OT? Giving peanut butter to DS/allergy ?

[las3888]

Hi all,

We were given the green light to try peanut butter from our pedi about a half a year ago. We have just not done it yet, but I am ready to try. I get a little nervous about these things so I am just not sure what to expect if DS actually does have a peanut allergy. DS has not shown to be allergic to any foods or anything, with the exception of getting a little rash-y from some sunscreens. I thought I would try peanut butter for lunch soon, but I just get afraid since he will have his nap shortly after. If DS did have an allergy to peanuts, what should I expect to see? If he has the really bad kind, how quickly would that appear---I would hate to give it to him and put him down for his nap and several hours have it manifest or something. Please forgive my ignorance! Any advice is appreciated!

 

[mikymouse]

I was told my DS had a peanut allergy when he was 12 months old. He was given PB at daycare and broke out with a rash off and on over the next 6 hours. I was told that the next time the reaction could be worse, so we were very careful for many years (carried an epipen, had traded candy for Halloween, talked to teacher/parents, read labels,etc..)

When he turned 5 years old, we went to the allergist to have a RAST blood test to confirm the allergy. The test revealed that he did not have a peanut allergy. I was still cautious as I had read that peanut allergy could reappear or come out of no where. I have a very severe walnut allergy that didn't appear until my teenage years. I started to let my son try little bits of PB, mostly started with ressie cups and would watch carefully.. nothing . Slowly we introduced PB into his diet and now two years later I have no issue with him eating PB in any quantity.

I would suggest that you have a RAST blood test done to confirm his allergy status and then always have benadryl/epipen on hand just in case there is a reaction once the food is introduced. Definately talk to an allergist not just your peditrican.

Food allergies are a pain! There are so many people that don't know or care about the extend of the problem for many of us. I was shocked to see families at Disney eating PB samwiches in line and then having their PB hands all over the rails.. nightmere/deadly for someone with a PB allergy! I had prefered to be "brave" and test the waters with my son because I know the world in large would not be as careful or watchful with him.

 

[dcforbreakfast]

It seems like everything you do with kids is scary the first time, especially when everyone has a horror story. But I was listening to Dr. Oz (the oprah guy) on the radio the other day and he said peanut allergies are typically something that runs in the family, so unless that's the case you are probably fine.

I remember the first time my son could have peanut butter, I was so excited (we lived off PBJs when I was little). More than likely your little one will be fine too.

I was more scared when my son had to get his shots, but he was fine then too (the whole alleged autism thing). Don't get too caught up in all the parenting hype. Kids have survived parents for years.

Oh, and if he has an allergic reaction...you'll definitely know it.

 

[peyjax]

That is weird that you posted this. Yesterday I gave my son peanut butter for the second time and he had an allergic reaction. It was almost as if he had hives. I called our DR right away and she said that it sounded like a skin reaction so I just gave him some Benadryl (have that on hand when you give it to him) and it went away by this morning. It looked bad and i was nervous, but the pediatrician calmed me down and said as long as his breathing is ok, he would be fine. My husband had given him some peanut butter a few weeks ago and he was fine. They said sometimes the allergic reaction does not occur the first time you give it to them. I thought that was interesting.

 

[TheDizMom]

I think you should just relax and give it a try. Yes there are a lot of children with this allergy, but as your child has shown no indication of being allergic to anything, except maybe sunscreen (which wouldn't affect his food intake), I wouldn't worry. If someone has an allergic reaction to something it usually takes 2 exposures to get one and the first one is likely to be something like the hives. No allergist is going to test a child for an allergy just to test them. They will want to have a reason for it. A lot of doctors still use the skin tests and they are painful, so they aren't going to put someone through that without just cause, at least if they are a reputable doctor. Unfortunately your child is going to have to experience a lot of things that are going to be scarry the first time until you know how they will react. That is part of raising children. If you are that worried don't give it to him for lunch and right before nap. Put it on some toast in the morning or some crackers in the afternoon for a snack when you can keep a close eye on him for several hours after he has eaten it. If your pedi says it's ok, then trust him/her and give it a try.

