Newly diagnosed nut and egg white allergy. Lots of questions!

[Bagofmashings]

18 month old DS has just been diagnosed with allergies to egg white and most nuts, mainly cashew, peanut and almond. The egg white allergy is very mild, we've been advised to avoid it as much as possible but not to worry too much. We have an epi-pen for the nut allergy and although he's not had a anaphylactic reaction apparently it's likely that he will if he comes into contact with them. I'm feeling a bit confused by the whole thing & have a few questions.

1- Shopping. I was nearly in tears in the supermarket yesterday. Things that are egg free seem to contain nuts and visa versa!! I found Sainsburys free from range a bit disappointing. The dr said I should avoid anything that could have nuts in included those marked 'may contain nuts' or similar. Do all packets tell you? If it doesn't say do I assume it's ok?

2- What do you do when eating out or at someone else's house?

3- How do you manage to stay relaxed around food? Do you ever stop worrying about it? To be honest it's all come as a bit of a shock and I'm quite sad about it, I've always tried to minimises stress at meal times and he loves his food, I'm very anxious not to let that change.

Thank you for reading!

Sorry for bumping. Been googling & am even more confused now!

DS1 is allergic to a long list of foods including egg and peanuts (thankfully not anaphylaxis). Was it an allergy specialist you saw or just the GP, was it diagnosed by blood or skin prick tests?

Anyway, in answer to your questions...

1. I don't tend to take notice of "may contain traces of" but then DS1 isn't anaphylactic. I think supermarkets err hugely on the side of overcautious so would think that anything that doesn't say "may contain" is OK.

1. When eating out, we tend to stick to places that we know are "safe" as we've eaten there before - Pizza Express is a favourite as they have detailed allergy information on their website, and their kids' menu has lots of egg- and nut-free options. If going to somewhere like a cafe where I don't know what will be available, or to someone's house if I'm not 100% sure their food will be safe, i take food for DS1.

1. It will take a bit of getting used to, DS1 was first diagnosed around 9mo (though we are still finding new things he's allergic to!) and he's nearly 6 now and it's just a part of life. As your LO gets older it's important to make him aware of his allergies; DS1 is very sensible and always asks me if it's OK to have something he hasn't had before. I have had to keep an eye on preschool/school as more than once he has been sent home with food he's allergic to! But honestly it just becomes a normal part of your life, yes it can be a pita but people are a lot more aware of allergies these days.

Free from ranges pretty much only deal with gluten allergies and very often contain egg as a binder. You'll have more luck with normal food.

It's hard to deal with at first, and takes a lot of reading of labels to find things your DS can eat. After a while it just becomes normal and you get used to cooking for allergies. There are a couple of threads at the moment with surprise free from products you could have a look at.

The good thing about nut allergies is that it's the one that everyone is aware of and used to.
Instore bakery goods aren't labelled, so I would avoid buying anything from there. Pretty much everything else will be labelled.

Most of my friends and family are used to cooking for DS, otherwise I'll take something. Eating out can be hit and miss. We tend to stick to chain restaurants that will have a standard menu and are more likely to have allergy info.

You do relax a bit more than initially, but there's always a worry. DS had school lunches for the first time this week and I was thinking about him all day, but nursery used to cook for him and I stopped worrying about that.

It does get easier, honestly!

Thanks for answering Meg.

DS had a blood test & was seen by allergy specialist. He was only tested for nuts, egg, milk & wheat. It seems strange that they don't they for more things.

I was wondering about the 'may contain' labels. He's been eating things with that label on his whole life & has only ever had reactions to things actually containing nuts. It's all such a minefield!

We're supposed to be going out for lunch tomorrow, I'm feeling nervous about it since getting his diagnosis. Stupid because this time last week I wouldn't have thought twice about it!

X posts Trixi.
Thanks for the tips, I'll look out for the threads.
I'm just not used to reading every label, it seemed to take hours to only buy a few items. I ended up giving up as DS was getting bored so will have to give it another go tomorrow! I suppose after time you get to know what you can & can't have.

They don't test for more things because until LO has a) been exposed to an allergen and b) had a reaction to it, it won't show up on a blood test. So it is a bit pointless.

As far as in-store supermarket bakeries go, they do have ingredients lists - ask the staff and they'll show you. However they do always seem to contain egg!

Oh, I see, that makes sense Meg.
I have another couple if questions!
is egg always one of the things mentioned in the allergy advice?

And what about cosmetics/ shampoo etc. I've just noticed that there's almond oil in some bubble bath in the bathroom. Is it lots of things?

Also what do you do if you have other children? I have DSC's, is it fair to ask them not to eat anything with nuts in? Will it be safe if they do?
Thanks again, trying to get my head round it all!

If you haven't already contacted them, the Anaphylaxis Campaign helpline is open Mon-Fri 9-5. They are very helpful.

Thanks Claire. I haven't contacted them, that's really helpful.

I just picked up on you saying about shopping, unfortunately it does take longer with having to read every label, but don't get complacent, even if you bought something last week that was safe it can change literally over night, it works both ways though so even things that were unsafe can become safe Always read the label x

Oh bloody hell, shopping doesn't get much easier then! Thanks for the tip Jolene, I'll watch out that.

Yes egg is one of the 14 allergens that any product in the EU must declare in the ingredients list so it's very important that you read the INGREDIENTS not just the allergens box as there is no legal requirement to use these. There is also no requirement to state 'may contain' or 'made in a factory that also handles' etc so it is in fact very difficult to know which products really 'may contain' certain allergens inc nuts. JoleneB is right, manufacturers are very unhelpful in this regard and will change the ingredients of a product without any declaration on the packet so you do have to check every time, even things you bought last week. It does get easier I promise! Reading labels becomes second nature in the end.

As for eating out, this can be tricky but many restaurants, especially big chains, now have allergen lists available either in a book or online. Anaphylaxis Campaign are really helpful too.

DS has severe reactions to touching nuts - I assume he would be anaphalactic if he ever ate them now - (sickness and swelling of lips when he was little) and also to egg amongst other things.

After a while reading labels becomes second nature.

We avoid things with nuts and eggs in the ingredients.
We avoid chocolate as it is often contaminated unless in a nut free factory.

We ignore the made in a factory using nuts on a different line warnings and so far it has been OK.

I think you will have to make your own judgement about that - but this seemed the least risky of the warnings I have seen.

It can be scary at first but you will get used to it ( and used to being very careful).

The other advice about checking out normal food is true - free from stuff is hardly ever suitable.

If you want cakes - then Mrs Crimble do an apple and a ginger egg free one.
Things like malt loaf and some hot cross buns etc are ok, and most biscuits in packets are but often not those from the bakery counter.

Cheap ice cream is usually OK - its the posh brands that have egg in them.

Nothing in a bakers will be any good apart from maybe the bread as it will all be brushed with beaten egg or have it in stuff. - Oh and be careful with iced biscuits as the icing can have egg white in it. ( M&S do nice apple turnovers though).