Peanut Allergy

[jennyb133]

We have a PEANUT allergy!

That's right! I am kicking myself for not waiting longer. I know about half of you said you tried peanut butter no problem & other half said they were waiting. Big debate, but my ped. said it was fine to try after 12 mos.

So today for lunch I decided to try a PB&J sandwich. He already loves jelly on toast. So I put a little on finger & he licked it up, so yummy!  I made a sandwich & cut in to quarters. I gave him the first one & he ate it up licking it everywhere. Then was reaching out for more. I gave him the 2nd quarter & as he was eating it, I noticed he was breaking out in big red welts all over his face!!!!

I took the sandwich from him, immediately started washing all of it off him with soap & water. He had rubbed his one eye so his one eye was red, his hands, esp. his right hand had red hives, & all around his mouth & chin. I called the ped. right away to ask how much Benadryl to give. Good thing I had it handy & they told me to give it & come in an hour (the Dr's were on their lunch break). They said in the mean time, if he starts wheezing, having trouble breathing, or difficulty swallowing, call 911! I  was freaking out!!!!

I gave him water b/c I wanted him to get the rest washed out of his mouth & he had no trouble swallowing or breathing thank God.  Then I took a pic of it, so DH could see when he got home & I called him. I was so upset. Anyway, we were first to see the Dr. It was a different Dr. than we normally see & he said just give the Benadryl every 6 hrs. till he's totally clear & to avoid any and all peanuts from now on.  I asked how long should we wait till we try to introduce it again, a year or so? And he said not till he's grown up!  Does that make sense?! This was his first reaction. Anyway, I guess they are considering it a peanut allergy from now on.

I brought him home, he ended up pooping so I changed his diaper & his whole diaper area was red!!!! I guess he pooped out all the peanut butter that fast?! He started scratching immediately when I took off the diaper. Poor baby!  I put diaper cream on him & laid him for his nap. He's sleeping now, I hope he feels better when he wakes.


So why is it that everyone who has tried the peanut butter had no problem & I have to be the first to experience this reaction?!

Anyway, that is my saga.  I hope it doesn't happen to any of you.

I'll post the pics I took of this scary event!

Can someone make peanut allergies a sticky? I'd like to learn more about it!

[squeaky's mum]

Oh No, poor ds. Sophie had a similar reaction to milk but seems to be growing out of it now. How are you doing? It can be really scary.

I hope this is useful but because Sophie is considered 'atopic' i.e. is sensitive to allergens (although so she is only allergic to dairy products so far) we have been told to be really careful about introducing other foods that are known to be common allergens. Eggs, seeds and berry fruits were to be introduced at a year, all nuts and honey at 3 years. So far seeds and berry fruits are fine. Eggs she seems to have a slight intolerance to and she hasn't had any nuts and honey yet.

I think you have to be really careful as with some allergies the first dose sensitises the body to the allergen. With a second dose an allergic reaction could be more severe. I would really recommend getting some advice from an allergy specialist.

HTH

Claire

[jennyb133]

I have heard people say wait till 2 or 3 years for peanut butter which is why I was debating it. But the ped said 1yr. And he's 13 mos now, so I tried.

I'm wondering though, why wait???  If they are allergic, aren't they always going to be allergic? If so, isn't it better to find out when they are 1, instead of waitng till 3 then finding out? At least now I know & I can avoid it.  I mean if you wait till 3, is there a better chance of them not being allergic?  I'm confused about all this & would like to know more.

So, if I waited till he was 3 wouldn't he still be allergic to it anyway?

I don't understand the waiting thing. Please explain.

Also, DS has eczema & I heard egg whites can make that worse. So I waited till 1yr before introducing eggs too.

[squeaky's mum]

I think the gut continues developing for quite a while after birth (not sure how long). Allergens can get through the immature gut wall into the bloodsteam and cause an allergic reation. I have been told that Sophie is very likely to grow out of her dairy allergy and it is now much better than it was already.

Generally though I think allergies are a bit of a mystery to the medical profession.

Sophie's dairy allergy causes eczema, but both eggs and dairy also cause her to have some nasty poos!