 

[mikymouse]

Did your son ever have PB or a reaction? I was assuming that there was a history of allergic reaction. There would no need to go to an allergist if you have no family history or history of a reaction.

I avoided allergic foods, including PB, with my 2nd child due to my sons and my own food allergy history until she was 4 years old, then we added it to her diet very slowy. She had no reaction and now eats PB for lunch every day.

 

[allyphoe]

If he's never been exposed to peanuts, IMHO having a RAST done now won't provide any useful information. (Yes, some kids are sensitive enough that an in utero exposure or peanut proteins passing through breastmilk would count, but I would not assume that my child wouldn't develop a peanut allergy based on a negative RAST without a known prior peanut exposure.)

Since he has no known allergies (and I'm guessing no strong family history of atopy, which includes allergies, eczema, and asthma), I think it's very, very unlikely that he'll react to peanuts, and if he does, you'd notice.

My DD has multiple allergies (both to food, which she's outgrown, and to pollen, which are getting worse as she gets older), eczema, and a family history of multiple food allergies, eczema, and asthma. So we waited to try peanuts until she was old enough to communicate if her throat felt funny or if she had any other invisible symptoms of anaphylaxis. She happens to hate peanuts, but as far as we know, it's the taste, and not an allergy.

 

[laughinplace199]

My DD has peanut and tree nut allergies. The first time she ate PB, she didn't actually eat it. She put a PB cracker in her mouth and took it out again without taking a bite. She then got a little rash on her hands and her eyes got puffy. We have no food allergies in our family on either side, so I was unaware of what the symptoms would be and didn't make the connection between the PB and the rash/puffy eyes. A few months later when she was 3 yrs old, I gave her some Reese's pieces. She seemed fine at first. About an hour later, she started crying saying that her tummy hurt. Then she vomited. After that, she started to develop hives from head to toe and her eyes got puffy again. She was coughing a lot, but her breathing was fine. I called the ped and they told me to give her Benadryl. The Benadryl stopped the reaction from worsening, but it took a few days for her skin and eyes to go back to normal. The day after this reaction, I took her to the ped and he prescribed an Epi Pen. This was 5 yrs ago and thankfully we've never had to use it.

Someone mentioned having a RAST test done, but I don't think you'd find many allergists who will test for no reason. Also, I don't think you would necessarily get accurate results from such a test if the child has never had that food in the first place. I believe that the child needs to have had a certain food and had a reaction to that food in order for the results of a RAST test to be accurate.

If you're really worried, could you give your child some PB at the doctor's office? When my DS was old enough to try PB, I was very nervous since I already had one child with the allergy. I gave him PB in the lobby of Children's Hospital right before his 3 yr well child visit. I figured if he was going to have a reaction, what better place to do it? He ate the PB and was fine. We tried it again a year later and he still had no reaction.

 

[Princess Roo]

I agree with the above posters. We have a family history of allergies and DS has various skin allergies and asthma. Because of this we have been very careful about food introduction and will wait until 3 years for peanuts. What we have been advised to do is to have Benadryl on hand (not a bad idea, in general, since kids can have allergic reactions to things like bee stings, too) and give new foods to him at a time when we can watch him for at least an hour the first few times. (As others have said, it doesn't always manifest the first time.) Definitely don't stress about it, but that's what you can do if you want to be really careful. Maybe try PB on apples or toast as a snack instead of serving it for lunch?

