To ask if you have had a toddler who was allergic to nuts but outgrew it later in life

[5lilducks]

Sorry, posting here for traffic.

I gave DD 2yrs and 8 mnths the tiniest bit of a cashew nut and she had an allergic reaction. She vomited and had a rash all around her eyes and was quite limp in my arms. The paramedics arrived and with piriton , calpol and monitoring she was sorted out. I am now worried she will have a lifelong allergy to nuts. Neither myself or DH or any of our close relatives have nut allergies. I can now see on NHS website they say to introduce nuts when child is between 6 -12 months. Given that she has eczema I was worried about introducing nuts to her but now having read the NHS guidance I am worried that I have failed as a mum in this respect and my DD will have a lifelong allergy to nuts. So, lovely mumsnetters, I would like to know if any of you have had a toddler who had nut allergies which they eventually grew out of, or any experiences of nut allergies in toddlers.

Cashews are a tree nut. Has she ever tried ground nuts e.g. peanuts?

Well, I know of several teenagers who are apparently allergic to nuts that were happily sharing around assorted nut, seed and peanut based snacks in their breaktimes last year.

They're not the children who had EpiPens/AAIs, however, but all had it put very clearly on their records.

It's not something I would be comfortable experimenting with though, to be honest. So I can see why that happens.

I’m following! My dd also had a bad reaction to cashews when she was 2. Avoid pistachios too as they are in the same family I believe. Get her tested and get an epipen just incase. The specialist told me that you can have an allergen several times (dd had had cashew in curry sauce so we thought she was ok) before having a reaction and also that they can get worse each time. I’ve never known anyone grow out of a severe allergy but I think its possible, just as it’s possible to acquire allergy in later life. Theres pretty good research that early weaning and exposure to allergens decreases risk but nuts aren’t really the sort of food you’d give a toddler are they? I haven’t given dc 2 nuts yet even though I know in theory I should have to decrease the likelihood of them being allergic too, I just can’t bring myself to do it! My dc are both fine with peanuts luckily. Cashew is easy to avoid, just watch out for pesto as lots of them have it as an ingredient.

My son had a reaction to cashews when he was around 1. He’s completely fine with nuts now and has been since about 4.

Are you under an alllergy specialist? If not you really need to be referred for some proper advice and testing!

My 1 year old has a tree nut allergy, he had a small reaction to a tiny bit of almond (I was testing them as my bigger boybhas allergies too) ingot him referred ASAP and they tested him for all the tree nuts (he's allergic to all but 3) and prescriped epipens, did an allergy plan for school etc

He is now strictly nut free until he has a skin prick or blood test that will make his allergy nurse confident he has outgrown it at which point we would probably be offered a food trial at hospital (which is what we did with my older boy)

It is all very controlled and monitored, there is no way in hell you should be introducing tree nuts at home willy nilly

bTW tree nuts and peanuts are.totally different allergies, if your LO isnt eatting peanuts you should really intoduced them as they can be linked if peanuts aren't ratten regularly

Yes mine was when young had an epi pen, had some tests around 12 and only showed a very slight reaction against 1 type of nut.

Sorry about the terrible phone typing! Feel free to DM me if you have any questions

My DS was allergic to brazils, walnuts, cashews and pistachios as a toddler. He has outgrown the brazil and walnut allergy, but pretty bad with the cashews and pistachios still at 18. He's fine with peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts and consultant encouraged him to regularly eat those nuts (when he's in a sensible environment- not off camping or something).

Just about to go off to uni and self manage all of these things - yikes!

As pp said, getting a referral to a proper allergy clinic is key as they will monitor the changes.

Do not trust the skin prick tests. It's safest to avoid all nuts. I first reacted to a tree nut aged 2 and am still allergic as an adult to all tree nuts but have never reacted to peanuts, cashews or almonds. Twenty years ago I had a skin prick test which told me the opposite of what I knew from various severe reactions over the years. The results said I was highly allergic to peanuts and almonds and not at all allergic to walnuts, Brazil nuts or hazelnuts. Completely incorrect.

My daughter reacted to cashew butter aged 2. She had a skin prick test which said she wasn't allergic to cashews but was to pistachios. The immunologist said the skin prick test is usually reliable but often doesn't agree with people's reported experience.

Pink peppercorns are also in the same family as cashews - unlikely to come across them without knowing about it but worth knowing!

We have been through this and my DD (now 14) has grown out of peanut, nut, pine nut and egg allergies. She is still allergic to brazil nuts, and she has oral allergy syndrome and hay fever still. It does happen, but it is unusual to grow out of nut allergies, growing out of egg allergy is more common. She outgrew the nut allergies at around 10. First thing is that you MUST control the eczema properly, eczema is the biggest single indicator of the likelihood of developing allergies, the current theory is that stuff gets through the skin, so it is vital to control it. Look at the Anaphylaxis Campaign and Allergy UK websites - and consider joining - they have lots of useful information and helplines. You also need a referral to a paediatric allergy specialist for proper testing and guidance - get down to your GP asap to sort this out, waiting lists can be really long. School can be an absolute nightmare when you get there, so when you are looking at nurseries/preschools etc ask them about their allergy policies and procedures. Family and friends can also be tricky - my MIL used to serve peanuts when we went round, despite knowing that my DD was allergic, it used to drive me mad. And don't get me started on the birthday parties.... Conversely you will find people who are exceptionally kind and will go out of their way to accommodate your DD. There are also facebook groups that are really supportive where you can ask questions and someone will know the answer. No one knows why children develop allergies, don't waste your energy worrying about it, you will need all your energy to keep your DD safe. And yes, avoid pistachios at all costs as pistachio and cashew nuts are related in some way, if you are allergic to one you are likely to be allergic to the other. Get used to carrying the epipens everywhere you go - you can get insulated bags - and liquid anti histamine too. It will be a rollercoaster but you will manage - you have to. Good luck.