This web links is really useful;
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp

Claire

[jennyb133]

Update on the PB allergy:

When I last posted, he was sleeping soundly taking his afternoon nap. He started to stir around 3:30, but I let him be b/c he was quiet & thought he could use the extra time since he had the Benadryl and all. At 4pm I hear him jumping up & down, laughing, giggling, babbling, having a grand ol time in his crib so I went in to get b/c sounded like he was ready to play, & OMG there was a HUGE puddle of vomit on the floor!! He was standing on the crib & obviously leaned over the crib rail to throw up b/c hardly any in the crib, but all down the crib rail, puddle on the floor & bit in the crib by his feet where he was standing. He was so happy though!  And even though the hives on his face cleared, he now had a red rash across his whole forehead! He must have smeared some of the throw up on him. I called my mom over quick & I put him in the tub while she helped scrub the crib & his carpet. Thank goodness she lives only minutes away. Being a nurse, I can usually handle bodily fluids, but being pregnant I just could not take it!! 

His eyes were all puffy, his whole diaper area a reddened mess, his forehead, neck, ears & scalp all very red.  After his bath, he had dinner. My mom, dad, & sis stayed and ate dinner with me till DH got home. When he got home, we decided to call the Dr. again. Just to mention that he threw up, that his diaper area was a mess & that the red rash reappeared, but in different areas. The Dr. told us that this rash will prob. come & go for a few days till it's totally out of his system & to keep up with the Benadryl every 6 hrs. and continue to monitor to be sure it's not affecting his breathing or swallowing. Needless to say, I called out of work for tomorrow & I'm taking a personal day.

I took a few more pics too of his reddened puffy face, but didn't download them yet.

I also looked up stuff online about peanut allergies & I am feeling so guilty like a bad mommy!  I absolutely love peanut butter. And the whole time I was pregnant & breastfeeding, I would eat peanut butter sandwiches, ice cream with peanut butter swirls & peanut butter candy, anytime I was craving something sweet I would eat candy with peanut butter. So what I'm reading is that if you expose your baby to a highly allergenic food like that while pregnant & breastfeeding you can actually increase his risk of getting that allergy!!!!  Also, babies with eczema are also at an increased risk of developing an allergic reaction. So, why didn't my ped. advise me to wait with him when she knew he had eczema??  Also, I feel like I took every precaution waiting to try new foods at certain times, breastfeeding for the whole first year, etc.  Basically my ped. had told me at his 1yr check up that since he had no reaction to any food so far, basically anything goes after a year. Just wait a few days when trying something new like we did in the beginning. So since he turned 1, I have tried eggs, & white fish without problem. Now this.

So, when DH talked to the Dr. tonight he said this is very common & once it's all cleared through his system we could see an allergist.

Thanks for listening to me go on about this, I was in tears a little while ago. Hope the reddness goes away soon, it looks so painful. Also Dr. said we could use hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion on the rash for the itching.

[aisling]

Jenny,

I just want to offer big (((HUGS.))) Please don't beat yourself up, you are a great Mum!  We Mums can't know or prevent everything...although we try!  I hope little James gets better very soon.

Aisling x

[JennŠ]

We have to wait until she's 4-5 as I have asthma.  That's the only think we have to wait on, which I never understood.  She loves soy butter, so we  give her that instead.  Great big hugs to you!!!!!!!!!!

[Mom to M&M]

Big hugs to you and your son and I hope he feels all better soon!

[jennyb133]

Thanks for the replies. We have an appt. to see an allergist on the 26th, so hopefully I will get more answers to my questions. The thing that bothers me though is that I'm reading up online about this & almost all recommend that if the LO has eczema (which he does) or the parents have a history of asthma (which we both do) that they should not try it till they are 3 or 4! And some Dr.s recommend not trying till 5!!!!!   Why was I not given this advice?!  It's just very upsetting know that this may have been prevented if I waited.

Here are the pics that I took later in the evening when he was in his pajamas. The hives cleared up, but he was very red on his forehead, scalp & neck as well as his diaper area hours after the reaction!! It happened at noon!  He finally cleared after being on Benadryl every 6hrs. for 24hrs.

[jennyb133]

Here are the last two.

[murphy1967]

Bless your heart.  I hate to hear that you went through that.  I have a 2 year old son with 13 food allergies.  You should NEVER retry peanuts on your son unless he tests negative to a skin test and to a RAST (blood) test and then the allergist will have you come in for a food challenge to see if he can take it.  There is only a 20% chance of outgrowing peanut and shellfish allergies so the advice your doctor gave you to retry it later is very scary and shows how ignorant he is pertaining to food allergies.

Food allergies can present in three ways:
1. hives
2. wheezing, tightening of throat...
3. GI symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting)

The diarrhea he has wasn't the peanuts going through his system rapidly but rather part of the reaction. 

After your son has a reaction, there is a chance that he could go into another reaction once the medication wears off so I would suggest you keep him with you at all times afterwards.  When this happens to my son we let him sleep with us and monitor him throughout the night.
And give him Benadryl as prescribed for 24 hours.

