrs old. He says, the body goes through 7 year cycles, rejuivinating itself and my son's reaction maybe different then. I always thought pa was a life long allergy, but talking to the allergist makes me wonder if thats so. The doctor says the research being done in Sweden shows there may be some hope for children with mild reactions to peanuts. By mild I mean, no diarriah, vomiting, difficulty breathing... I won't take my guard down in any event. But, i was wondering if anyone else has heard this.
7 year cycles
Posted on: Tue, 05/09/2000 - 6:48am
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I have never heard of this, but I do know that you can never count on the next reaction being as mild as the prior reaction. Andy
My 4 1/2-year old daughter has a peanut allergy with a reaction of hives around her mouth (she has had peanut butter twice in her life at 15 and 18 mos. and got this reaction both times; she also swelled up on one side of her face at the age of 2 1/4 after eating Chinese food). She had her scratch test at the age of 2 1/2, which, according to her allergist, came out as "mild". At the time her allergist said we should avoid all nuts for 7 years, at which time we could do a challenge to see if she had outgrown the allergy. We saw him again a couple of months ago with regard to managing her allergy in kindergarten and he said that we can now wait a total of 5 years after the scratch test, meaning we can challenge her in 3 more years. I believe this would be done by first testing with pb on the skin, then the lips, then a bit on the tongue, and finally on toast, assuming no reaction to that point. He said she has a reasonable chance of outgrowing the allergy as it was "mild to moderate" to begin with and also that she has not had anything to do with nuts since her test. I am certainly hopeful she does outgrow it but if she doesn't we can always look forward to a cure.
Kristin I actually have heard this , but I believe my allergist said your body changes every 3 years. She said that kids having Mild reactions such has hives, have a good chance of outgrowing it. But ones like my son who swelled like a balloon and had difficulty breathing the first time, might have less of a reaction as he grows, but will never out grow it.
sl, rebecca or jeramie thx for your reply. I have been holding out hope that the next testing when my son is seven (in just over two years) will be negative. But, it is true what Andy said aswell. You can't trust the next exposure of pb to be mild, here's hoping the challenge goes well for us all.
My son was diagnosed at 1 year of age with dairy, strawberry, eggs, and nuts. He is now 8 and I am taking him in next month for retesting. I am 99% sure he has outgrown the dairy and eggs and hope maybe the strawberries. The nuts are still an issue (he had a reaction 1.5 yrs ago) but I am hoping for a miracle!
My allergist said that there is a slim chance my son will outgrow his PA but I'm better off hoping and praying for a cure as that is more likely.
It is me again with some anazing news even I cannot believe since this original post we have changed allergist . The allergist (who is allergic to nuts) was very hopeful that my son had a chance of outgrowin the peanut allergie. Even though Michael swelled the first reaction wich was over 1 1/2 years ago he sent us for a blood test. Michael's levels were 0 this means he said there is a 95% chance my son outgrew peanuts. I am amazed and frighten we go for the oral challenged next week, and I am not sure I am ready. I have given up alot, Once he was diagnosed I did like everyone else a little research I decided the only chance he had to outgrow it was complete avoidance even contact. We kept him away from alot of people who thought we were crazy. i decided a year wasn't long and it was worth the try. Now I am so hopeful, but reality is he might still be allergic to treenuts, he has never had any and never been tested. I just want to keep the hope up. Even if Michael hasn't quite outgrown the allergy maybe I have made it so he will have a less severe reaction. Good luck
Rebecca or Jeramine, thats great news. I had taken my son to be retested in September, and the skin test produced a hive measuring 18mm! He said for a 5 yr old that hive is considered HUGE. I was so hopeful this test would show little or no reaction to peanuts. The alergist has never offered to do a blood test aswell. As I am in Canada perhaps it isen't done here. But I should still bring it up to the allergist. Reid's (my son) reactions have been considered mild, his last exposure to peanuts was when he was two.
My son's allergist told us a year ago when my son was diagnosed as having a PA, that not very many people outgrow it. He said that if he went a few years without having another reaction, that he would re-test him. My son's reaction included him having an itchy nose, red cheeks, and wheezing. I will look forward to hearing how you make out on all the tests!
Rebecca-
Congratulations! Let us know how it goes next week.
Kristen-
Your son sounds like mine. When he was tested a few months ago at the age of 4 the size of his wheal was 18 mm. (and it had those pseudopods) for both peanuts and the tree nuts he tested positive to. My allergist never made the comment about it being big for a child though. He did act kind of shocked when he saw it.
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