Peanut allergies in toddlers

[vettechick99]

Well after a scary reaction to her first taste of peanut butter, the doctor officially diagnosed DD20m with a peanut allergy. He gave me several epi-pens and told me to keep her away from peanuts and peanut-related products.

Any great websites you can refer to me so I can learn more about this? Any advice from people dealing with this?

Also, I'm still a little confused on one thing. She's had food made in facilities where peanuts are also handled, but we're supposed to avoid those now even though she never had a reaction to them before?

Thanks!!

 

[Amy]

My DS18 was diagnosed with peanut allergies when he was a little over a year old, so we've been living with this for quite a while.

Here's a link to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, the best resource I found: FAAN. They have a monthly newsletter that's invaluable - recipes, the latest research, tips from other parents. I highly recommend them!

And yes, you have to start reading ALL labels of ALL foods ALL the time. It's very frustrating - there are some foods that used to be ok but the labels were changed to say "manufactured in a facility that also produces nut products" so then we had to avoid them. Nestle chocolate chips come to mind. The problem is with cross-contamination - some people are so sensitive to the allergens that even a tiny amount that might blow in the air from one piece of equipment to another can cause problems.

Good luck! I know there are a lot of parents of peanut-allergic kids on the DIS and I'm sure you'll get lots of advice.

Are peanuts the only thing your DD is allergic to?

 

[vettechick99]

Are peanuts the only thing your DD is allergic to?

Thanks for the website!

She's also allergic to eggs but doesn't react near as strongly and he said she'll likely grow out of that one. She also has eczema but we have no idea what is causing that and may never know.

 

[KATHINOWA]

My DS was diagnosed at age 3. One of the hardest things is now avoiding the foods that could safely be eaten before diagnosis. We do avoid all products that have warning labels but know a few families that only avoid food actually containing peanut. Sure he's had some foods with warning labels accidentally (label changed and didn't notice). But the guilt would kill me knowing I knew it could contain peanut and let him eat it anyway.

I agree with visiting FAAN. There's also peanutallergy.com which has some informative message boards.

This is a big adjustment for the whole family so try to relax and take it one step at a time.

 

[vettechick99]

One of the hardest things is now avoiding the foods that could safely be eaten before diagnosis.

That's what I'm so confused about. So a week ago (before her reaction) she could have X cracker and now she can't?

 

[ChelleinNC]

That's what I'm so confused about. So a week ago (before her reaction) she could have X cracker and now she can't?

One of the things that they try to do is to completely remove the allergen from the body and hopefully after time, when it is re-introduced (by a Dr) the body does not think it's something to attack.

FAAN is wonderful, and you should find a Dr that specializes in food allergies. Eczema is a common symptom of food allergies, so she should have a full allergy test done if she hasn't yet.

 

[monorailsilver]

FYI she can have Soy butter. I get the honey version made my I.M. Healthy. It is usually right next to the Peanut Butter & jelly jars.

My 5 yo is peanut allergic (along with tree nuts & dairy which is his worst one).

Good luck & stay safe. Just read labels & you will be fine.

 

[ChelleinNC]

OP be careful of soy until you know for sure that she's not allergic to it.

There are lot's of alternatives to peanut butter, --soy butter, sun butter, almond butter, etc.--you need to find out what the best alternative is for your child.

Full testing, a Dr that specializes in food allergies & a registered dietician will send you down the right path to keep your child safe, healthy and hopefully allergy free in the future.

 

[anniemae]

when are you supposed to try peanut butter with your little ones?

How do you do it? Just give them a spoonfull and watch for a reaction? Someone once told me it takes a couple of tries before you see a reaction, so you may think your child is not allergic, then you try again and she is? is this true for you OP?

I have been delaying this and wonder when I should try with dd. Also, how long before your child reacted OP? Was it instant, or did it take a while? What did she do, did she get hives? Sorry for all the questions, but I have been thinking of this for a while.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for the website!

She's also allergic to eggs but doesn't react near as strongly and he said she'll likely grow out of that one. She also has eczema but we have no idea what is causing that and may never know.

Sounds like my son!! Typical "atopic" profile.

