New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

I just found out that DD is allergic to Peanuts and all tree nuts. Now i need to get educated with what is the rules i need to follow other than no nuts in the house and tell everyone that is around her about her allergy.
The allergist didnt really give me much guidelines other than no nuts and told me not to worry so much about labels with "made in a nut facility". That part I dont understand and didnt really question him because I think i was in shock to the reality of the situation.
So the thing that prompted the visit was DH touched her neck after eating peanuts and she had a wicked break out of hives.
I plan on calling the office back with questions but I really dont even know what to ask.
Peanut oil cant be good. what about marzipan doesnt that have almond paste?

WHere can i get information?

Thanks
- Upset and worried Mom.

New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

I would call back the doctor now that you have had the chance to process the information that you were told and ask to sit down with him to discuss what you should and should not do. My son also has a peanut allergy so I understand it is very over whelming to find this out. My allergist also told me that I should not eliminate things just because they are "made in a facility that also makes nuts." My allergist also told me to always have the epipen with me and make sure that if in doubt, use it!

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who have the same allergy so you and your DD are not alone. People are very aware of the allergy which is helpful. I always tell new people about the allergy to make sure that there is no mistake. Our day care is peanut free so that helps but once he gets to kindergarten it will not be peanut free.

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

PM me with your facebook name and I can add you to a group :)

My son is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and sesame. We do not eat anything made in the same facility or shared equipment with any of his allergens. I call companies to find out their allergen practices. Just because a label doesn't share information about allergens on shared equipment or facility, doesn't mean that they are safe. After a while, you start to learn which companies label well that you can trust and which to avoid. We also avoid eating out at this point in time. My son is only 4 and we have 3 other small children so we just avoid restaurants completely except Chipotle which is completely nut-free and In-N-Out which you guys don't have on Long Island (I live in CA now).

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

My son was dx with a severe peanut allergy (and moderate to most tree nuts, also whole egg) almost two years ago. I think getting a book has been most helpful for me...the one I have is Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on it by Scott H. Sicherer, M.D., but there are many.

My allergist also said "made in a facility" was ok, but we avoid foods with ANY statement about nuts. Commercial peanut oil is not regarded to be an allergen since the protein has been burned off, but some people avoid it anyway. I personally still eat peanut butter, but a lot remove it from their homes. We still eat out because that's what we always did for the two years prior to dx, but of course we carry his Epi pens at ALL times. We never allow him to eat from bakeries or eat ice cream cake. Etc etc etc...

There are so many variables and everyone's got their own opinions, etc, so I found simply living with it and taking reasonable precautions has worked for us. Then again, I'm not prone to freaking out...although I must admit, when I first got the call about his allergy, I did freak a little

Good luck...you'll all be fine!

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

My DS was 8 months old when diagnosed as highly allergic to eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. He is 14 months old now. The Allergist also told us that "made in a facility with nuts" is ok, but I don't buy those products. I make everything at home, from scratch as much as I can (I don't make my own pasta etc...). I read every ingredient list and bring Benedryl and his Auvi-Q everywhere. We are also vegetarian and eat organically. For the 1st month is was a tough adjustment, now it's so much easier. DS had his 1st food challenge for baked egg last month and it went very well. Educate family and friends, anyone who is around your DD, train them to use the epinephrine injector. And teach your child to be a self advocate. No Food Sharing!!! We also stopped going out to eat.

Message edited 10/15/2014 6:57:17 PM.

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

Posted by Eireann

My son was dx with a severe peanut allergy (and moderate to most tree nuts, also whole egg) almost two years ago. I think getting a book has been most helpful for me...the one I have is Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on it by Scott H. Sicherer, M.D., but there are many.

My allergist also said "made in a facility" was ok, but we avoid foods with ANY statement about nuts. Commercial peanut oil is not regarded to be an allergen since the protein has been burned off, but some people avoid it anyway. I personally still eat peanut butter, but a lot remove it from their homes. We still eat out because that's what we always did for the two years prior to dx, but of course we carry his Epi pens at ALL times. We never allow him to eat from bakeries or eat ice cream cake. Etc etc etc...

There are so many variables and everyone's got their own opinions, etc, so I found simply living with it and taking reasonable precautions has worked for us. Then again, I'm not prone to freaking out...although I must admit, when I first got the call about his allergy, I did freak a little

Good luck...you'll all be fine!

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

Peanut and all tree nut allergy mom here too. I'm surprised your doctor, and other people's too, have said "made in the facility with nuts" is ok. Mine definitely said to avoid those. I accidentally once gave him brownies made in a facility with nuts, and he had a reaction (not too bad, but hives, so why risk it??). So, I would definitely ask them about that.

This is what I've learned in the three years since my DS was diagnosed---
I would ask the doctor, but I think highly refined peanut oil might actually be ok (proteins are filtered out). Marzipan is made with ground almonds, so that's a no-no (no rainbow cookies, and other bakery items can have almond flour/paste). I found out pine nuts are not actually nuts though! So those are ok for my DS.

Definitely make sure to tell everyone who might be giving your DC food - babysitters, relatives, teachers. Have prepackaged alternative snacks on hand, always have the emergency meds on hand of course. Never trust a food unless you are 100 percent sure it is nut free (home made/baked goods for example). Not worth the risk IMO. Always check labels and look for the allergy alerts. It's scary at first, but you'll get used to it!

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

Posted by FergieK

Posted by Eireann

My son was dx with a severe peanut allergy (and moderate to most tree nuts, also whole egg) almost two years ago. I think getting a book has been most helpful for me...the one I have is Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on it by Scott H. Sicherer, M.D., but there are many.

