Peanut kid-new allergy

[MSSANDRA]

We we had a pretty good grip on our peanut allergy till DGS4 reacted to "something" friday. We figured out that it was sesame seeds. I have learned they are related to the peanut family. Going to retest for these but until then, where do these things "hide". He reacted to a hamburger bun so that was easy and we read everything but I know they are not one of the focus allergens so what are my big cautions???

 

[SueM in MN]

Good question - they are not related to peanuts as far as I know. Allergies can be strange though.

I know that many of the sesame seeds are visible (like on the buns you mentioned), but I have also seen them in Oriental cooking as a very common ingredient and also in granola and granola bars.
I looked on Wikipedia and found this information, which tells about a lot of other places Sesame seeds may be found. I’ve also seen Sesame oil as an ingredient - not sure how commonly it is used and the places I saw it were granola and granola bars.

 

[dis-happy]

Ugh. We found out my ds has this allergy too. He's also allergic to peanuts and egg.

The day he reacted severely (whole face swelled up in minutes) he was eating some pita bread and hummus I had given him. Tahini is in hummus and tahini is basically ground up sesame seeds. I'm super careful about reading all labels for sesame now. I also threw out the seasame oil I had in the cupboard.

Wishing you the best. When we met with the allergist I was surprised to hear that seasame allergy is an emerging and growing allergy world wide. Really makes me wonder what is causing this to happen.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Sesame is the 9th most common food allergy in the world. US labelling laws only cover the top 8. Sigh...... I think I read that in Israel it's the 4th most common food allergy.

Some companies clearly label sesame while others don't. It's frustrating. We already don't eat much asian or mediterranian food so we don't have to worry too much there (they both seem to use a lot of sesame). I'm just grateful that DD10's sesame allergy isn't anaphylactic so I don't worry much about cross contamination on this allergen but I do watch labels and include it in the list when discussing food allergies with chefs.

 

[casper_jj11]

Sesame is in so many things. DD is peanut only but we have friends with sesame, peanut and treenut and several children in my kids classes have sesame. Here in Canada, they do place sesame warnings on labeling so I need to check for snacks for school and I see it a lot when checking for peanuts as well. Now, this said its a MAY CONTAIN warning which doesn't mean its actually there, but as you probably know from the peanut allergy, it protects against cross contamination. Almost all crackers and breads here have a may contain warning. My friend buys bread only from a sesame free bakery. Bagels, same thing as most companies also make sesame bagels. I see the warning on some spices that you'd never consider, such as cinnamon which is likely due to the processing facility. Its also a problem with pizza dough and other baked goods. There are many reliable companies though that you can trust their packaging. Kraft for instance. And here in Canada, Dare. Call their number and find out if they include sesame in their allergy warnings if its a concern. Its possible you may be able to get a list of companies that go further than the required allergy listing and if so, you'll know that if there's nothing listed on those products, its safe. Sesame is so tough. I'm sorry to hear your kiddo is going through this.

ETA: By the way, I needed safe crackers for DD's bday party a few weeks ago. The only non sesame crackers I could find were Ritz. May be different facilities in the US but here, they were safe.

 

[rhettreaux]

You are lucky that you were able to discover what he reacted to so quickly. You have no idea how long it took us to figure out that it was flax seed that was giving my daughter hives!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Thanks all. We do read everything; will just have to read closer now. His allergy numbers are so high the Dr warned that he would react to more foods at some point so this might just be the start.

While peanuts is scarier, it is easier to detect and the eggs are getting better.

It still amazes me that people just do not think. Friends that know the allergy situation brought snack mix with peanuts to the super bowl party at our house last night. We sealed it and put it up but..........

 

[Louisebshp]

It still amazes me that people just do not think. Friends that know the allergy situation brought snack mix with peanuts to the super bowl party at our house last night. We sealed it and put it up but..........

I agree with this statement - the amount of times we've been told "it won't hurt him" and "well it looks ok, can't see any nuts".

Hello - my son has a severe allergy, anaphylaxis at the very least and could die - so no it will hurt him, I'm not paranoid or over protective, I'm just keeping my child safe.

Can you tell, the whole area just gets me mad mad mad!!

Louise

 

[bidnow5]

Thanks all. We do read everything; will just have to read closer now. His allergy numbers are so high the Dr warned that he would react to more foods at some point so this might just be the start.

While peanuts is scarier, it is easier to detect and the eggs are getting better.

It still amazes me that people just do not think. Friends that know the allergy situation brought snack mix with peanuts to the super bowl party at our house last night. We sealed it and put it up but..........

A lot of people are clueless if they have never experienced someone having a reaction they don't think about it.
I have asthma and my worst trigger is perfume people that have known for years put perfume on at my house I have had to leave my own house a few times

 

[Maggie'sMom]

My ex developed to sesame when he was in his 30s. He used to not be diligent about checking labels and asking when he was eating out so he ended up in the emergency room multiple times.

One thing to be careful of is asian food, especially teriaki. My ex also had trouble with crackers and hummas, but those have already been mentioned.

