Help with dd's allergy issue

[pocomom]

Hi all, my dd 7 is struggling with an allergy issue. We leave for disney in two weeks. I'm nervous about going now. She has always had allergy issues but for the last 5 years she would just get occassional hives, she went into anaphalaxis twice this week over what appears to be a cookie (last thing eaten) or maybe a delayed reaction from someone at her table eating clams the night before(if that is possible?) or something else... We have epipens, benedryl, etc ALWAYS with us now. We'll be staying at Fort Wilderness and cooking most of our own meals, but will buy snacks/some lunches in the parks. Her known allergies are stinging insects, fire ants and shellfish. Any tips for a safe trip?

 

[DisFam11]

I have a shellfish allergy and I have had no issues at Disney. Just let the staff know and they will be very accommodating. I, of course, avoid the seafood restaurants in the park. Also, avoid touching anything left on the table as it may have been contaminated, including the crayons. Have fun!

 

[bigal'sdaughter]

I also have a shellfish allergy and have always been well taken care of at Disney. I do avoid most of the restaurants in Japan though. I have had no problems at many places that serve shellfish such as CHH, San Angel Inn, nine dragons, yak and yeti etc. You could always look at the menus online beforehand and only walk in the door of places you would feel comfortable. I do that for my DS with a peanut allergy now. I will also be wiping down surfaces before he sits to eat. Of course I would talk things over with your doctor and see what tips they have. I hope she is feeling better and you have a wonderful vacation!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Ok, I'm an allergy mom and I would be freaking out over the unknown. While delayed reactions do happen, they are rare and not many hours later (though cross contamination of shell fish certainly can cause anaphalxis .) If you suspect the cookie, you MUST figure out what was in the cookie to have caused an reaction. What all has she been tested for? Peanuts? Tree nuts?. A child can suddenly react to something they have never reacted to before. Our DS reacted to a bite of a hamburger bun once and the fear of the unknown as to what new allergy it was scared me to death. It was sesame.

Yes, WDW is wonderful and they will do their best to make your child's meals safe but you have to know what she is reacting too. Were both reactions after eating a cookie? What all foods has she been tested for? Having one food allergy increases the risk of a reaction to another food.

I know I am not very comforting....but truly....this one would scare .

I would be at the doctors and have more food testing done before you go. You can't not eat and the allergy could be to anything. I am sorry. Prayers for you both!

 

[disfan07]

Ok, I'm an allergy mom and I would be freaking out over the unknown. While delayed reactions do happen, they are rare and not many hours later (though cross contamination of shell fish certainly can cause anaphalxis .) If you suspect the cookie, you MUST figure out what was in the cookie to have caused an reaction. What all has she been tested for? Peanuts? Tree nuts?. A child can suddenly react to something they have never reacted to before. Our DS reacted to a bite of a hamburger bun once and the fear of the unknown as to what new allergy it was scared me to death. It was sesame.

Yes, WDW is wonderful and they will do their best to make your child's meals safe but you have to know what she is reacting too. Were both reactions after eating a cookie? What all foods has she been tested for? Having one food allergy increases the risk of a reaction to another food.

I know I am not very comforting....but truly....this one would scare .

I would be at the doctors and have more food testing done before you go. You can't not eat and the allergy could be to anything. I am sorry. Prayers for you both!

I completely agree. If you know exactly what was in the cookie (wheat, eggs, nuts, vanilla, etc) I would go get her tested at least for those ingredients.

I went into ananphylaxis after eating a granola bar I made back in June. Since I had made it, and it was all ingredients I had used before, we knew it had to be something new. So my allergist redid the entire allergy panel and low and behold, it came back positive for oats, coconut, and wheat. She did the RAST blood tests to make sure and coconut came back a 1+, oats came back a 1+ and wheat came back a 3. She said none alone would probably make me go into anaphylaxis but the combination and the amount I ate could have triggered it.

It made sense because the day before I had eaten an oatmeal cookie and I had a delayed reaction and we could not figure out why.

And while delayed reactions are possible (I get them) they are uncommon and when they occur, they usually occur within 45 minutes of ingestion or cross contamination. It is possible but VERY unlkely that a reaction would occur hours later and from what my allergist said, its almost completely unlikely that it would be anaphylaxis in such a delayed reaction.

Have you talked to her allergist about what happened? Do they want to retest? I cant imagine they dont want to retest. I just cant imagine it will be a relaxing trip with that unknown floating around.

As for Disney, they are amazing with allergies. You just have to talk to the chef at TS restaurants and ask for the manager or to see the allergy book (ingredient list) at CS restaurants. But you have to be able to tell them what the allergy is.

 

[I Love Pluto]

I agree with all others. Unless you know WHAT the allergy is to - how can anyone help you?

 

[pocomom]

We are going in for testing. Her regular pediatrician couldn't do it. (my old pediatrician did allergy testing in their office so we didn't have a seperate allergist). When she was 2 and we last did the testing we didn't really get too many answers. She had a cookie one time back then and reacted too, but nothing in it was an allergen, in the testing that followed. Shellfish and stinging insects are the only thing that has ever come up conclusively. She had 4 episodes that sent us to the hospital back then. None of them well explained by her results. Since then we've dealt with hives fairly regularly but nothing like this past week. She hadn't eaten recently when she had the second reaction this week, and we stuck to "safe foods". Nothing else so far. Hopefully we'll know more next week, but I'm worried it will still be unknown.

 

[mistysue]

If she is regularly getting hives, I would think it's pretty likely she is allergic to something she is eating a lot. If you get some allergy testing done and there are some items that come up with low numbers I would take her off of them completely at least until you know that those items are causing the reactions. A lot of people ignore lower numbers but the last time my DS ate a food that has a <1 Rast score he was shaking, pale and falling over from lack of blood pressure. The number is not very conclusive, there are people with high numbers and no reaction or low numbers and bad reactions. Getting hives does not mean that you will only ever get hives either, it could be hives this time and a deadly reaction the next time- like what is apparently happening to your daughter.

Then, after avoiding the food(s) on your trip, I would consider trialing the food(s) one at a time either at the doctor's office or with approval after you get home (if she has had no reactions).