Still trying to get an opinion as to "how" allergic my child is to nuts, anyone care to offer an opinion?

[QwertyQueen]

I am finding this whole inexact science of allergies very frustrating.
DS 2.5yrs is allergic, found out when aged 10months I kissed him after eating peanut butter, and he got welts (sp?) on his face.
Skin prick test showed significant reaction, other nuts not too bad.
His favourite chocolate has hazelnuts in (DH gave it to him by mistake - I hit the roof, but nothing happened!).
He has NEVER ingested a peanut (well not that I know of) so we have no idea how likely anaphylaxis is.
We do feed him items which are produced in a factory that uses nuts etc as we assume it is just a disclaimer, and have had no problems.
The other day he ate a muffin and complained of a sore tongue, but I gave him anti histamine straight away and it went. I have assumed there was almond flour in it (even though I had asked for one with no nuts grrrrrrrrrrr).
Sorry, long post, but if he reacts to it on his skin, would that automatically mean a severe reaction to eating them?
sigh

Qwerty - has DS been diagnosed by an allergist? Do you carry EpiPens? I would say that a skin prick test that shows a positive response should then lead onto blood (rast) tests to show the significance of the allergy and whether you need to take further action.

What did they say once the skin prick test was done?

DD2 is allergic and now I am worried for DD3, however, they won't test her until she is 3 as before that age they can show a false positive or false negative.

Are you under an allergist? Hazelnuts are tree nuts and peanuts are legumes so it is very possible to be able to eat one and not the other. Does you DS have any problems with soya?

thanks for the reply...
no, no problems with soya or lentils...
They did the blood test several times but kept losing the sample (!!!) so ended up giving us a skin prick test instead.
We carry an epipen incase. The allegist told us that the blood test was not necessary as no test can predict or measure the seriousness of it.
He is due to be retested next year, so maybe I should insist on a blood test then?
They did say he was a good candidate to grow out of it as not aesthmatic and a boy. Does have excema though.

have a look here

I really wouldn't be mucking about 'assuming' labels are just disclaimers if I had a child with peanut allergy, tbh.

Edam - that is a great link.

Never assume with labels though. We have had scares with things without lables as the rubbish manufacturers have not updated in a timely fashion.

I would insist on the full test at your next appointment. No test can show a full report I don't suppose but DD's allergist at Addenbrookes says bloods are the only way to see the full picture and I do trust him.

How terrible, loosing the sample! That is dreadful, don't they understand how serious an allergy like this can be and how stressful it is for parents (and children). I would make a fuss, you need to know without putting DS at any risk.

it depends how big the skin reaction is. If he has a skin prick test wheal of 8mm or more then you can be sure he'll react when eating peanut. You can't say how bad the reaction will be and a minor reaction one time isn't always followed by a minor reaction later on. Most people with peanut allergy develop tree nut allergy too, although there is a fairly substantial minority who don't.

Sometimes whole nuts are found in "may contain" items so if you are going to give them keep the epipen handy and make sure you are confidet about using it if necessary.

thanks. I do read all labels clearly but if a product does not appear to have anything to do with nuts I will still buy them. I do carry an epipen...not confident to use it but know I might need to!

why do you buy products with nuts in?
are they for you to eat, because I certainly have some foods in the house that my child is allergic too. Mainly depending on what type of food and how I can stop cross contamination.
We dont have peanuts in the house, and only have tree nuts directly from shell,( in case they are cross comtaminated with peanut. which is a risk)

has your child been tested for other common tree nuts?

you can have reactions to foods labelled may contain, they can be mild or severe, as it often depends on the state of health of the allergic person, and the amount of allergen injested.

for instance, baked goods, cereal, and confectionary are high risk foods because the chances are a may contain nut traces means a lump of nut.

everyone has their own comfort zone when living with allergies, and that does sometimes change as the children grow older , and the allergic disease picture becomes clearer to both the child and the adults around them.
There are plenty of people who are not carrying epi pens for their children because they safely feel they can control the childs diet.
Its a personal family choice.

I would say that if his skin prick showed significant reaction then he's highly likely to react when ingesting peanut.

DD1 has a peanut allergy and is under an allergist at Addenbrookes. Her skin prick test showed a severe allergy (and a medium allergy to egg). Blood test wasn't done as it was too traumatic for a toddler and skin prick was just as good at this stage (a blood test wouldn't have given us any extra info).

Our allergist said don't worry when the food label says 'made in a factory that contained nuts....' or similar labels because this is such a low risk and then the allergy will rule your life. I would avoid 'May contain traces of nuts' though. We were also told that even though DD1 was only allergic to peanut, to avoid other nuts due to risk of cross-contamination.
We were also told that DD1 will probably grow out of the egg allergy but not the peanut allergy, and to treat DD2 completely differently. So far DD2 is not allergic to egg and has no asthma or eczema. DD1 does. So, maybe DD2 will avoid nut allergy too. Not sure how to test her!

Luckily DD1 has only had 1 reaction in 3 years because we can still control what she eats.

thanks for the thoughts... I will def not buy anythign with "may contain traces..."
It is certainly not worth the risk.
For me the fear of an anaphylactic reaction is difficult to live with, as we just don't know the severity of what we are dealing with.
Still, it could always be worse!