 

[happymommy]

How old is he?
If he doesn't have any other food allergies, I wouldn't be so worried. Many more kids are allergic to milk and eggs than peanuts. And many kids have multiple food allergies (my DS is allergic to milk and eggs, outgrew his allergy to sesame and peanut). I think there is a lot of attention given to peanut allergy - like the tables that are "peanut free" at lunch at school, where they used to have DS sit, but he needed to avoid milk, which spilled on him once at school, he started hiving up on his leg and had to borrow clothes from the nurse! I would take it slow, and definitely wait until at least age 2 or so.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have been very careful with DS, b/c the food problems I have were never antyhing that bothered my mom (nothing life threatening), but have annoyed me all my adult life. I don't want DS to be annoyed as an adult b/c I gave him something too early.

When we started with peanut butter, I was very careful to ONLY use the organic, nothing added, kind. And that's all we have used, except when we go to the zoo and get the smucker's uncrustables (though if you can even CALL that food I'm not sure) that they have.

DS has never had a reaction to it (though he doesn't actually LIKE the uncrustables and will only eat little bits of it). I don't know if he'd react if I gave him some Jif, but I'm not going to try it. The organic stuff is delish. If you have a Safeway or Von's nearby, their O Organics peanut butter is yummy (even though they changed it and added coconut oil so the oils don't separate).

Or if you have a store (health food, fred meyer) that has a grind-your-own-peanut-butter machine, that was what we started with, and that is JUST peanuts, so you're ONLY introducing ONE food at a time.

Good luck!

 

[kjbrown]

I agree with previous posters, that you will in all likelihood be fine. However, Dr. Oz seems to disagree with my son's allergist that those with PB allergies typically have family members with allergies. My allergist said families with ANY kind of allergy, be it seasonal, food or otherwise may manifest itself differently in each family member. Even so, no one in my family has known allergies, but both of my kids were/are allergic to milk. I say were/are because DD4 has outgrown it and DS1 is still allergic.

A lot of doctors still use the skin tests and they are painful,

This is just plain wrong. Sorry DizMom, but both my kids had the skin "scratch" test and neither my daughter who was 3 at the time or my son who was 10 months even noticed that the nurse was doing it!

To the original poster, don't worry about it too much (easier said than done, right?) give your son a little PB. Having benedryl on hand is great advice, although you may want to ask your pedi how much to give. Watch for swelling and/or skin rashes. And as others have said, watch out the next time you give him PB, and then stop worrying about it!

 

[las3888]

Thanks for all the good advice. After taking all of your input, I think I will try something like Reese's peanut butter cups for starters...partially because I think he will be more likely to eat it for than just plain peanut butter. I can give him one in the morning and with benadryl on hand, just see what happens. I will maybe try this 2-3 days in a row to see how he does. He doesn't have any allergies, and neither DH nor myself are allergic to foods. DS is 2.5 y/o and I just want to put this one behind us I guess. I tend to think all will be okay, at least I hope so. Our pedi is VERY conservative, so I trust him...if he thinks he was ready (and this was half a year ago), I will give it a shot. It would be nice if he wasn't allergic and actually likes it! I might have another lunch option for him! I also like the organic or natural kind as well. Thanks again for all the advice.

BTW, it sounds like if there is an allergic reaction, it would show up in his skin? Any other signs to watch for? Oops, I just edited this because I saw a pp mention the hives, eyes and vomiting.

 

[allyphoe]

However, Dr. Oz seems to disagree with my son's allergist that those with PB allergies typically have family members with allergies.

Peanut allergy is unusual in that it has a heritable component. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/e...ez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum (sorry for the length - t i n y u r l is blocked here) says "Heritability of peanut allergy was estimated at 81. 6% (95% confidence interval 41.6% to 99.7%) with model fitting using a population prevalence of peanut allergy of 0.4%."

In general, you inherit an atopic tendency, which could express itself as eczema, asthma, food allergy, environmental allergy, etc. But if you're allergic to peanut, your children have a higher-than-average chance of being allergic specifically to peanut, not just to something.

