Does my child have a nut allergy or not??

[TamTam29]

Just wondering how you managed to get yourselves/DC diagnosed as I have hit a blank wall.

my DS now 19 months has reacted to different foodstuffs since I started weaning him. He has had various rashes/hives some instant, some delayed, puffy eyes/swollen lips and face, and diarroah. sometimes we have been able to work out what he had eaten and sometimes not.

The worst reactions were when his dad gave him the crust of his sandwich - peanut butter made with tiger bread. instantly he cmae out in a rash all over his hands and face, had puffy steaming eyes and slightly swollen, red lips. He also reacted a few days later to just the tiger bread so I cant be certain it was the peanut butter. I asked in Asda what they use for tiger bread and they said seaseme oil, so we have been avoiding sesame and nut produts.

However, a few months later, my DH was again eating a peanut butter sandwich (normal bread) when he put it down to answer the phone and DS helped himself to some of the crust. He had all the symptoms as before and was distressed as I picked him up he was violently sick over me and then started coughing.

We finally got a referel to the local hospital who did a blood test, said it didnt show any allergies but that didnt mean he didnt have any????? and that unless he had a serieos reaction there wasnt really anything that they could do except maybe admit him and feed him nut products but they (nor me) were keen to do that. my DS was then discharged with an epipen "for my piece of mind" as the DR put it!! and instructions to avoid nut products and that he may or may not "grow out of it".

By the way we live in surrey/London borders so would welcome any reccomendations if you have had better expereinces.

Apologies for my spelling & typos! I am expecting no2 in 4 weeks!

Sorry, am in a hurry but briefly:

The way you have been treated is insane/horrific.

It sounds like your son has allergies to peanuts and sesame - both potentially serious. It is good that you have an epi-pen but you also need to see an allergy specialist for support and advice and more thorough testing. Go see your GP and ask for/demand this (nicely of course) but don't let it lie. Or go private for an initial assessment if you can afford it.

Doctors are not ime in the habit of giving out epipens 'for your peace of mind' nor should they be. It sounds like you've been fobbed off. (Incidentally ds1 had a negative skin test for milk allergy but most definitely had one - we were told that 'reactions trump results' when it comes to diagnosing allergies, so if your ds is reacting then yes he is allergic).

In the meantime avoid not only things that contain nuts/sesame but anything that 'may contain traces of' the same - reactions can get worse with exposure and apart from anything he'll have a better chance of outgrowing his allergies if he has no exposure to these allergens at all.

Might also be worth carrying some piriton for use in minor reactions. Hope when you said you were discharged with 'an epipen' you actually meant 'a pair of epipens'.

Sorry, got to run but lots of knowledgeable people on here. Best wishes.

TamTam- I agree with wb, this does sound like a nut and sesame allergy but this does not mean to say he won't grow out of it. 19 months is pretty young to be exposed to peanuts in my opinion and some children do grow out of nut allergies by 4 years old. Its the proteins apparently that very young children cannot cope with.

In the meantime, get a referral, see you GP and tell him you need a skin prick test and then go from there. I think Dr Nakasha is at St Peters in Chertsey which is where by SDD was first diagnosed and monitored.

As SDD has a nut allergy we are waiting to get DD3 tested. As she is only 2 on Thursday they say that there is no point in testing yet as she may still change. I would love to have her tested at 3 but the expert who has successfully desensitized by SDD says he won't consider testing DD£ until she is 4 as their biological make up changes so much.

Please push for a better service, it is disgusting that you have been fobbed off like this, I am appalled for you.

Please stay away from nuts and sesame in the meantime and also watch soaps and creams for nut oils etc.

In the meantime also please be aware that there are massive leaps in medical science at the moment, our family is evidence of this so please do not think that this is the end of the world. Potentially in time so much can be done.

Please can you keep us informed?

If you can afford a private consul then try Dr George du Toit at the Portland, he is one of the best in the business at the moment. If Strawberry Cornetto is around she might be able to shed some more light as her DS is on a trial with Dr du Toit at the mo.

STRAWBERRY CORNETTO - you around?

thanks for your replies ladies,

DS has had piriton in the fridge since he was very young as he has had reactions to various creams, wet wipes, bath stuff as well as foods (inc tomato, berries). Although they are all a lot rarer now - in fact i cant remember when the last time was that he needed it. (maybe its because we are more wary with what we let him come into contact with!) and DH is banned from eating peanut butter in the house unless DS is in bed or out of the house!

And we do have a pair of epipens.

My biggeest concern was that we have never knowingly given him nut products as the traces of peanut butter on the bread were not visible and so he reacted to a miniscule amount.

I think I will get an appointment with the GP that refered DS as he recommended the smaller of our two local hospitals as it has an allergy clinic. However we were seen by a general paeditrician rather than an allergy specialist.

