How common is a nut allergy?

[Katymac]

I had a mum come to interview today and he DS (4m) is being checked at the hospital this week as there are nut alllergies in the family

I have a large Walnut Tree in the garden so I asked her to get Walnuts specifically checked as we can do nut allegies.....but not walnuts as they are in the soil/garden etc due to rotting leaves/walnuts & stuff

I hope walnut allergies are rare

Whoops I thought I typed a walnut allergy

sorry

well the thing is, until he is exposed to the allergen the allergy wont be clear. usually its the 2nd exposure onwards that causes the reaction.

So I'd better say no

I can't settle a child in and then have to get the mum to re settle him in at another minders if he has a reaction

It wouldn't be fair

i've not heard of a walnut allergy personally, but if you have an atopic child then an allergy can present itself at any given time. he may not have any allergies.

Ds has a walnut allergy but I haven't met many other children with them. It's one of the standard things they test for though, so they should know soon enough.

It's so complicated

If he had a peanut/kiwi/whatever allergy

We do the food exclusions/super washing hands/have an epipen

But if he may/maynot have an allergy...what do we do?

If he has any trace of an allergic reaction to walnuts and his mother has any sense she will send him somewhere else, presumably. It's a different family from peanuts though, so it depends on what shows up. If he isn't allergic on the tests, and she wants to send him, and he has an epipen then presumably there's no real problem.

I am right tho' Tamum - with a walnut tree in the garden I couldn't care for a child with a walnut allergy?

Doesn't have an epipen yet - assume hosp will deal with this

Well, there's no way I would want ds to be cared for somewhere with a walnut tree in the garden certainly I would have thought it was much better to avoid it for all your sakes. The tests should give you an idea though, they will show up as nil/mild/moderate/severe if they're skin tests, so I would be inclined not to take him unless it's nil personally.

Thanks

I did wonder if I was making a mountain out of a molehill (iyswim) the mum thought I was being a bit daft - but I really don't want to take risks with his life

I agree it must be Nil (now I understand what I am looking for)

No, you're not being daft at all. It would be awful for you if anything happened, too.

I think you're being very sensible.My ds has an allergy to tree nuts,so it wouldn't be suitable for us to have a walnut tree either.

I'm surprised that a baby so young has an appt at an allergy clinic...that's quite a feat!

Thanks for the advise

used to be 1 in a 100 children had a nut allergy but it's increased and I'm not sure of the latest figures. Not all of those are anaphylactic. Some have rashes only but peanut allergy is unpredictable and a chidl with only a rash can have an anaphylactic reaction next time.

Walnut allergies are less common than peanut, I don't have figures though.

At 4 months tests aren't likely to be conclusive, they rarely test at that age.

Unfortunately I think you should say it isn't safe.

My DH is allergic to tree nuts, as well as peanuts. We don't know about our children.

I must admit that we have a hazel tree in the garden, which does drop nuts on the ground. We have discussed cutting it down, but it is a really nice tree so we have just been very clear on the "don't eat anything in the garden" rule. And been ultra vigilant when the girls were babies. (And also the squirrels generally get to the nuts way before anyone else gets a look-in!)

Having said that, I would be very nervous of using a childminder where there is the same risk. Just as I sometimes let the children eat things that "may contain" nuts, while I am around, but I don't take the same risk when they are at childminders/school/nursery. And we exclude all nuts from their diets and are treating them more or less as if they are allergic, until they are old enough to be tested. (Not till about 5yrs old, according to our paediatrician).

In your position, I would be reluctant to take the baby. If the mother still wants you to, you need to have a good long talk with her about the risks and how they will be handled.

And I, too, would love to know how she's managed to get a hospital to take her seriously at this early stage. We only got an appointment after DD1 was stung by a bee and had a mild reaction which rang alarm bells. I don't think we'd have got anywhere asking for an appointment purely on the basis of DH's allergy.

a sibling and father have anaphalytic shock to "nuts" so the hospital is checking

My son is allergic to walnuts, but he is less sensitive to them than to any other nuts, so walnut allergy is indeed a reality. I'm sure DS has never had one, his walnut allergy is an "extension" of his peanut and soya allergy.

I don't know what you have decided but in your place I would say no. Unfortunately, many people don't take their children allergies very seriously, some one was commenting some days ago about a mum who worked way away of her child and always kept the epipens with her (miles from the child , as if they were any use being that far!). DH was about to hand a toast with nutela to DS because he forgot nutela is actually made with nuts (FGS! )

In DDs school of approx. 150 children there are 2 children (not related to each other) who are allergic to nuts.
I'm not sure of the details ie. which nuts specifically, but the school do ask if parents could refrain from putting any nuts/nut products (like peanut butter) in packed lunches

Message withdrawn