peanut butter and strawberries

[georgia's mama]

i have been talking to some friends at work and they have told me horror stories about peanut allergies.  no one in our family has this allergy or any other severe type really (husband to dustmites..that's it) but i am deathly afraid to give it to my 16 mos old.  when is a good time to try it and how should i introduce it...i've thought about sitting in the hospital parking lot and doing it but it's not very realistic  :shock: maybe she is too young still. 
another thing is that the two times i've given her strawberries she has developed a red dotty rash around her mouth, is this typical and should i be extra careful - only noticed it with fresh strawberries.
thanks for any advice.

[GraceKellysmom]

Some people are allergic to raw fruits, but can have them cooked. My MIL is like that.

As far as peanuts, if you don't have a family history, you will probably be ok.

[Kayna]

We had absolutely no family history when it came to food allergies and my ds is severely allergic to peanuts. I might be slightly overboard on this but I don't think it's unreasonable to wait until your lo is 24 months to try the peanut thing.

In fact since ds is allergic to peanuts I'm not even going to attempt it with dd. She will have a skin test to determine if there is an allergy but that's because it now is "in" the family.

Did you eat peanuts/peanut butter while pregnant or nursing?

[georgia's mama]

24 months makes me a little more comfortable and of course i'll check with her dr. too.  i ate peanut butter constantly while pregnant..it was great on toast with grapes and peanut m&m's while i laid in bed watching tv  :lol: (too funny).  what is the skin test like?

[carolyn]

We waited until 24 months on peanuts.  I'm glad we did.  He has no peanut allergy, but I felt better about waiting.  A friend of ours found out that their son was severly allergic at less than 12 months when his grandmother kissed him after eating peanut butter crackers.  It was scarey for everyone.

John gets a rash from strawberries too.  He seems to have outgrown it some.  I still let him eat them, but in small amounts.  He also gets it when he eats strawberry cereal bars.  Other thanthe rash, there doesn't seem to be any other allergy symptoms.