Blood tests have come back as "strongly allergic to peanuts" HELP!!!

[oliveoil]

background thread here

Am waiting to be referred to a dietician, am v worried in the meantime. Anyone point me in direction of any info?

My friend's son is v allergy prone so am going to ask her as well.

i think there's a helpgroup called anaphylaxis or something like that - they should help. a friend's dd has a severe reaction to peanuts in so far as she cant even touch the packets of cereals which have contained traces. She lives a pretty normal life but obviously it took a bit of getting used to.

oh olive, sorry to hear this, i'm sure you'll get lots of good advice here, x

I went to a talk from an immunologist.

The first thing is to relax - the death rate is extremely low for those that have a reaction - 0.62% in one study.

He also said that plenty of people who have 1 reaction (and therefore have the antibodies) never have another reaction again. The bloodtest can only show the antibodies - not predict what could happen in a reaction.

Obviously you still have to avoid nuts and traces of nuts. You need to think about the places your dd goes and how you will handle this. I am in a massive dissagreement with ds's preschool about this at the moment.

But the main point is that she is very unlikely to die.

I am just being an overanxious mum tbh, in the grand scheme of things she could have far worse illnesses etc. BUT it's my little girl .

Bobbybob - have seen your thread .

No, you have to be overanxious Oliveoil, because nobody else will look after her as well as you.

You will get the weirdest questions and just plain awful people to deal with.

I would strongly advise joining a support group.

Got appointment with Dietician on Thursday - anyone got any tips on what I need to ask her?

Ta.

x

a friend of mine was allergic to peanuts and she had to carry an epi pen with her.

Ask what you would need to do in an emergancy....get that sorted first of all. With my friend it was just a case of jab her with the pen and ring an ambulance but could be different now, i am talking years ago.

Obvioulsy you need to read labels properly most have it wriiten undeneath the ingredients now if they contain nuts BUT when u order a take away, ask them what they cook their food in. some places use ground nut oil which my friend was also allergic to.

You can lead a normal life with nut allergies, you just have to be cautious about what foods you eat. i had mild nut allergies when i was younger (nothing more than a migraine and blotches) but i outgrew them....i hope thats the case for you.

(((hugs))) for ur appt

Avoid everything that has arachis oil in it (even body creams), and I would suggest to avoid soya for some time. In the mean time carry a bottle of piriton with you at all times.

If you post under the allergies topic you are likely to get more responses from people living with allergies.

Didn't realise there was an allergies topic , will go and hunt around.

Thanks

xx

Ask her about sesame seeds ... DS1 has a mild nut allergy and his consultant has advised us to avoid sesame as people with a nut allergy are prone to have sesame allergy also.

What you want from the dietician is a list of alternative names for peanut oil (she should have a list) and if you are not used to reading labels then ask her to show you how to do it and what to look for (I know it sounds obvious but until you have an allergic child, you don't really know what to look for!). She will also tell you exactly what to avoid.

Was it a consultant or GP that did the tests? Either way, they are the ones to give you the epipen and advice as to what to do if she comes into contact with peanut. Also, make sure you carry around Piriton in the mean time.

It was a consultant at the hospital that did the blood tests. I give her Piriten at the moment as she is always itching her eyes and sneezing, I am sure she must be allergic to something else as well, may ask for more tests.

yes, when you see the consultant again, ask about EVERYTHING!! In fact, make a list before you go because there are always so many things to ask and I find myself remembering one thing and forgetting the rest. They may want to do some other tests (like skin tests etc.) so read up before you go and try and make a list of other things you think may be setting off her sneezing/itching.

how old is dd1? Is she going to be going back to school or nursery in September? If so, will you have seen the doc or consultant before then?

She is 2yrs 9 months and starts playgroup in September, am seeing the dietitian this Thursday.

I am in the process of doing a list. My friend's son has had problems with allergies and am waiting to speak to her, but she has 4 children, so with the summer holidays.....NO TIME TO TALK.

we found the dietician really useful - she was the only person we saw who could actually spend quite a bit of time with us (as the consultant was always v pressed for time it seemed - understandably so!) but I don't think she will be able to give you an epipen or any medical advice - I think that all comes from the consultant/GP.

As bobbybob said, that test measures the antibodies. With dd, they did a skin test as well (which showed an even worse reaction - her whole arm swelled up and went red to a pinprick of egg) however, I know she has had things with egg in and not had a severe reaction. Allergies are a difficult thing because it's hard to predict what will happen the next time.

In the mean time, it's better to be safe than sorry and be extra vigilant. Get 2 bottles of Piriton so you can give one to nursery and make sure they know to give it to her straight away.

sorry, meant playgroup! and remember to check what potential snacks she will have there.

Thanks everyone. Sigh.

xx