My son had egg allergies (but outgrew them), he is still allergic to peanuts, and he has eczema. Oh, and lets not forget the asthma--that started around age 3 and was officially diagnosed when he was about 6 years old. He is now just turning 14.

My son's first exposure was at daycare when he was 9 months old. A worker thought he might like a teensy bit of peanut butter on his bites of toast. He got hives all over his face. By the time I got to him, they had totally disappeared. Further testing revealed severe peanut allergy and egg allergy (he had not eaten eggs yet).

He has managed to make it 13 years with no more reactions--although he did have an egg reaction when he was about 4, but he eats eggs just fine now. He has gone on to develop shellfish allergies.

We read all labels. And I don't let him eat anything that says that it is processed on shared equipment. I have been "lax" and I do let him eat stuff that is made in a facility that also processes peanuts. For instance, like the Nestle mini-morsels. I've been making his special Christmas cookies with these mini-chips for years. Now I noticed that they put the "facility" warning on it. Well, darn it, I'm still using them. Apparently, Guittard makes a peanut safe chip but I can't find it anywhere.

www.peanutallergy.com and FAAN are great sites, although peanutallergy.com can tend to get a little over the top sometimes for me.

Your child is much younger but when she gets older, Vermont Nut Free chocolates make wonderful treats for people with nut allergies. My son loves their candy and asks for it every Christmas. We are getting fudge, peppermint bark, and their version of M&Ms shortly!!

Good luck with it all and I'm sorry you had to join our club.

 

[ChelleinNC]

when are you supposed to try peanut butter with your little ones?

How do you do it? Just give them a spoonfull and watch for a reaction? Someone once told me it takes a couple of tries before you see a reaction, so you may think your child is not allergic, then you try again and she is? is this true for you OP?

I have been delaying this and wonder when I should try with dd. Also, how long before your child reacted OP? Was it instant, or did it take a while? What did she do, did she get hives? Sorry for all the questions, but I have been thinking of this for a while.

The most recent recommendation is to wait until children are at least 3 yrs old before letting them have peanuts or shell fish.

 

[Barbossa]

My DD7 was diagnosed at around 12 months. She is not hypersensitive and she's never had a reaction to foods that were made in the same facility that uses peanuts, nor has she had a reaction to foods that state that they "may contain traces of" peanuts or tree nuts. Her pediatrician has never told us to avoid foods that she doesn't have a problem with.

As for advice, make sure you take Benadryl along with your Epi's. It works wonders for minor reactions. Also note that Epi-pens have a rather limited storage temperature range, so try to avoid leaving them in the car. Also, have everyone responsible for looking after your child practicing using the Epi-pen. We use expired Epi's and practice on an orange or apple.

 

[Barbossa]

The most recent recommendation is to wait until children are at least 3 yrs old before letting them have peanuts or shell fish.

It's my understanding that you should wait until age 5 before letting your child try peanuts.

 

[vettechick99]

when are you supposed to try peanut butter with your little ones?

How do you do it? Just give them a spoonfull and watch for a reaction? Someone once told me it takes a couple of tries before you see a reaction, so you may think your child is not allergic, then you try again and she is? is this true for you OP?

I have been delaying this and wonder when I should try with dd. Also, how long before your child reacted OP? Was it instant, or did it take a while? What did she do, did she get hives? Sorry for all the questions, but I have been thinking of this for a while.

First, she has always had eczema and showed sensitivity to eggs when she was 11 months old (face broke out), so there was a history of allergic reactions to food. Also, since they warn not to give peanuts to them too young, I barely gave her any. Just to be extra sure.

So I got a little PB on my finger (not even a pencil eraser amount) and smeared some on her lip. She licked her lips and we waited. About a minute later the area around her lips started to rash up and less than 5 minutes later she looked like this...

So you'll know if it happens!! And this is from a smear on her lips. We called her ped and the nurse said that if her throat isn't closing, then she's ok. DD was eating some mandarin oranges so she seemed fine. So we made an appt and talked to him about it today.

I asked him if I was wrong to give it to her and he said it's better to know now and not find out in some uncontrolled environment. So who knows what you are supposed to do! Two of my friends gave their kids peanut butter at 18m and they were fine. Luck of the draw I guess.

