Peanut and Egg Allergy

I work for an allergist...our website has links about food allergies that might help you. www.daadocs.com Hope that helps.

Reactions trump results. No matter what the test says. Both the blood tests (RAST/Immunocap) and SPT (skin prick tests) are only considered to be about 50% accurate. And even less so for kids under age three. I have friends in other areas whose doctors will not even test anyone under 3!

Severity of allergy is helpful to know (and they should be able to be more specific than 'pretty big'... there are numeric or measurement results from allergy testing. That said, the severity of the allergy does not necessarily indicate the severity of the *reaction* your daughter will have. And reactions can change at any time, so keep that Epipen handy, even if you're going to the same restaurant you've been to 100 times without her reacting to anything. I believe that any child with a food allergy should have an Epipen. Just in case.

A medical bracelet is a good idea, IMO. For one thing, it makes other people take your daughter's allergy seriously. Also, if you use a system like Medicalert, where they keep track of information for you, it just takes that one call to them and emergency personnel would have all the info they need to properly care for your daughter. Plus current phone numbers, prescriptions, etc.

Ditto the OP's advice about searching for vegan recipes. There are a lot of blogs out there with info & recipes.
www.ourgaggleofgirls.com
www.foodallergyfamilyfun.blogspot.com/ (not a ton of recipes, but reassuring that you can still lead a 'normal' life!) :)
www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com

And yeah, I'd avoid her allergens while you're nursing. It's hard sometimes but totally worth it for the health of your child. (I'm doing it myself right now, so I know that it's manageable. And I'm also avoiding the milk & wheat you dread, too! LOL)

I'm in a great allergy group on Yahoo groups, it's called TerrificKidsWFA. Free, lots of useful info, great moral support... but lots of email! (You might wanna go 'no email' and just check posts at the web site.) The lovely folks there have saved my sanity more than once! :)

Good luck to you. You're doing a great thing, being so mindful of your daughter's health. Keep up the good work... it'll be totally worth it when you look at your little girl and realize that YOUR efforts are making her feel better!

Ok for about finding out if she is allergic to the foods later on in life you can go back to the allergist in a couple years and see if she has grown out of the allergy. they will retest her. For a medical bracelet I would say it may be a good idea right now since she is so young and cant tell people. My brother was severely allergic to peanuts as well it got to the point where he could smell it in foods and just not eat them. I would also recommend talking to anyone that she may associate with and letting them know about the allergies so that they do not feed them to her by accident. As for the eggs i believe they sell egg substitutes that you can use for baking. but i am not sure about that one or if it contains egg in it at all sorry.

Hi A.--
I've lived this so I understand your anxiety. First, as the others said, avoid all contact with these foods. If you eat them they will definitely go through the breast milk. Eggs are in everything so you have to be careful. For instance, you can't get things like onion rings or chicken tenders because they use eggs to batter them. There are egg substitutes for baking that you can buy. You can also use things like apples, flax seed, bananas, or pumpkin in place of eggs in baking---I even use those things when making pancakes or waffles. My son's first birthday cake was an apple spice cake. If you think she is reacting to peas then don't give them to her. My son has a sensitivity to pea protein as well. The tests that doctors give for allergies don't always test everything because it depends on what type of test they do. If she gets hives she is obviously having an allergic reaction, no matter what your doctor says.
My son was super sensitive to peanuts. Even if I ate something that was made on the same equipment as peanuts he would react through the breast milk. So for now I would avoid all contact with peanuts. As her system matures and calms down this will change, but initially I would steer clear. Also, if you have a health food store nearby you can get quercetin. It is a bioflavonoid found in onions that is a natural anti-histamine. I found it works just as well as benadryl but without the side effects of a chemical anti-histamine. Also, large doses of vitamin C will have the same effect. You can give your daughter these things directly instead of zyrtec. Get the quercetin in liquid form and if you do so, be careful because it stains everything! Do not take the quercetin or large dose vitamin C yourself because anything that dries up your nose will dry up your breast milk.
Good luck!
J.

Lot of questions, I'll answer the ones I can.

First off, I would DEFINITELY get her a medic alert bracelet, even at 10 months. It is important that, if anything were to happen where you were not there or able to warn people of her allergy, there is a way for medical response to know (say a car accident). And it's good anyway to get in the habit.

"pretty big" is a very subjective term, but since he gave you an epi pen, it sounds like it could lead to anaphylaxis (sp?), where her airway could start to swell closed. So take it seriously.

You may want to cut back on your intake of foods she's allergic to, but it's really not passed on a lot through breastmilk. The protein specific to the food is what causes the allergy, and proteins are broken down in our digestive system to the component amino acids and then rebuilt into breastmilk (and everything else we use protein for).