My allergist also said "made in a facility" was ok, but we avoid foods with ANY statement about nuts. Commercial peanut oil is not regarded to be an allergen since the protein has been burned off, but some people avoid it anyway. I personally still eat peanut butter, but a lot remove it from their homes. We still eat out because that's what we always did for the two years prior to dx, but of course we carry his Epi pens at ALL times. We never allow him to eat from bakeries or eat ice cream cake. Etc etc etc...

There are so many variables and everyone's got their own opinions, etc, so I found simply living with it and taking reasonable precautions has worked for us. Then again, I'm not prone to freaking out...although I must admit, when I first got the call about his allergy, I did freak a little

Good luck...you'll all be fine!

What made the dr say severe to Moderate allergy as opposed to just a allergy with hives ?

I was just told yes shes allergic keep her away. But the size of the welts were pretty alarming to me.

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

My daughter runs a Facebook page for moms of food allergic children. It's called No Nut Moms Group of Long Island. It's a great support group. You can gets lots of ideas, suggestions, etc. You can join if your child has any type of food allergiea. Also, next sat, Oct. 25 is food allergy awareness walk at Eisenhower park. It's a great day. If anyone needs more info, please feel fee to contact me and I'll pass it along to my daughter. My granddaughter was diagnosed almost 2 yrs ago after having a bad reaction to a tiny piece of a walnut. My daughter has become very active in the food allergy walk and has been doing a lot of research etc. she might be able to help answer your questions or steer you in the direction of someone who can help.

Message edited 10/17/2014 3:02:07 PM.

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

It's very overwhelming at first, but it does get easier to deal with. Did your allergist do any testing? There are blood tests and skin tests. They can give you some guidance as to how severe the allergy is. Although no test will ever tell you what kind of reaction your kid may have to a particular food, it helps the allergist to determine if the allergy is getting more or less severe over the years.

Everyone's comfort level is different as far as what they feel is safe for their kid to eat. My DS is peanut allergic and we don't have any peanuts, tree nuts or "made in a facility" foods in our house. There are a lot of companies that we feel label their ingredients well, and we try to stick with those. As an FYI, companies are required by law to state allergens as ingredients, but they are NOT required to label if the product is made in the same facility as the allergen or on shared lines. So if you decide to stay clear of Made in a Facility foods, just because the label doesn't say it, doesn't mean it is so. Sometimes you have to call and ask.

I would recommend you visit a few websites that I found helpful:

FARE

Snack Safely



Read ALL labels, even things like lotions, cleaners, etc. Nut oils are used a lot these days.

Unfortunately, food allergies are on the rise so everyone's becoming more aware these days and there are lots of support groups out there to lean on.

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

Thanks everyone. Yes testing was the skin test and she had bumps all over her back. He didnt take a blood test. Do they usually do a blood test after getting the postive reaction on the skin test?

My DH is under the impression that this is something that she will grow out of as there are trial testing going on that small introductions of the food will help build a tolerance. I have heard there is a higher rate of peanut allergy sufferers that older drop the allergy but my fear is the tree nuts.

I am losing sleep over this and I am trying to rid my of all nut products but they are in everything.
NO more Carvel cakes i guess. What do you do about that?

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

We sort of had the opposite as far as testing. My son first had an ingestion reaction, but like a week earlier we had gotten a script for the battery of bloodwork anyway at his 2 yr check-up (because of his known egg allergy), so we took him for the bloodwork which revealed max level peanut allergy and allergy to several other nuts. A couple of months later, we saw an allergist who performed a skin test. About 7 months ago, he had a pretty bad skin reaction from contact...hives that became welts and whatnot...

As far as outgrowing, my allergist didn't even bother to retest for peanuts at age 3 because he feels with his blood level at 100+, that's it's pretty impossible he'll outgrow it (but he probably will the egg allergy).

As I said earlier, Carvel cakes are a definite no for us...I usually just make his cakes (Betty Crocker and Pillsbury are perfectly safe for nut allergies), but I think BJs cakes may be ok (don't quote me on that ). For school, I've got to make my own cupcake for him to have during class birthdays.

He's turning 4 on Sunday and he's pretty good at asking if he's allergic to things...we drilled this into him. He's got two big sisters who are more on top of things than I am sometimes! I suppose your DD is very young, so that you'll always be with her when she's eating. Take some comfort in that. By the time she's in school, or whatever, you'll have a good handle on things.

Again, it's pretty shocking at first, but I find it's been very easy to manage...

Re: New Nut allergy mom here needing help.

Posted by Eireann

We sort of had the opposite as far as testing. My son first had an ingestion reaction, but like a week earlier we had gotten a script for the battery of bloodwork anyway at his 2 yr check-up (because of his known egg allergy), so we took him for the bloodwork which revealed max level peanut allergy and allergy to several other nuts. A couple of months later, we saw an allergist who performed a skin test. About 7 months ago, he had a pretty bad skin reaction from contact...hives that became welts and whatnot...

As far as outgrowing, my allergist didn't even bother to retest for peanuts at age 3 because he feels with his blood level at 100+, that's it's pretty impossible he'll outgrow it (but he probably will the egg allergy).

As I said earlier, Carvel cakes are a definite no for us...I usually just make his cakes (Betty Crocker and Pillsbury are perfectly safe for nut allergies), but I think BJs cakes may be ok (don't quote me on that ). For school, I've got to make my own cupcake for him to have during class birthdays.

He's turning 4 on Sunday and he's pretty good at asking if he's allergic to things...we drilled this into him. He's got two big sisters who are more on top of things than I am sometimes! I suppose your DD is very young, so that you'll always be with her when she's eating. Take some comfort in that. By the time she's in school, or whatever, you'll have a good handle on things.

Again, it's pretty shocking at first, but I find it's been very easy to manage...