DH and I both drive so St Peters is also an option if you have recommended it.

Again many thanks - I will keep you updated

He doesn't necessarily have an allergy.

My next statement will be unpopular, but I'm going to say it anyway.

When I was at school in the 70s, nobody had an allergy. If you don't like something, leave it alone, but I do wish people would stop over-dramatizing this.

With peanuts, crusts, anything hard, even mashed potato, it's often the texture that makes kids throw up.

I appreciate that a rash is different, but it's not the end of the world. Keep feeding them whatever they what, keep a cautious eye, but don't go down the over-weening 'allergy' road.

Most kids will grow out of it, providing their parents let them ...

WB your advice is misguided to say the least and latest research and developments for treating allergies are working towards gradual exposure to peanuts and allergens where severe reactions occur. This is a controlled desensitizing and I believe it was Adenbrookes hospital trialing this treatment.
If you were not keen for him to undergo this treatment then the only other thing that can be done is to have the epipen just in case.
Reactions do trump blood tests and clearly the Dr you saw believes he has an allergy. He did the best he could if you didn't want him to be hospitalised.

Desi I couldn't agree more Unless a child has an anaphylactic reaction to something, keep giving it ime.
DD1 always came out with a rash with sachet mayo, tomato sauce, etc. She now doesn't react at all and we just kept letting her have it.

Desi - I was alive and well in the 1970s and full of allergies. As was my sister (born in the 1950s), the girl in my brownie group who was anaphalactic to nuts, my old housemate, also anaphalactic to Brazil nuts since childhood - and all the kids at the allergy clinic in London were I used to go regularly for desensitization shots (desensitization programmes have been around for a long time, weird considering there were no allergies, right ).

Dilly-no idea which part of my advice you find misguided but happy to discuss with you. I think the idea of exposing a nut-allergic child to nuts is dangerous. There is a world of difference b/w a medically controlled gradual exposure programme of desensitization and your 'just keep giving it til the reaction goes away' approach. If you visit the message boards of any of the peanut allergy groups you will find a host of stories about kids whose nut reaction moves from 'a few hives' to anaphalaxis over couple of exposures. Of course this doesn't always happen but most people are not happy to play russian roulette with their kids lives like this (nut, sesame and shellfish allergies are particularly prone to produce anaphalactic reactions, so the advice is to be particularly cautious with these).

Finally, the current thinking is that 20% of kids grow out of a nut allergy. To me that is not 'most'

This study from 2007 suggests that building up tolerance is fairly achievable in allergic patients.pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/algy/abstract.00000381-200711000-00006.htm;jsessionid=JsTBGJtT7Km6nxJQJhhVrJQJ 0vsBQyFCnTKS2npNvy2xhkXhXXTV!928310026!181195629!8091!-1

Obviously it needs to be under strict observation but the OP objected to the treatment which may be completely effective.
So other than giving an epipen why would further testing do any good. He believed there is an allergy but if the OP doesn't seek treatment what point is there further testing?

To clarify 95% of patients became more tolerant to the allergen after the trial, varying degrees but still significant.

Oh! WB, there may have been some kids with some allergies in the 70s, but it was so marginal as to be unheard of without the realms of those who suffered them.

Sorry, but most allergies these days are people being bloody precious, either about themselves, or by transfer to their children.

For instance, most women know that tomatoes give very small children rashes. It's not an allergy, it's a fact of life.

Solution: Give them ketchup, 'cos it's the pips, and wait until they've grown up a bit.

The OPs ds has been offered an oral challenge to see if he is allergic or not, not oral desensitisation to treat the allergy. The results from oral desensitisation studies are encouraging but they start of with a minute dose which is below the patients tollerence threshold for the allergen, you can't just randomly expose the patient to an unknown amount and expect the same results. It has been shown that repeated exposure at an amount of allergen that is large enough to cause a reaction can make the patient more sensitised, not less.
One patient in the recent Addenbrookes trial the BBFs dsd was in had a reduced tollerence initially before an improvement was seen.
There is a study that shows that strict avoidence improves the likelyhood that young children will outgrow the allergy.

Desi - I'm sure you're right about people being precious. However, I had a similar experience to the OP with DS and walnuts - bright red, swollen face; swelling in his mouth; followed half a minute later by simultaneous diarrhoea and projectile vomiting. It has happened twice (the second time thanks to DH's DIY walnut-allergy-test - thanks, DH).

The second walnut experience was more severe than the first; I would not want to try a third, however 'precious' that may sound!

DH's father (born in the early 20th century) was highly allergic to all nuts; both our families have eczema, hayfever and asthma and had them even in the 70s.

DS's allergy tests were 'inconclusive' (though they did show that he was allergic to grass); the advice was to avoid all nuts, particularly peanuts ('just in case'). I really don't feel inclined to do a DIY peanut test, and I don't think that's being too precious!