You're going to need to start researching egg-free and peanut-free alternatives. These are quite common allergies, and I'm sure there are recipes on the internet for foods without them. At this age, she's not going to miss the foods, like a child who developed an allergy later might. It's up to you whether the whole family goes egg and nut free, I know some families who do and some who don't. Not all peanut allergies can be triggered by airborn particles but some can, you might just have to wait and see, and also make sure she doesn't HANDLE anything associated to eggs or nuts (shells, etc).
When I was a teacher, there was a child in my class allergic to both eggs and nuts. He already knew, by Kindergarten, to ask about any food he was unsure of. He ate school lunch and the workers there knew of his allergy and had substitutions for him. So I know that it is managable. Just read labels very carefully! (Good habit to be in anyway)

An allergy can be a struggle while getting used to, and even have some trials as you go, but it is not unmanagable. My husband has a severe allergy, and it can be triggered by airborn or skin contact, and we just have to take it one day at a time. Most people are understanding and avoid the substances around him once we let them know (and remind them. You're going to have to remind grandparents, babysitters, other family, teacers, etc many times, just to be safe).

My daughter at age 5 had a bad allergic reaction to peanuts. We went to a ND and got a BodyScan done and some drops under the tongue and that really helped. She eats things made at peanut processing plants and does not react now.
Other daughter we used acupressure to help with her allergies.
I personally use acupuncture to get lessen by severe reactions to eggs and wood smoke and mold. Wood smoke and mold completely close my throat and I have to stick my finger down my throat and gag myself until I get to ER. Thanks to Acupuncture treatments I don't have that bad of a reaction anymore and can open my airway with my inhaler and Herbal Vapor Rub.
Since she is young it is a great time to help boost her body to fight off the allergy on it's own instead of taking lots of zyrtec.
My daughter's asthma was really bad at 3 and 4 and we went and did the Body Scan for the first time and avoided the foods that she was registering as her body not wanting. She could then play for hours without stopping and coughing or laying down etc. Mainly it was all the cereals she was eating and the ingredients that was affecting her asthma and making her tired and coughing with any excertion or exercise. She is now 13 and she gets a treat once a week of a pop tart and it does not affect her the way it would have at 3.

The pediatric allergist probably cannot tell you to much about her allergies yet, because a lot of babies grow out of their allergies by the time they are 2 or 3 years old. That is probably where he is not concerned with the peas because that is probably one allergy that will do that. My son was allergic to bananas as a baby and now he is 5 and eats them like they are candy.

As for the egg allergy go to eggless.com. It is a blog and they have fabulous eggless recipes that you can sign up to receive on a daily basis, or you can just look at it and get what you want. Another thing they have that is great is it tells you what you can substitute in your recipes where it calls for eggs and how much you need to use and what item to use for what type of cooking you are doing. So you don't have to worry about her first birthday cake, because they give you exactly what you need to bake an eggless cake.

For the peanut allergy, if the doctor gave you an epi pen, then it is definitely important to stay away from peanuts. Instead of reintroducing the foods back into her diet, I would have her have an allergy test again when she is a little bit older. Chances are she will always be allergic to peanuts, although she can outgrow an allergy to eggs.

It is difficult, we have to keep wheat, eggs, milk, and night-shades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, paprika, and all peppers) out of our diet, but after doing this for awhile you get used to it, especially if it makes your child healthier.

Ok here goes because your doc's reaction ticks me off!!!

I WOULD get her the bracelet! I got one for my daughter at 4 mo. old. Even though she was breast fed she was severly allegic to milk protein and slightly to strawberries. I thought if I get hurt say in an accident & they try to feed her formula she could have an anaphylactic shock.

Next if your daughters allergy is peanuts & he gives you an epi pen for her that shows the severity of her allergic reaction! Keep her away from all peanuts & eggs! And yes YOU MUST avoid them while breast feeding, it does go through your milk. And for the doc to say otherwise is wrong! Our allergist said to me "if you want to eat milk products occasionally go ahead...just give your daughter some benedryl before doing so. WHAT!!!!! Are you kidding???? Yes let's just cover up the issue with medicine. That's right let's make her little system suffer so I can have a bit o' ice cream! UGH!!! It takes weeks for those foods especially milk proteins to leave their systems. Avoidance is KEY.

Peanut allergies are so severe. As almost any allergen can be. There are plenty of bakeries that have allergen free cakes. And Whole foods, Sunflower, etc. carry allergen free mixes that do not require eggs. With peanuts I would not try giving them to her to "test" if the allergy is still there. I would get a patch test done. That way if she has a reaction they are there to administer the epi pen & anything else she may need. Hang in there momma. You are doing AWESOME!

