July 19, 2009
Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don’t.
Peanut, that is. And apparently, Anna doesn’t.
After discussing it with her doctor, I decided to try Anna on some peanut butter for Friday lunch. I gave her a little taste on a spoon to see if she liked it, planning to make her a little sandwich if she did. I was watching her for a reaction, but I honestly didn’t expect to see one. Not MY kid. That’s the kind of thing that happens to someone else’s kid, right?
It wasn’t even a minute until she started pulling at her ears and rubbing at her face. Coincidence, surely? No, she was clearly agitated about something. Then I saw the little bumps on her face. Oh, crap. So I squirted a dose of Benadryl into her and called the children’s clinic. She ended up with an epinephrine shot, a prescription for an Epi-pen, instructions for strict peanut avoidance, and a referral to an allergy specialist. Just like that.
She never had any swelling in her mouth or trouble breathing; however, if she reacts again, it could be more serious.
There are still a lot of things we don’t know about how this will affect us. A visit to the allergist will determine just how sensitive she is and what kind of avoidance we need to practice. I sincerely hope she’s in the “don’t feed her peanuts” category rather than the “don’t let her within a mile of anyone who has ever even thought about eating peanuts” category.
At least we’re already ahead of where a lot of families are in terms of food preparation. We hardly ever eat out, we make most things from scratch, we don’t rely heavily on pre-packaged convenience foods, etc. So hopefully it will come down to a few little tweaks here and there.
Comments(9)
Oh, boo, Jennifer.
Not to be an alarmist, but I think I might check on the ingredients in the smoothies at Something Brewing if you haven’t already.
Are y’all going to go to an allergist for confirmation?
I just hate this for you guys, Jennifer. Please keep us updated about how the doc’s visit goes when she goes to see how severe it is.
Oh wow! That must have been scary. Good job, Mom, on being right on top of it. And as far as testing goes, I sure hope it’s the former group for her too.
Martha, that actually goes for any restaurant, not just S.B. We probably just won’t give her anything from a restaurant until we see the allergist (assuming that’s in a reasonable amount of time).
Oh goodness. That’s too bad.
Your post sounds very similar to my friend’s experience finding out about her son’s peanut allergy.
Since that time, she’s found peanuts listed as possible ingredients on tons of things you just wouldn’t think about having peanuts in it. They avoid the “processed on machinery which may also peanuts” items too, just to be safe.
http://geekprincess-lainy.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-i-walk-letter-from-elaine.html
^ may also process peanuts. I got ahead of myself…
Have I ever told you Madeline was allergic to peanuts? Here is a brief synopsis of our experiences.
18 months old – she is begging for a bite of my peanut butter covered bagel at breakfast. I give it to her. A few minutes later, I notice hives on her chin. I don’t make the connection (yea, yea, I know….) but I do give her some benadryl.
A few weeks later, she is begging for some Reese’s peanut butter cereal at breakfast. I give her a few balls. Same thing. Breaks out in hives.
I mention it to the dr and she says to treat her as if she’s allergic to peanuts and not give her any more until she’s 3.
Age 3 – we see a pediatric allergist who tests her. She is diagnosed as having a “peanut sensitivity”. Not a true allergy, but still we are instructed to stay away from them, get an epi-pen, etc. I thought the epi-pen was as bit much, but insurance paid for it…..
Age 4 – go back to her allergist a year later. He tests her and she does NOT react to the peanuts. So he schedules her for a peanut challenge (like food network, eh? haha!) She has to eat several bites increasing in size of peanut butter. She makes it all the way through the challenge and is declared peanut allergy free!
Age 4 and beyond – we are told to feed her peanuts once or twice a week, or the allergy can come back and be more severe than it first was. This is difficult to do b/c after the challenge, Madeline decided she hated peanut butter!!! Luckily, she likes Reese’s peanut butter cups. She also likes Chex Mix, which has peanut flour in it, so we feed her that a lot.
So my advice would be, be concerned, but don’t be too worried just yet. It could turn out to be mild. The daycare fed madeline a peanut butter cracker one day before realizing she couldn’t have it, and she didn’t react at all. Not all kids asphixiate (sp?)the moment you even mention the word…..
what lovely encouragement from Wendy. WE will believe!
Wendy, I did remember that Madeline had a peanut allergy. I’m so glad she outgrew it. Anna’s reaction was worse than Madeline’s, but I’ll still hold out hope she might outgrow it or at least become less sensitive. I’m really hoping she’s a candidate for the new “desensitizing” they’re doing on kids with peanut allergies.