Ds1 had an allergic reaction to peanuts aged 10 months - so you see introducing them early doesnt always help. As a result, ds2 wasnt given nuts at all til he was 5. He is fine with all of them.

Ds1 outgrew his allergy to peanuts at age 7.

It is possible she may outgrow it, or it may be lifelong. For now you need a referral to a paediatric allergy consultant. Dont try to deal with this just with your gp.

Not outgrew but has built up a good tolerance. Peanut allergy, carried an epipen then had a nut challenge at adenbrooks as outpatient over a few years, had to take increasing amounts of peanut protein powder daily, starting with a tiny bit and working up to 1 peanut equivalent. Now, although you never say never, pretty confident an accidental exposure won't cause anaphylaxis.

My DD had her first reaction to peanut butter at age 2. She had her second at age 3 when she touched a container that had previously had nuts in. Tested at age 4, peanut and almond allergy diagnosed. EPI pens and medication provided. She was tested again at age 18 and still has the allergy. She's been told she will have it for the rest if her life

My DD was allergic (not anaphylaxis) to Brazil nuts when she was about eight, but outgrew this allergy a couple of years later. She ate all other nuts by the handful during this time, and still does.

When she was a toddler, she was allergic to milk, but she outgrew that when she was three or four.

Unfortunately, the Brazil nut allergy has been replaced by a different allergy, but still quite manageable, thankfully.

My DS had an allergic reaction to peanut butter at 18 months.

He'd outgrown it by age 5 and has eaten nuts ever since with no problem.

My DD had a severe reaction to cashews when she was 4 and has since become allergic to all nuts she's now 18 and just avoids all nuts

Yanbu to ask.

My DD had an almost identical reaction to yours with cashew nuts. We've had her tested and she's allergic to a few other nuts despite never having had them.

That said because she's been tested most years her reaction levels (there's a technical term but I can't remember it) have gone down on every nut. She's still over the threshold for 3 nuts but had a food challenge with 4 nuts and passed so now has them in her diet 3/4 times a week.

She has never had anaphylaxis and cetirizine is the antihistamine which works best on her reactions. Her sensitivity is decreasing each year (she's 5 now) and I'm very hopeful she will eventually be able to have all nuts.

Thank you very much for replying. All (except one) were very helpful indeed. When the paramedics came they contacted my GP surgery and arranged for the surgery to call me back in a few hours to see if dd was okay. The GP (probably the worst GP ever) called back and when I told her that dd's rash and swelling on face had gone she closed the case -no referrals, nothing. She has consistently been a useless (and quite dangerous) gp and I usually see a different gp who unfortunately for me does not work on Thursdays. So I was stuck with this quack. I will call my usual GP on Monday and ask for a referral. I remember when I was pregnant I had pistachios and there was a lot of movement (like never before and never since) from DD in my tummy. I never had pistachios again when I was pregnant with her as I knew she did not like it and i now wonder if it's all part of the same thing. I hope the GP will refer me to a specialist without giving me grief.

If your GP is no good, try the health visitor as well my original GP told me egg allergy didn't exist (my big boys main allergen) but the HV was very good and had also spoken to him before hand and he did give us the referral even if he himself was totally useless

@ Bobojangles Thank you for replying. I will speak to hv as well.

My son had a very bad reaction to peanuts at 10months old paramedic came and said next time the reaction will be worst. He got tested and is allergic to peanut and almonds but not given epi pen... So I've been really careful and hoping he grows out of it. I've done research on Internet and it seems that probiotic can help as allergy can be caused by poor micro biome... So I've been trying to give him probiotic (shop bought, homemade kombucha, kefir, yogurt...) and prebiotic (all bran, dry fruits, more fresh veg...). His eczema got better. He recently was given almond milk by mistake and didn't have any reaction so I am hoping his peanut allergy reaction reduce too. For info he had antibiotic in utero and when he was born so for me it might be linked...

Good luck OP. However your GP's reaction isn't that unusual. My GP won't refer me for specialist allergy testing because I don't have an anaphylaxis reaction. Despite the fact it might get worse (or have gone - don't want to try my luck it's not pleasant). I hope you get a better result from the HV.

My son has always had a nut allergy ( mainly Peanut, Cashew and Pistachio - they tend to go together), he's also asthmatic. He carries Epipens and his last allergy app last year basically said he was never going to outgrow his allergy and they signed him off

Forgot to add- he avoids all nuts as each allergy test he's shown a reaction to all diff nuts so he was advised never to eat any. We just know Peanut, Cashew and Pistachio are definite no no's!