Your son needs to also stay away from peanuts.  Some peanut allergic people can have a reaction from just smelling peanuts or from contact with peanut dust.

You also need to be very careful with other new foods he takes since you now know he has an allergic tendency.  Please read labels very carefully since many foods are processed on shared equipment and in plants that manufacture foods with peanuts and can cause cross contamination and a reaction.

A great peanut butter substitute is Sunbutter which is made from sunflower seeds and is really good.  It tastes so much better that Soybutter which has a weird aftertaste.  You can also cook with Sunbutter just like you would peanut butter.

Peanut allergies are so big nowdays and people are becoming more aware of them and other food allergies making it a little easier for us moms and our little allergic children.

Good luck and please make sure you get an epinephrine pen from the allergist and carry it and Benadryl with you always.

[jennyb133]

Murphy1967- thanks for that last post, but I did a bunch of online research & pretty much learned all that. Also, I'm a nurse & from his reaction I knew he was allergic & glad I reacted the way I did when it first happened. I know peanut allergies are serious. I would never give it to him again. DH was in denial & thought that he would outgrow it & really did not believe he was truly allergic! I learned as much as I could so I was prepared for the allergist appt. DH went with me & now he knows how serious it is!

Went to the allergist yesterday. They did the skin test on James. Big reaction to Peanuts, also reacted to eggs. They also tested for dust, milk , & soy but those were negative.  Eggs is not life threatening, but it can make his eczema worse so we have to cut it out of his diet. The peanuts IS life threatening, so we got a prescription for an epi-pen we have to keep with us at all times. We got several, so we can keep one at home, one in the diaper bag, etc.  He said if he accidentally tastes, or touches peanuts & gets a hive or mild skin rash to give Benadryl, but if he starts to swell or have trouble breathing give the epi-pen shot & call 911.  So we have to keep the epi shot & benadryl with us always. Alert everyone we know that he has an allergy.  Read labels on EVERYTHING!  Also, James had a wheeze for the first time the day before the appt. We told the Dr. how he's had a cold pretty much all month. He listened to his lungs & then prescribed us an albuterol inhaler for him. DH & I were scared that he might have asthma, b/c we both had it. The Dr. said he actually calls it Reactive Airway Disease in babies. It may or may not become asthma, but b/c he has allergies & DH & I both had asthma there's a good chance he may develop asthma. What is good is that now we are seeing a specialist. He's an allergist, pulmonologist & Pediatrician.  Also, since he's allergic to eggs & the flu shot is made from an egg derivative, there's a chance he may be allergic to that too. I told him he had his first dose & is due for his second as soon as clears up. He said when he clears up, come back with the flu shot vial & they will do a skin test for that too to see if he's allergic to the flu shot.  Also mentioned something about the MMR, but I forget exactly so when I go back for the flu shot testing I will ask him. He's due for the MMR at his 15mos. appt.

[Tatumsmom]

Just wanted to send you and James some big hugs.
I just posted a week ago about having a life threatening reaction to something I ate. My reaction was pretty bad and my doctor advised me to carry two epi-pens with me at all times.
Last year a little girl in my town died. She was allergic to peanuts and some how came into contact with them. She had an epi-pen but it was in her locker(she was at school) and she couldn't make it on time.
I don't want to scare you but my nurse told me this storey to open my eyes at how lucky I was and to make sure I always have my epi-pen with me.
It's scary and life changing but as long as your prepared and take all the procautions it's manageable.
Just want you to know James isn't alone and you didn't cause this !!!
I'm sending you both some big hugs.Take care.
Kim

[jennyb133]

Kim- thanks so much for the support.  He is going to be re-tested next year & if it is still positive that will be it for awhile, but Dr. did mention he would test again before he started school & def. to let all caregivers & school he goes to know. He's not in daycare which is good. I won't have to worry about that until he starts pre-school & I will def. make sure he's in a school with a full-time nurse on duty.

[Anna & Baby Caleb's Mommy]

  He is going to be re-tested next year & if it is still positive that will be it for awhile, but Dr. did mention he would test again before he started school & def.

we just found out through an allergist and skin test that ds has a strong reaction to both eggs and peanuts. we knew about eggs, not peanuts.  it has been told to us that our only hope of him outgrowing peanuts is for him to go peanut free as LONG AS POSSIBLE, 4 years would be good, before retesting.  reintroducing peanuts next year will likely yield the same reaction and you will be starting over...just a thought