Hi, dotto

I take your point entirely, but walnuts, much like olives, cream, red wine and coffee, are usually reserved for adults.

It is not an allergy, but an age-sensitive thing.

I wouldn't dream of giving ds walnuts. They taste like earwax, and he can get that for free.

WTF!!!!

Tamtam ignore the crap advice given by Desiderata and Dillydaydreamer. They are talking out their arses.

DO NOT give your DS any more nut or sesame products. Reactions can become worse with repeated exposure.

My Ds is allergic to sesame, his face went a little bit red at first, but the last exposure he had he ended up in hospital with swollen lips and mouth.

It was absolutely terrifying for us and not something I would ever want to go through again so we are now really cautious. If that's me being 'precious' then so what.

Proper desensitisation processes do seem to be the way forward, but this is really not a DIY option and they start off with the minutest of doses of the allergen.

This is really not something you want to take any chances on.

'swollen lips and mouth ...'

You don't read HEAT, perchance?

I have no idea what you're talking about Desiderata, but if you want me to post the pictures I took of my DS' swollen lips while waiting for my Dad to take us to hospital then I will.

. and what happened at the hospital, trixy?

Sorry if I didn't make it clear. I was not for one minute suggesting she does DIY sesitization when the lips and mouth swell. I am saying she is being unreasonable being that the Dr said that all he could do is give an epipen

'We finally got a referel to the local hospital who did a blood test, said it didnt show any allergies but that didnt mean he didnt have any????? and that unless he had a serieos reaction there wasnt really anything that they could do except maybe admit him and feed him nut products but they (nor me) were keen to do that. my DS was then discharged with an epipen "for my piece of mind" as the DR put it!! and instructions to avoid nut products and that he may or may not "grow out of it".

She states that she was not keen to go to hospital for tests! The Dr knowing this has thus not gone further down that route so WTF else could he do?

They offered her the most up to date treatment and she declined! Comprendez?

Right I have posted a picture of my poor DS with his swollen lips and mouth.

This was after eating humous with no reaction many times, then getting a red patch on his face. I foolishly decided to try again just to make sure and got the fright of my life as his lips ballooned in front of me.

I immediately gave him Piriton and when it was clear that there was no affect on his breathing and it didn't necessitate an ambulance I called NHS 24.

They made an appointment for me at the outpatients to get him checked over as his lips weren't going down and advised me to give a second dose of Piriton.

At the hospital he was checked over by a doctor and the swelling had started to go down so we were given the all clear and told to do exactly the same and take him to get checked out if he had another reaction.

The swelling didn't go down fully for a couple of days.

Sufficient information for you Desiderata?

Yes allergies are just parents being 'precious' .

My goodness this all seems to be getting out of hand.

Anyone who has seen a child balloon up in front of their very eyes and then lived with the allergy day in day out can comment. If you have not had this misfortune may I ask that words like precious are not banded about. Personally I prefer cautious.

If a child proves to be not allergic then wonderful. Great news, i am sure these 'precious' mums do not have munchausens by proxy, they are nearly shit scared at seeing their child react in rashes, wheels and hives.

BBF, I appreciate caution is needed if there is swelling/hives. However, rashes are certainly not life threatening and the rash is the result of histamine reaction. The body is less likely to react badly and recognise the allergen on future exposures unless there is a problem with auto immune responses.
There is a small study that suggests that late weaning after the immune system has started to develop after 6mths could pre-dispose babies to allergies, however, the sample was too small to generalise the findings. I would like to see more research into this.

BBF, I appreciate caution is needed if there is swelling/hives. However, rashes are certainly not life threatening and the rash is the result of histamine reaction. The body is less likely to react badly and recognise the allergen on future exposures unless there is a problem with auto immune responses.
There is a small study that suggests that late weaning after the immune system has started to develop after 6mths could pre-dispose babies to allergies, however, the sample was too small to generalise the findings. I would like to see more research into this.

Tamtam, please bear in mind that this is a forum and anyone is entitled to post their opinions.

None of us are experts, if in any doubt please ask your GP or allergy specialist.

My experience and the experiences of others on here who live with allergies day in day out have been that a slight rash can turn into something a bit more extreme on further exposure, especially to allergens such as nuts and sesame, so we would advise caution.

I'm sure you're sensible enough to take the advice of everyone with a pinch of salt and make your own mind up.

As regards a diagnosis, allergy tests aren't conclusive and just give an indication. Your hospital are suggesting a food challenge, not desensitization, which I can understand you're not keen on. I'm afraid there's probably not much else they can do except retest him every so often

I'd agree with Trixymalixy's email... I would definitely urge caution and push for an appointment with an allergy specialist, and for skin prick testing, which I was told is more reliable than the blood tests. Good luck anyway and please don't be scared away from the Allergies board - it's not usually like this!!