Huge lip swelling on Ds 2yrs. Cashewnut allergy ??

[mrsnoah]

Ds1 (2yrs old) had red pesto sauce (cashews)on pasta with us all for lunch. Went for a nap straight after and when I woke him up 45mins later his lips were monstrously swollen.
We gave him Benadryl and waited as DH was convinced he had just banged his lips in bed. They took about 3-4 hours to go down.
Have had a blood test for all nuts and awaiting the results.Its been 10days now.
Can anyone tell me...
How long will results take?

Am I right to want an epi pen?

Is it normal to feel completely terrified at the implications of this, how on earth do I keep him safe?

Can't remember how long the tests took with DD1. More like weeks than days though. As your DS is only 2 it shouldn't be too difficult to control what he eats. Lips/mouth swelling is scary, i know, but not dangerous like breathing problems. We have an epipen, (or rather, DD has)-would it help to know that consultant told us deaths from nut allergy are actually VERY, VERY rare.

mrsnoah-my ds has a peanut and cashew nut allergy. We have an epipen-although he has never had a life threatening reaction. I too wondered how I would keep him safe-as time goes by (he is now 7, diagnosed at 2) it has become much less of an issue. You just get evry good at reading labels!

Thanks madlentileater, does help to know that of course!But if they have lip swelling could it lead on to breathing difficulties or is it almost a separate thing?
And it is easy to control what they eat now, it's when I leave him at nursery I sit in the car and feel extremely anxious. Although they are excellent there.

Chipkid, when you read the labels though what is acceptable to you ? Made in a factory where nuts are used? or nuts on same production line?
Are these things acceptable risks? I am so unsure.

mrsnoah,any swelling around the mouth area,can lead to soft tissue swelling inside the mouth and throat,which would then lead to "air entry obstruction",(breathing difficulties) But thats only if left untreated.As soon as you see a rash,or swelling and suspect an allergic reaction,you give an antihistamine,which you did,that reduces/halts the allergic response.If everyone who comes in contact with your son when you arent likely to be around is aware of the allergy and what to do when/if it occurs,then he will be safe,as Madlentileater said,its much easier when they are young to have control over what they eat, and ensure that the people around him are educated.It is frightening,but imagine if he was Epileptic,you would make sure everyone knew what to do if he had a fit,and by doing that,you are ensuring his safety,and making sure it never goes beyond the initial stages.As for the food labels,I would imagine any hint of nuts would have to be avoided even if thats overly cautious,better to be safe.I think as time goes on you will be less anxious,especially when you realise how common it is now,and you can talk to other mums in the same boat.

Thank you Nursejo. You explain things very clearly.
It is the lack of knowledge surrounding the allergies that make me nervous.

The consultant said that although we are to assume Ds has a severe nut allergy it is highly unlikely that he will get breathing difficulties from a reaction in future and so does not need an epipen.
I asked him directly if he believed a reaction could not be fatal?
He smiled and said that was not possible to answer and so if we wanted the epipen we could.

I feel that without question, we must get an epipen. Is this being over cautious?

Mrs noah - push for the epipen. you dont know if this is his first exposure, second exposure or whatever. Subsequent exposures can often bring on much more severe reactions. There is no harm in prescribing one so he should as a precaution. To administer an epipen without just cause will do no harm (you'd still have to ring an ambulance as precaution - but you'd do that anyway)

NO! Just being safe.You will probably never have to use it.A Reaction is only "Fatal" if untreated, and even then alot of reactions are mild and never go beyond the facial swelling or rash.

If you speak to a teacher or other mums with children with allergies,you will find its fairly common for a school to have "custody" of an Epipen for a child in their care,and because of this,they will always make sure all staff are aware how and when to use it.

Alot of the time,they have a pen for someone allergic to Bee stings,that seems to me to be a lot less "controllerble" (sp its late...sorry!),I have also had a child at my sons Birthday Party who was allergic to nuts,his mum just mentioned it,and left,and I made sure that the remaining adults were aware.My childminders son had the same allergy,and I had unknowingly given my DD1 Peanut butter sandwiches for her lunch that day,she just asked me not to in future.

If I was in your position I'd chat to other mums with children that have similar allergies,maybe even MN have a section,or google it,I'm sure they'll give you reasurance and excellent advice.

mrsnoah. Sorry for taking so long to respond to your question! I only avoid things that say they ACTUALLY contain nuts. I give him thing that say may contain traces and made in a factory etc! otherwise there is little he can eat!
My consultant was very reassuring in this regard. He said that I could give ds anything that he had already had before his nut allergy was confirmed. He also told me that whilst nut allergies are in the main life long-the reactions donot tend to get worse with repeated exposure such as with bee or wasp stings for example.
This was good news to me as ds vomits and gets hives but has not had a serious recation.
You should push for an epi-pen for your own peace of mind. They cannot be 100% sure that a life threatening reaction will not occur. Better to be safe.
I have managed over the last 4 years to avoid ds having any further exposure-and in all honesty it has not been the complete nightmare that I thought it would be on diagnosis.
HTH