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Allergies and intolerances

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Original poster

low grade sensitation to milk, egg white and peanut. can anyone explaiain and reassure

30 replies

misdee · 10/08/2009 09:44

finally got dd4 results back from allergy clinic.

but the letter doesnt explain much.

am guess low grade=good as far as allergies go?

but the peanut one is scaring me.

we need to keep dd4 on an egg, milk and peanut free diet. so am guessing everything that says 'may contain nuts' is out?

do peanut traces go through to breastmilk the same way cows milk does?

should i make my house nut free?

am a bit scared and upset tbh. was hoping that just milk would show up, but suspected egg would figure in there somewhere, but peanuts?

is it my fault as i followed the new guidelines of NOT avoiding nuts in pregnancy with dd4.

OP posts:
Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 10:18

bump.

i know im buming quickly, but am stressed

OP posts:
Bilbomum · 10/08/2009 10:50

Is there an allergy nurse at the hospital who you can talk through the results with? IME there's always been more of a follow up than just a letter so that there is an opportunity to ask questions.

You really need to ask their definition of low grade. As far as I know allergies vary from Grade 1 to 5, so I would think yours would be 1 or 2. My son has multiple allergies and his levels are grade 4 on his nut/egg/dairy allergies. However he eats quite a few things he's been tested at level 1/2 for and doesn't react. You can grow out of these things so don't despair.

Don't blame yourself for the nut allergy, I practiced strict avoidance of peanuts whilst pregnant and ds is highly allergic to them. You can't win with these things.

It probably makes sense to have a nut free household (we do). As for the 'may contain warnings' on packaging, you should really ask the consultant. I don't follow it rigidly for ds as he has never actually had a reaction to nuts (this strategy is with the consultants agreement). If you have multiple allergies to deal with as well as nuts a lot of things can't be eaten anyway.

It feels like the end of the world when you first get the diagnosis but it very quickly becomes part of normal life. Mumsnet is always fantastic for advice but please do push at the hospital to get another appointment to discuss the results.

Good luck!

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 11:20

her next appointment is in jan. have called to asked for a telephone consultation sooner.

dd4 had piriton in the days before her blood tests, would this have skewed the results? her reaction on contact is quick, and a large rash appears within minutes.

i need to know if i should avoid eggs and peanuts as am breastfeeding still.

OP posts:
Bilbomum · 10/08/2009 11:35

Definitely push for at least a quick phone call sooner than Jan misdee.

The official line on your avoidance during breastfeeding has changed fairly recently I think. In 2007 when ds was diagnosed I was told to cut all allergens out of my diet and did so (didn't make any difference to ds though). However the immunologist told me that advice changed last year and they were now advising not to cut anything out of the mothers diet.

BUT I do know a lot of mothers who have said it makes a huge difference to their dc's when they have cut out allergens whilst breastfeeding. How old is your dd? If still exclusively breastfed and not showing any signs of a reaction (ie eczema or constant bowel probs) then I would be tempted not to cut anything out of your diet. If you've only discovered allergy when weaning then obviously cut out allergens from her diet but leave them in yours.

I might be corrected on this but if your dd is tolerating your breastmilk fine then you should carry on as is.

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:35

it's not your fault at all misdee

I would avoid them if I was you (in your diet) tbh.

We never excluded the foods from the house as I never thought it replicated real life but it's not easy and I only had one other child to think about rather than 3.

If you choose to keep the foods around, you will have to educate the others in not sharing plates with dd4 etc.

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 11:40

before the first big reaction to milk at 6months, dd4 was covered in eczema, very loose stools and very gripey. since cutting down the milk in my diet #(couple of cups of tea a day only with milk in, no other milk, no cheese, no butter) her skin has improved a lot, her poo is still loose but not watery, and the screaming has stopped.

i am thinking of making this a but-free house (eggs and milk we cant, as not fair on the other dd's) but as its only me and dh who love peanuts, it shouldnt be much of an issue. i hope.

tips for eating out would be great. alreaqdy had an instance of asking for no butter on sweetcorn for it to come out dripping in it, so list of places which listen would be fabby.

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:40

I wouldn't avoid the may contain traces of nuts stuff (or things with cooked egg in like cakes) in your diet but probably just eating peanuts (which people don't tend to do that much any more anyway lol).

I agree with a lot of what bilbo says though but I reckon you'll find it easier just to not have those foods around which will probably mean you'll end up naturally excluding them anyway.

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:42

in many ways, eggs are easy because children v rarely have contact with raw egg white anyway (unless baking)

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:48

most places are useless misdee

strangely, McD are ok as they have a list of ingredients for all their foods so easy to see what they can and can't have

if you have a favourite place that you tend to go to, I think the best thing to do is have a word with the chef or just let her live off chips when you eat out (bring other stuff with you if worried)

chinese/indian/spicy food often difficult as they can use nut oils etc. but dd was often just happy with plain rice, strange child!