 

[kjbrown]

Peanut allergy is unusual in that it has a heritable component. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/e...ez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum (sorry for the length - t i n y u r l is blocked here) says "Heritability of peanut allergy was estimated at 81. 6% (95% confidence interval 41.6% to 99.7%) with model fitting using a population prevalence of peanut allergy of 0.4%."

In general, you inherit an atopic tendency, which could express itself as eczema, asthma, food allergy, environmental allergy, etc. But if you're allergic to peanut, your children have a higher-than-average chance of being allergic specifically to peanut, not just to something.

Yes, I didn't write it as I thought it. I meant that just because you AREN'T allergic to peanuts doesn't mean your kids won't be. I just re-read what I wrote, and I didn't make any sense! The PP had said if you don't have allergies then your kid is probably fine. So I was trying to say that it isn't necessarily so. Plus, not that I said this, but, many times family members actually HAVE peanut allergies (mild) and just never realized it. A friend of mine has a daughter that is allergic to peanuts. The grandmother always just thought she had bad ezcema, turns out she discovered at 70 that she was allergic to peanuts!!!

 

[luvtogo12]

This is what my sister was going to do:

She was going to take her DS out to lunch at the nearby Hospital Cafe and feed her son a PB & J for the first time.
If he had a reaction, she would be in the right place.

No, she did not really do this but was quite serious at the time.

 

[mikymouse]

Just for clarification, my son had his RAST test because of his previous reaction to PB and it is my understanding that those tests will not be benefical or accurate unless you have ingested the foods in suspision. My daughter never went to the allergist but we waited many years to introduce PB because of my son. I am very happy to report that both kids now like PB and eat it on a regular basis with no problem.

OP, let us know how it goes. I am sure it will be fine

 

[cinderella73]

Exactly as someone already mentioned. Just be sure that the first time you give Pb to your child that you do so when Dr's office's are open . Or just wait and give it to him in a small amount before a doctors visit so that you would have time to see if there was one. Peanut allergys are a growing issue. I often wonder how its becoming so much more common place. Having a son with this allergy and having seen how terrible a reaction can be I think its wonderful that you are so aware. Again as another psoter mentioned nut allergies seem to run in familys. BUT sometimes you dont even always know whether or not someone has one because some people have lower levels of reactions. My husband we just found out has a some nut allergies but never really knew it. My son is extremely allergic so he cant even touch it. Just plan it for a day you have a doctor visit and I am sure everything will be fine. You are a great mom to be so careful though! Oh and I almost forgot , its true that testing will not help unless he has a reaction first. It creates antibodies that cannot show up unless the person has ingested the allergen to begin with. Strawberries are one of the highest histamine ( sp?) containing foods out there . So be watchful with those as well.

 

[Jana49]

My DGD, age 5, is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Something parents of children who are allergic needs to know, is that peanut allergens are airborne, and also, to read the list of ingredients of all foods before you buy them, even if you assume the food couldn't possibly have nut products in them. For example, some candy corn have them! Who would've thought that? Also, ask the fast foods cooks if they use peanut oil for their fries, etc. Some places still do!

As my DGD enters Kindergarten in a couple of weeks, I'm very concerned about her exposure to the allergens. Yes, there is a seperate lunch table for kids with allergies, but what about door handle, toilet flush handles, rails, etc that she will come in contact with? And as I mentioned, the allergens are airborne, so that's especially frightening to this grandma.

 

[las3888]

I am the OP and I just wanted to update how my peanut trials are going for DS. I gave him about 1/4 of a Reese's Peanut butter cup (the full size kind) and he did fine. I hope that was enough of peanut butter to be exposed. It was a new kind of peanut butter cup with real peanuts, and I know he had a real peanut or two in his portion. I waited 24 hrs and did the same thing again. It's been almost 24 more hours and he seems fine. I don't know if I gave him enough or waited long enough between exposures, but hopefully this was enough to confirm he's okay--what do you think? I will probably give him some more in a few more days and keep an eye on him.

I thank you all for your tips and information. Everybody has been extremely helpful!