 

[brat]

My DS best friend reacted to a TV dinner at another friends sleepover.We all thought it was cross because that company does make asian TV dinners as well but one of the other parents called sesame oil was used in that dinner.

 

[disfan07]

From what my allergist told me, people with peanut allergies have an increased risk for a sesame allergy. Peanuts and sesames are not related as in the same food group, but they are related in the allergy world apparently.

I dont have a sesame allergy yet, but my allergist is concerned that it will develop because I have such a severe peanut allergy and such a high IgE level in general so I avoid it whenever possible.

The allergist SHOULD give you a sheet that lists everything that you should be watching out for (so anything related to the sesame allergy). I am still with my pediatric allergist and she gave me these sheets for my peanut, egg and shellfish allergy as well as my chemical allergies.

But I would avoid any Asian food (I was told to avoid Asian food with a peanut allergy so I dont know if you already do that) and a lot of Mediterranean foods as well.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Thanks again all, we already avoid all Asian food and just spent a long trip to the grocery store reading labels. We found a few that high-lighted sesame so maybe that is in the future. His IgE levels too are very high so we never know what he might react too. He loves shrimp and so far so good so we are hoping that does not happen!!

 

[disfan07]

Thanks again all, we already avoid all Asian food and just spent a long trip to the grocery store reading labels. We found a few that high-lighted sesame so maybe that is in the future. His IgE levels too are very high so we never know what he might react too. He loves shrimp and so far so good so we are hoping that does not happen!!

Do you know how high his IgE level is? Mine topped out at about 6000 I think. Now, after different treatments I am down to about 3700. Normal is 4.2-595.

What my allergist has always advised with the most frequent food allergies (like the top 8 allergies) is just not to eat them frequently. I just developed a shellfish allergy about 1 1/2 years ago (at 20) and I used to live on shrimp and crab legs. We have no idea if that truly had an effect, but she is extremely catious with me so her advice for me is usually on the more extreme end of being safe just in case.

 

[Piper]

It still amazes me that people just do not think. Friends that know the allergy situation brought snack mix with peanuts to the super bowl party at our house last night. We sealed it and put it up but..........

A lot of people are clueless if they have never experienced someone having a reaction they don't think about it.
I have asthma and my worst trigger is perfume people that have known for years put perfume on at my house I have had to leave my own house a few times

My father was anaphalactic to coffee. Their best friends knew that and often teased him about drinking tea. One afternoon we were at their home. The mom had baked a chocolate cake especially for the occassion. My dad took two bites and had to be rushed to the hospital. The recipe called for a teaspoon of instant coffee. She served it because she thought "allergies were all in your head and if dad didn't know it was there, it wouldnt affect him!" You couldn't taste the coffee in the cake--but it almost killed my dad! She had planned to confront Dad with the fact that he had eaten coffee without harm---wrong. BTW--they paid the deductible for the emergency room visit.

 

[dis-happy]

Do you know how high his IgE level is? Mine topped out at about 6000 I think. Now, after different treatments I am down to about 3700. Normal is 4.2-595.

What my allergist has always advised with the most frequent food allergies (like the top 8 allergies) is just not to eat them frequently. I just developed a shellfish allergy about 1 1/2 years ago (at 20) and I used to live on shrimp and crab legs. We have no idea if that truly had an effect, but she is extremely catious with me so her advice for me is usually on the more extreme end of being safe just in case.

My ped. allergist told me not to give my ds shellfish even though he had been eating shrimp without a problem. We've complied of course. You story helps me understand why. I'm hoping we can go a few years without another anaphylactic reaction! So scary....

 

[dis-happy]

My father was anaphalactic to coffee. Their best friends knew that and often teased him about drinking tea. One afternoon we were at their home. The mom had baked a chocolate cake especially for the occassion. My dad took two bites and had to be rushed to the hospital. The recipe called for a teaspoon of instant coffee. She served it because she thought "allergies were all in your head and if dad didn't know it was there, it wouldnt affect him!" You couldn't taste the coffee in the cake--but it almost killed my dad! She had planned to confront Dad with the fact that he had eaten coffee without harm---wrong. BTW--they paid the deductible for the emergency room visit.

 

[DCDisney]

I am also allergic to peanuts and sesame (and soy watch out for that one too as it's very common to be allergic to if you are allergic to peanuts and sesame). I was tested for sesame because I was allergic to peanut and soy. But anyway besides Asian food and baked goods at WDW the Mickey Shaped Cheese ravioli at Chef Mickey's had sesame oil in them. It was very odd because they were just regular old pasta, cheese, and red sauce. At Animal Kingdom Lodge they fry falafal which had sesame too so if I wanted anything fried there they had to use a special allergy safe fryer.

 

[MSSANDRA]

DGS's IgE level was around 2000. We are heading back to recheck sesame and going to check soy too! Thanks all. I am going to ask about avoiding shrimp too. Have never had an issue, but had never had one with sesame either. I am afraid this sesame may be pretty low tolerance. We ate at a place Saturday that had sesame buns and his meal of course had none but he broke out on his face. He does this with contact of peanuts sooooooooo.