urgent advice needed

[ruty]

my 14 month old ds us allergic to dairy and gluten, which has manifested in allergic colitis. Today he had for the first time a pea sized amount of hummus on his toast. His eye lids have swollen immediately and he cant stop scratching his eyes. His face is a bit blotchy. He has just fallen asleep and stopped scratching but should i be worried? Could there be any more severe symptoms? Should i call the doc? Sorry, be worried, not sure what to do.

ruty, I'm bumping this for you, with no experience to offer. But I would get him checked by a doctor if I were you - and if you still have the packet, maybe check to see if it is the sort of hummus that has unexpected added ingredients - like cream or some other dairy product? Hope he feels better soon.

thanks marina - i tried on the allergy thread an got a couple of replies - the gp said he would see him immediately so we hopped over there. Thank god its just his eyes, no breathing problems, but it looks like the sesame what did it. Frightening tho, such a big reaction, two swollen slits for eyes. He's happy in himself tho. Phew!

Poor little chap, glad all is now well

glad he is better ruty. Sesame seed is quite a common allergen and may then relate to other seeds too. Did your gp refer you on or prescribe anything for you in case of another reaction? I am sure that epipen jnr isn't suitable until they reach 10kg. We had to wait about 7 months before ds reached 10kg and avoided everything before that. hth

sorry you had this problem. A consultant can prescribe an epipen under 10 kgm, I recently came across an old thread where someone had one at about 7 1/2. Our consultant's advice - with any allergic reaction that involves facial swelling you go to a&e. There is always a possibility of a secondary reaction when the products of digestion hit the bloodstream, so usually about 4 hours later. If you give piriton immediately you get a reaction it helps but you still go straight to a&e.

thanks you two - it was a rather ancient emergency gp who couldn;t believer the tiny amount of hummus could have caused such a big reaction. He was quizzing me, saying he must have had problems with his eyes in the morning, before the hummus exposure, which was rather annoying, luckily my dad was with me who had witnessed the encounter and was able to back me up. I think i will have to go back to my ordinary gp [my lovely one is in australia unfortunately] and ask to be referred. this old gp just gave us steroid eyedrops and said it was a mystery! Grrr.

tatt - only going off advice of my specialist. The leaflet in my EpiPen Jnr says 15kg to 30 kg but dr said 10 kg could handle the dosage.

Ruty, my DS aged 2 is allergic to Hummous and will react to it by little spots up his arms which look like bites and also on his face. He then starts rubbing his eyes and gets very distressed. He has the same reaction to eggs and fish. I give him Piriton and it works pretty quickly. He does not experience any breathing problems from contact with the above.

Have appt with allergy doc on 11th Jan to check out the hummous allergy and if it is nut related.

Checked with my DBs g/f who has been training as a paramedic. She checked her paperwork and you can give epipen as mymama says.

Ruty - do you have any piriton syrup to hand for this kind of thing?

BTW sesame seeds have similar properties to the protein in peanuts that cause the allergy. There are similar properties in some citrus fruits IIRC.

my daughter has an allergy to peanuts/nuts. Last spring she ate hummus and had a full blown reaction and had to administer epi-pen (vomiting, stomach cramps, wheezing, difficulty breathing). It was the sesame paste/oil in the hummus. Had her tested and she is allergic also to sesame seeds. Allergist said nuts and seed allergy is not common but happens as in dd's case. Get your child tested for sesame seeds and be careful because alot of bread/buns/bagels have them.

mymamam sorry I missed this before. Basically in this country a consultant can do more or less what they want when prescribing. The only limits on them are any imposed by their professional body/ any ethical committees/ their fear of litigation if they get it wrong. Their job is to act in the best interests of the particular patient in front of them. So the weight at which a consultant will prescribe an epipen will vary depending on any locally agreed standards and the consultants own view of the risks. It is not unusual for a consultant to ignore leaflets in medication because the leaflets have to air on the side of caution and are based on an average need for the medication.

We were given adult epipens before the weight stated on the leaflet and I was quite happy to have them. Since a milk allergic baby died in this country after a reaction I guess consultants may be more prepared to give epipens at weights below the leaflet. It my also be worth people asking about the adrenaline inhalers for low weight babies. The dose of adrenaline from those may be les than from an injection, I don't know. The inhalers aren't normally available here but a consultant is still allowed to prescribe them on a "named patient" basis.

Could someone please tell me what the abbreviation DS means?

dear son. dd is dear daughter. dh dear husband. dp dear partner. etc. etc.