In thinking that my GP's advice was wrong?

[TheHelpfulHiker]

DS2 is four and we suspect he has a peanut allergy. When he was a toddler he had a severe reaction to peanut butter (ended up in A&E although was over pretty quickly). On another occasion we were at a party with a bowl of peanuts on the table and he came out in hives, although he didn't touch them, others around him did so there would have been traces on the table etc. We have subsequently done a skin test with some peanut butter and again his skin reacted. Now he is starting school so we need to formalise it and find out how severe it is, what we need to do to manage it etc. I know we should have done it sooner, but I took him to our GP this morning and the general consensus is that we can't be sure it's peanuts as there are many ingredients in peanut butter and even peanuts have salt and other preservatives(?) on them. SO my GP told me to go home, give him 2-3 peanuts (after boiling them so there is nothing else on them), have some piriton to hand and call 999 if he has a bad reaction. AIBU or is that nuts? (pun intended). In the end we gave him half a nut, his face went blotchy and came out in hives so I dosed him up with piriton and it subsided. We have another appointment on Thursday. Fingers crossed we get further! If any allergy parents have any tips on what to say and how to make some progress I'd be so grateful.

That sounds incredibly dangerous of them to suggest "DIY" testing your child for a peanut allergy. Fair enough if they were getting itchy after using a certain soap, and they wanted you to test what soap it was that was giving them the itches or something, but considering peanut allergies can kill I think it is pretty scary they asked you to give him a few peanuts and call 999 if all goes wrong!

Thanks @smokeytoby glad it's not just me! I came home and cried as I was so frustrated, but I'm not an allergy expert so wanted to check I'm not being ridiculous.

Bloody hell. Why did you do that? You should report the GP to the GMC and male a complaint at the practice. That’s shocking.

Omg! That's horrendous advice. My DS has multiple food allergies that he carries Epi pens for. Please don't do that. Go back and ask for a referral to paediatric allergy.

I'm surprised it wasn't followed up after the first reaction - wouldn't the hospital normally write to the gp? Maybe not. Anyway, when my daughter had her first reaction I booked a gp appointment, explained what had happened and showed photos I'd taken immediately after giving her piriton. Eventually we got a referral to the allergy clinic where they did skin prick tests which didn't show an allergy to the original cause but to another nut. I had a similar outcome years ago with my own skin prick testing, so the tests are not reliable. The consultant advised to avoid all nuts anyway and prescribed Piriton and an Epipen.

So if I were you I'd go back to the GP and insist on a referral, but exercise caution with the testing results - don't assume a different type of nut is safe even if the test says so.

And also report that GP!

Sorry, posted too soon. Go see someone who isn’t negligent and they will send him for a real test (ours was referred after breaking out in hives after I kisses him after eating nuts then rubbed a bit on his arm to test).

My boy reacted to a common allergen at 6 months. He was immediately referred to the allergy team at the hospital and told to avoid the allergen completely in all forms until he'd had further testing. He reacted in testing and is retested annually to reassess with a plan to eventually be able to reintroduce.

Tell them the school are insisting on knowing what other allergens might be a risk.

Forgot to add.... Your GP sounds batshit. Get a second opinion (move practice if necessary) and get a referral

That's shocking advice from GP!
Anaphylactic shock can and does kill as I'm sure you're aware.
Are you seeing the same GP Thursday?

No, don't follow that advice! My child has food allergies and on his most recent skin prick testing, we think he may have grown out of one of them. So we have an appointment to go back to the hospital with the food and do a challenge, supervised by the allergy nurse, in the allergy ward and starting small by putting on his skin and working up to testing it if he passes all the other steps.

Just telling you to go straight to eating it sounds very reckless!

*working up to tasting

Wow. Just wow. Sounds just like my useless GP, surprised your GP wasn’t googling “allergic reactions” at the same time, whilst not bothering to look at you are listen to you. Mostly, mums know their kids best I find, hope you get it sorted soon, true allergic reactions can be very frightening for all concerned. Hugs xx

Thank you everyone, I was doubting myself. Oh and don't worry, we are changing GPs ASAP. This has seriously dented my faith in our current doctor. We're seeing another GP at the same practice on Thurs. Taking DH with me and we're not leaving without a referral.

The GP is an idiot since you've seen multiple reactions, and that advice was dangerous. My boy had several allergies (one serious) and had SPTs at the hospital amongst other things, which I think is what you should probably ask to be referred for.

DS goes into anaphylaxis. He was only referred to specialists and prescribed epi pens after his second anaphylactic attack. It's awful but in my (limited) experience they don't refer for normal allergic reactions such as your DC has experienced.

That's shocking! My son's allergist does not even want to do controlled food challenges with peanuts if there's a suspicion, as peanut reactions are often severe. Please get him properly tested and do any challenges in a proper hospital setting.
It seems clear your son has a peanut allergy, so definitely avoid peanuts. But you need to press for further testing, as he might be allergic to other things as well.

Omg this is so wrong.

Dd who had gone through rigorous allergy testing has always had bloods taken, she had them done at gp surgery and at hospital. she has also had skin prick testing, this particular test is done with an allergist who has epi pen beside her, the epi pen works until you get them to hospital immediately , on the 2 occasions we seen the allergist one was in a clinic and one was at the hospital.

The gp telling you to use an antihistamine is so dangerous, over the counter antihistamines don't work for everyone.

Definitely get a second opinion

That really is the most irresponsible,unprofessional advice a GP could give you . Son needs to be referred to an allergy clinic asap!! A boy in my sons 6 th form tragically died from anaphylactic shock two years ago because of his nut allergy !! GP does need reporting so he gets properly trained about allergies!!

This was bloody dangerous advice.

Often, it's not the first exposure to an allergen that can be extremely dangerous but the second or subsequent exposures. Surely the safer thing to do would have been to suggest seeing how he reacts to the other things in PB - although some PB's literally have 99% peanuts, and then some oil and salt so how useful that is I'm not sure.

Definitely definitely see a different GP and make a complaint! What on earth was he thinking? Glad your son was okay.

It was EXTREMELY dangerous. I can’t believe that the GP advised you to do that!

You need to ask to be referred to a proper allergy testing, starting with blood test. As he seems to be reacting even from secondary contact, I would say yes I have to be extremely careful (I wouldn’t agree on a skin test to check for his reaction for example wo being sure he isn't at risk o go into anaphylactic schlock)

I was told the same with an egg allergy when my little was 6 months. Not to try again for a few months and then have piriton handy because if it's an allergy it will get worse each time. We are now waiting on a pediatric dermatologist appointment because he clearly has allergies to other things but apparently it takes months

Walnut that's not true at all. Ds1 had his first reaction at 6 months (hives). He was referred straight to the paediatric allergy clinic and was under them for 7 years.

OP get a referral and report your GP - his advice could kill a child. When ds2 had his peanut challenge (after skin and blood tests showed his allergy had subsided) it took 3+ hours at the hospital and there was an epi pen and doctors on hand. They started by touching a peanut to his wrist, then rubbing on his lips, then giving him the tiniest piece to eat. All with 15 min breaks in between and close monitoring (inc blood pressure) for signs of a reaction.

Report this GP right away and see another, and push for referral to allergy clinic/specialist.

Why a GP would advise you to home test your child (anyone really tbh) when they been in hospital due to a previous reaction is quite frankly mind boggling and potentially fatal advice