We're so lucky that our kids *knocks on wood* don't have food allergies. I have a cousin that's my oldest son's age, and he's allergic to EVERYTHING! & When I worked at the children's academy there was a little girl allergic to avacados, eggs, and a ton of other things.

If her allergies were so bad that she'd have a problem being in the same room with nuts, you'd already know and probably would have had to rush her to the emergency room.

Applesauce works in lieu of eggs in cakes, and food will taste the same. This works for cookies as well. When he was talking about not being too intense and cutting things out of your diet, did he mean the peas? I have no idea if those foods are passed through breast milk. I don't know about retrying foods either. Sorry.

I hope this helps, at least the apple sauce.

PS. I would DEFINITELY do the bracelet! It's better that anyone that cares for her knows, and can refer to the bracelet to be safe.

As far as baking a cake without eggs look for a vegan (not vegetarian) cake recipe online. It also won't have dairy or any other animal products. good luck with all that.

I sent you a message, too, but seriously, I am so excited to talk to you! Please email me! I was just telling my husband how excited I was and he laughed at me. Anyway, when my little guy was born he had terrible terrible rashes. Every "old mom" was telling me what they thought it was but none of it seemed right. Finally one of the guys that works with my husband told him that I should try cutting all dairy out completely from my diet while I was nursing. I immediately did this and his rashes got about 75% better. He still had them and our ped was trying to give us creams and such to treat the rashes, but when he was 8 months old I tried giving him some infant cereal and the instant it touched his tongue he went into anaphylactic shock! It was one of the worst and scariest experiences of my life! My husband and I rushed him to the ER where they unsuccessfully tried to give him an IV, but gave him lots of shots (Ephinephrine, steroids, pepcid, and benedryl) and then we had to stay overnight at primary children's. The scary thing about food allergies is that they are inside their body, so the body continues to react until it has been "passed". So PCMC recommended some fantastic allergists to us who specialize in food allergies--specifically in children(I'll give you their names and info and tell you about them when you email me) and after we visited her we found out that he is severely allergic to milk,has a high allergy to eggs and moderate allergy to peanuts. I've been a crazy person for the last 6 months dealing with this, so I totally know what your going through. I have so much more to tell you so please please please---EMAIL ME! I sent you my address in the message. :)

I stopped reading after you said he gave you an Epi Pen. If it's severe enough to need an Epi, you need to cut it out of your diet while you're nursing. Only experience can tell how she's allergic (there's inhallation, contact & injestion-thankfully my kids are just ingestion) & a skin test can't tell how allergic she is, just that she is. They can tell you that she's more allergic to that than something else, but only a blood test can tell just how allergic she is (I'm not 100% that it's a perfect indicator of how allergic though) The blood test-they take some blood & test it w/the allergen. My boys have never had it done so I can't tell you how it plays out from there, you'll have to ask the doc.
Carry the Epi constantly-I've got 1 in my purse, one on each floor of the house & I make sure to carry one when we go out anywhere. If I don't carry a purse it's in the car or in a pocket (my peanut allergic kids are 13 & 14 thankfully).
I've found that the only store-bought stuff that's safe either says "peanut free" or doens't have a warning on it about contact to peanuts. M&Ms are safe (they clean the plant between batches, from what a former employee/friend told me), we've found through experience that Oreos are safe.
I'd get her a bracelet. Also, you need to check medicines for food allergens too-found that out through a friend's experience. Docs & pharmacists don't normally check for food allergens in meds, just check to make sure your child doesn't have a drug allergy.
Peanuts aren't tree nuts, they're legumes. Have her tested for peas, pinto beans & other beans (one of my boys was allergic to peas & pinto beans but they were mild & he grew out of both). Peanuts, you don't normally outgrow. I'd avoid it as much as possible & have her retested for it every few years. Don't try to give it to her though, because a doc told me that if my kid has a peanut reaction, the next time there's a chance it could be more severe-best to just avoid it.
Good luck & I'm glad for you she's not allergic to wheat & milk! Peanut is manageable w/practice.

A.,

Sorry to hear about the serious food allergies at such a young age. It is very overwhelming! When my son was first diagnosed at 15 months my experience was much like yours. Then when I broke down and cried because the cook at my child's daycare asked me what my son could not have another mom looked me in the eyes and said you can continue to live in fear and denial or you can educate yourself and take control. I took her advice. There is a lot of information out there on the internet. Some of it will seem extreme. Read everything you can. Talk to other parents about what has worked for them. Complete avoidance is the only chance you have of having your child outgrow the peanut allergy. Egg allergies often resolve themselves. While everyone has different risk tolerances, our house is completely peanut and nut free. Avoid all foods that have a cross contamination warning. I figure you can never be too careful when dealing with the health and welfare of your children. Check out the websites for FAAN, peanutallergy.com, and projectallergy.com. Always carry the epipen and benadryl (liquid at this age).

