Peanut butter reaction??

[momtoelise]

I'm looking for some help from moms who've seen any kinds of peanut reactions....

My DD's had a little bit of peanut butter a few times & the last 2 times, she got a couple red spots by her mouth.  This has never happened with any other kinds of food.  Both times there were no other symptoms & the spots went away after awhile.  I know peanut allergies can be very serious, so I called the pedi's office the first time it happened & the nurse there said it was so mild it's hard to know.  She recommended having her tested when she's in next (not until her 2 yr. well-child check, unless something else comes up) & keeping benedryl in the house if I try it again - just in case something more happened. 

Does this sound like an allergy, since it seems so mild?  Anyone have this experience?

[Samuel's mum]

I'm so not an expert but taught a boy with a very serious peanut allergy and had to do a course for a couple of hours (and saw one serious attack. He was quite a bit older though and it was the full blown thing.)
It's my understanding that the first reactions are almost always very mild and that they can increase with severity once sensitization has occurred. However I would have thought if she'd had it several times you would have noticed an escalation. Were the second lot of red spots worse than the first?
I'd be tempted to get her tested now to be honest if you suspect it might be problem and hold off on her eating it until you have done the testing. Even if this sounds overly cautious it's not something you can be too careful with IMO.

[momtoelise]

Thanks for your response Emma.

I agree - that it's best to be cautious.  The thought of her having an actual peanut allergy terrifies me, since I know how scary it can be.  It makes me so nervous, and I don't want her to have to deal with that... 

The weird thing is that she had it a few times with no reaction, then the last 2 times did - but the second time was actually a little less than the first.