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:49

mcd ingredients

Bilbomum · 10/08/2009 11:51

Ah, well now I see the history then you should definitely cut it all out despite what advice is current. I did it for 6 months and found it really hard but a plus point meant I could feed ds from my plate when weaning him without having to think about it.

Cutting it out yourself is really good training for raising an allergic child. You probably know this but start reading labels religiously as milk is in many things you wouldn't have thought (flavoured crisps, some salami etc)as are eggs (sausages etc). It will be doubly hard for you having 3 other kids around. DS was my first so it was a pretty controlled environment, now dd has arrived with no allergies (hurray!) things are more complicated.

Trying to find a silver lining for you - I finally lost all my excess baby weight whilst following exclusion diet !

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:52

kids happy meal with fish fingers and fries is egg and milk and nuts ok from memory but PLEASE check in case it has changed since my days of constant label reading

there will be a disclaimer about nuts (from contamination) but if her reaction is not anaphylactic, then you'd need to weigh up if you were ok with that iyswim

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 11:54

thank you

this is soooo hard. am going to have to recheck all of the food we have 'just in case' arent i?

gonna get dh to finish off the last bit of peanut butter, then no more to be brough. he loves peanut butter but am sure he'll understand.

the dd's are ok to still have chocolate spread in teh house?

OP posts:
Bilbomum · 10/08/2009 11:56

Agree with fox most places are useless and I get tired of trying to explain severity of the problem.

Pizza Express is usually our preferred option, I order ds pizza with no cheese and stress the allergy problem. We had one slip up when we didn't go to our usual one but apart from that they've been great. Our local fish and chip should is good as well.

Chips are usually a safe bet but check they aren't using groundnut oil for frying.

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:56

it will have nuts in it most likely misdee, just have a look at the label

like bilbo, my most allergic child was my eldest so in many ways far easier

I think you can keep those foods around but you will have to have a very strict sit down chat with the girls about not giving dd4 any of what they eat because it's a natural thing to just feed the baby a bit, especially if dd4 asks for something!

foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 11:57

(and if you think they can't manage or you feel bad placing that on them, then I'd exclude the nut containing foods tbh)

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 12:03

its hazelnuts in the choc spread.

got dd4 blood results now, as consultant phone midway through my last post.

egg 1.14
milk 0.43
peanut 1.04

as dd4 is just reacting on contact with milk, then she is def allergic to milk.

we will look at retesting in jan, but no food challeges until she hjasnt reacted for 6months, and seeing as her last reaction was days ago, thats a long way off.

OP posts:
Bilbomum · 10/08/2009 12:13

You'll have to make a choice for the other kids, do you restrict their diet as well so you know everyone is safe (easy to do with nuts but not so easy with milk/eggs) or do you feed dd4 differently to everyone else?

I feed my two differently (dd was prem and needs every calorie she can get). However the one thing I haven't got my head round is cups of milk around the house so she doesn't drink milk, I just shove in yogurts and cheese while ds isn't looking!

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 12:14

we have restricted milk already to be drunk at the kitchen table. no milk products go near dd4 highchair, and all hands and faces are washed after eating and drinking. but she is still reaction

OP posts:
Bilbomum · 10/08/2009 12:22

They are fairly low levels (ds's are in the 70's for egg/nuts/dairy) but as the reaction is so pronounced you know it's a problem. DS started fairly low to milk but it went up very quickly over a six month period. It seems they can get worse before they start growing out of it so it's best to be vigilant from the start.

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 13:30

thanks all. feeling a bit more reassured and have sopoken to the people at allergy uk as well.

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 10/08/2009 13:45

I also think some children have a v marked skin reaction. Dd's skin reaction to egg was so severe, the paed nearly had a heart attack but she never went much further than that (she had vomiting and diarrhoea if she ate some but no anaphylactic shock or anything). Her skin reaction was always the worst part of it iyswim. As she had eczema, this kind of tied in to the type of child she was.

bruffin · 10/08/2009 13:46

I have never restricted nuts in the house, DD always loved peanut butter and I carried on buying it. Thought it was better for DS not to be able to relax about allergy and learn to be vigilant about everything.

DS grew out of peanut allergy by 12 but is still allergic to treenuts, various seeds and other things.

Original poster
misdee · 10/08/2009 14:49

how old was dd bruffin when your ds was diagnosed?

dd's are 9, 6 and 4.

the 4yr old is very fond of offering dd4 food.

OP posts:
bruffin · 10/08/2009 18:00

DS was 4 when he had a awful weekend when he had reactions to seseme seeds and pecan nuts and after that he couldn't eat peanuts butter which he had been eating for years. DD was 2 then and very fond of peanut butter sandwiches. DS knew he couldn't eat it and wouldn't touch it. He can eat peanuts without any problems now.