Thanks to everyone for your comments and advice. I really appreciate them!

 

[Barbossa]

That's pretty much what our DD looked like. We gave her a finger dollop of peanut butter, her face and eyes were a little more swollen.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I raised a kid with a nut allergy.

There are two ways to go. The first is to depend on the rest of the world to keep your kid safe. The second is to do it yourself.

I decided to do a little of both...but you can't. Even a little bit of trusting other people can kill your child. Don't trust waiters. Don't trust teachers. Don't trust anyone. Don't even think for one second that anything they say makes any difference at all. Do it all yourself.

Doing it yourself not only doesn't burden others, but (even more important!) it makes sure that your child doesn't die.

Take responsibility for your kid and make absolutely certain that they do not ingest anything you haven't approved. And if you're not sure, in the words of Nancy Reagan, "Just say no."

That's my advice.

It's a pain in the ***, no doubt about it. But you can do it. Gazillions of others have!

Good luck as you embark upon the world of allergies!

 

[Nicoleclaw]

That's what I'm so confused about. So a week ago (before her reaction) she could have X cracker and now she can't?

NOt sure if someone said this, I did not read through all the posts, but that cracker may not have had the peanut residue or piece of a peanut on it in previous exposures. IT COULD though, and now that you know of the allergy, you should avoid it incase it does. It doesn't always have the allergen in it, kwim?
My son is allergic to peanut, hazelnut, and almonds. He got a rash like your daughter's but less splotchy (I should find the pic we took one too!) after my very dear, DH gave him a macadamia nut cookie. He did not even swallow any and is NOT allergic to macadamia nuts. However, we were at a buffet, so the cookie could have touched anything. He had not had any nuts at that point because dd is allergic to eggs we were really being careful with nuts, fish and eggs at that point. He is also allergic to eggs, which we found out a week after i started letting him have them. He also has eczema and asthma. Typical atopic profile here too.
I read kidswithfoodallergies and the faan website also. Did they do a blood test? What class is she (although it does not really determine what kind of reaction they will have).
Good luck and try not to freak when you start reading stuff on the internet....take it one day at a time.

 

[Nicoleclaw]

I hate to say this, but I also wanted to mention that alot of the time the second exposure will cause a worse reaction than the first...
Divvies cookies are good, we ordered from them in the fall, and the chocolate chips in the cookies were melted. We called and they sent us more for free! I believe disney carries cookies or the brownies? You can get them in packs of 2 so you can bring them with you to parties or wherever they might not have a safe snack.We freeze them so we can pull them out when needed.

 

[Amy]

With my DS being allergic to peanuts, our allergy dr said to avoid ALL nuts just to be safe, even though peanuts are legumes and almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc. are tree nuts and have a diff. makeup and really aren't in the same category. But most factories probably process all nut products on the same equipment.

It's scary at first, but after a while you'll know which foods are ok, and when you go out to eat, you'll develop a list of good restaurants where you have no problems talking to the chef and you'll start to feel more comfortable with it.

I'm more worried NOW that DS18 is off at college! One day he told me that they went out for Chinese food, and I almost had a heart attack because Chinese is one that uses a LOT of peanuts, peanut oil, etc. But he told me he talked to the chef and this place was ok, and he assured me that he takes his EpiPen with him everywhere. But I still worry!

 

[javaj]

Go to http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/. I got really great support and information from that site. I think I got that link for a post here on the Community Board a year and a half ago!

DS #2 was diagnosed with eggs, milk, and peanuts when he was 1yo. He had a similar journey as your little one (long-time eczema, hives when he ingested eggs - had not tried peanuts yet). His RAST levels showed moderate for eggs and peanuts, and mild for milk. We eliminated ALL allergens. It was very difficult and I was devastated at first. But it became second nature to check all ingredients after a while. We have a very very atypical story, but 9 months later, we had repeat RAST and SPT and both were negative. So DS has been back on a regular diet since with no incidents.

Did your DD get RAST/SPT? I recommend making sure you have an allergist who explains things clearly, and has a set plan that he/she makes sure you understand.

PM me if you have any questions. I know it can be a bit overwhelming at first. I promise it does get easier.