Even with all of this dire information, remember it is possible to live a normal life. We eat out frequently, we have flown on airplanes and my son is involved in many activities. It just takes knowledge and time to get a handle on everything. Good luck and know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. You can do it mama!

I think you need to question the allergist more to ascertain exactly what he means by severe. I am allergic to several things including peanuts according to the allergy tests. But the only reactions I have are hayfever like symptons and a permanent light rash that I've had since I was a baby. I also can't wear certain fabrics against my skin. They told my parents I had severe allergies - I eat as many nuts as I feel like. There has recently been a lot of research into peanut allergys and they have been working with a group in Africa that feed their children a peanut type paste from birth. There are no incidences of allergys in these people at all. They now think that avoiding these food completely is not the way to go, unless of course the patient is at the extreme end. I hope you can find the right combination for your child.

My husband, his brother and his uncle all have nut allergies (and I've taken my husband to the ER before because of it), so I was VERY careful when I chose to introduce allergenic foods. Thankfully, my daughter has tested negative for all of my husband's allergies, but we are still holding off on all nuts until she is tested again at age 6, which is when her immune system is nearly fully developed.

One thing to keep in mind is that even if your daughter is allergic to eggs and peanuts for now, exposing her to allergenic foods like chocolate, citrus, tomoatoes, corn, etc. can increase her body's reaction. Here is a link for the scale of allergenic foods -- it's on page 4 of the PDF:
http://www.allergynutrition.com/resources/FAQ/15/Foods%20...

This website tells you specific ages for introducing allergenic foods to a baby: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/first-foods.html...

I've used these guidelines even though grandparents and some others may have thought I was hyperprotective and extreme. But guess what... I'd rather go through two years of strict eating then a lifetime of an allergy that lands my child in a hospital. Nothing is fullproof, but it's better to remain on the cautious side, which is why I would also recommend the bracelet. You wouldn't believe what food my kids have been offered by caring adults who just don't know any better!

Best of luck to you!

My oldest daughter has several food allergies, and I'm a medical writer, so I'll share a little of my observations here.

Initially we saw problems with certain seafood and almonds. Allergy testing (skin testing) was not consistent - sometimes she showed reactions on the tests, and other times not - but clearly she had hives and her throat closed up if she ate those foods. On the other hand, testing also showed she was allergic to a ton of other things including milk, potatoes, and many other foods. Impossible to omit all those things and I totally freaked out when I first saw that list.

Over time I came to understand that it's about a threshold in some respects - if we can keep the load on her system down, she'll have more tolerance for the minor offenders. If her system is really stressed/ maxed out then there's not room to tolerate anything else. Remember, this is an immune issue.

My sister, who also has numerous allergies, has also found the testing to be inconsistent and not always accurate with what she experiences in reality. Blood testing (RAST) is considered more accurate than skin testing but even that, I have found, is not to be relied on 100%.

We also discovered that our daughter's allergies changed as she grew older. At puberty she developed peanut allergy, but now she can tolerate salmon.

All that to say, as a mother you may have to do a LOT of experimenting to see what your child can tolerate. I would try to keep the offending foods out of her diet as much as possible, but for instance if you suspect peas are a problem, experiment and watch how she does.

As far as the breastmilk question, I do know people for whom that has been a problem.

When you say she's allergic to eggs, is that the whites or yolk or both? If it's one or the other you may be able to use the part she's ok with, depending on the severity of her allergy. There are also egg substitutes - you might search online because I can't remember what they are :)

Whether foods 'processed in plants that process peanuts' will be a problem - again that depends on the severity of her allergy to peanuts. That is likely not going to be a problem. More of an issue is whether her peanut allergy is so severe that she'll react if a child sitting next to her is eating a PBJ.

If she reacts to simply the presence of peanuts in the room, then I would strongly suggest that you bring her to National Jewish Health. They have the some of the best allergist/immunologists in the region, if not the country. They are doing a clinical trial of immunotherapy to help children with severe peanut allergies to overcome their allergies. Immunotherapy is essentially the introduction of minute amounts of the offending food, under very controlled conditions in the hospital, in order to gradually increase a child's tolerance for the food. It works. It's been studied and people use it (adults) and it's very successful. If my child had that severe an allergy, we'd be doing immunotherapy because it could save her life.

If I can help any further, let me know... good luck to you!!

S.

Also - regarding your question about the medical bracelet, if she's in daycare I would get her one.