how can i find out if my DS inherited his Dad's nut allergy?

[Broucek]

My DS is 10 month old. Still BF. He's tried almost all foods except for nuts. So far he's had no allergic reaction. His Dad has a mild fish allergy and severe nut allergy (all nuts) and when he was small had a bad eczema, allergy to honey, strawberries etc... DS isn't allergic to any of this as far as we can tell. (My husband has another child who has all his allergies including a bad nut allergy). Shall I try some nuts? I am scared as I don't know if he will react. What's the best thing to try? what quantity etc...??? Thank you!

I would not recommend trying some nuts

You can probably get him tested privately

Govt advice is not to give whole nuts to children under 5.

I wouldn't just try them at this age, personally. Agree with Eldon that in view of family background it might be worth a test, i you can afford it? Or raise it with GP and see if they will give any advice/ideas?

wasn't going to try whole nuts but jus a bit of ground nuts. At least if I know that he's not allergic I can realx about him being out of sight (nursery) soon and won't have to worry about him eating a bit of chocolate or something that might have nuts in. Are no tests avaiulable on NHS as far as you know? Will check with GP - thanks!

so what would you do if he goes into anaphalytic shock when you give him the ground nuts?

My ds's nut and seed allergies (inherited from dh) didn't appear until he was nearly 5. You can become allergic at any time, but it is subsequent exposure not the first one that will have a reaction.

my frieds DH has a nut allergy - she took both her kids to NHS consultant under referal appt - waited 10 weeks, then went to hosp, was told to go home and put Pnut butter in the inside of their lower arm and wrap it in cling film for an hour - and see if it gets a reaction.

I do not think this is what you should do....

you can get alergy testing all over the place.. by mail at genova diagnostics, at sunderland university, neals yard through an allergy tester.. in their therapy rooms, at the gp ask for a referral to an allergy doctor but might take a few months....
naet.org can usually identify allergies and get
rid of them gradually through a few treatments harmless and quicker than the gp, easiest way to stop an allergy if you know what it is, is to remove the offending food, for a six week trial record and slowly reintroduce the offending food! homeopathy and osteopathy can help with things like excema..hope this helps

Actually Onlywantsone I'm not sure that is such a bad idea, as a first step - its what they do at the hospital during a challenge (more or less~).

OP: I would wait til your lo is a bit older than 10 mo then either get him tested privately or try him with a tiny bit of nuts - first on the skin, then on the lips then eating a bit. I would do this v. close to medical help (ie in GP's waiting room) and obviously if any sign of a reaction STOP . On the other hand if your lo shows signs of other allergies(eg asthma, other food allergies) then don't don't do this - ask to be referred to an allergy clinic. But nut allergy doesn't run in families, only the tendency to allergies does this, so there is a very high likelyhood that he'll be fine (or allergic to something else )

I had a nut allergy as a child. Initially, I was allergic to all nuts, but it gradually reduced, and I'm now allergic only to Brazil nuts. I was concerned that DD and DS (now 6 and 2) would also be allergic to nuts. Our GP followed it up, but we were told that there is no routine NHS provision for testing the children of people with nut allergies and were advised to try DD on small pieces of different nuts, first by rubbing them on her mouth and then, if there was no reaction, giving her small amounts to eat. We were advised to to this when she was 4-5 years old. I was uneasy about doing it, but we finally did it, in the hospital car park, when she was 5 1/2. There were no problems. We will do the same with DS at about the same age. Until then, we will tell his nursery and school that there is a potential problem with a nut allergy (as we did with DD).

You can't use these so called natural remedies to diagnose potential serious allergies, particularly in children.
There is absolutely no scientific evidence any of it works.
Speak to Allergy UK they have an excellent helpline

Thanks everyone. I think I will stay clear of nuts for a few years and then we'll see.

agree with wb. The properly trained people test for allergy by rubbing on the skin first. They do it with full back-up available but doing it with a bottle of liquid piriton to hand and near medical care is not a bad way to test when there is no real reason to suspect nut allergy. It isn't inherited, although you inherit the tendency to be allergic.

Nut reactions can occur on first known exposure, unlike other allergies where it is the second one you watch for.