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Original poster

Peanunt butter and children.

32 replies

Twinmummyx2 · 30/04/2007 21:29

Bought it today as my older..older children like it and haven't bought it in ages. Was a bout to give it to Dt's (2.6)..but suddenly remembered you have to be careful with it. Is it the strictly 'not for under 3's' rule..or is it 'keep an eye on them when eating for the first time because of allergy' rule.....

i forget.....

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

colditz · 30/04/2007 21:30

I went by the second, but he didn't have it until he was two anyway.

Smithagain · 30/04/2007 22:28

My understanding is that if you have family history of allergies, you should avoid it until at least three. We have been advised to avoid until our children are at least 5, but DH is severely nut-allergic.

Also, the reasoning behind the advice is associated with preventing allergies developing in later life, so the fact they don't react the first time they eat it is not the end of the story. In fact, genuine allergic reactions do not occur on the first exposure, but on a second or subsequent exposure.

DH had no reaction to nuts until he was seven - but at 17 he nearly died ...

Not to be alarmist, but if you have any allergic tendencies as a family (including hay fever, excema etc), I would carry on avoiding it.

I don't know what the advice is if you are allergy-free.

MamaG · 30/04/2007 22:29

My nephew had food allergies so I waited until DS was 3. He adores it but I'm glad I waited.

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potoroo · 30/04/2007 22:32

We've got no history of allergies but DS still had a reaction - just be cautious -tiny bit to start with and wait a while.

brimfull · 30/04/2007 22:32

god I would love to give ds this but although he's allergic to tree nuts he's not actually allergic to peanuts.Will have to ask his consultant .
I wouls second smithagain's post

Original poster

Twinmummyx2 · 01/05/2007 09:06

Right, well 2 of the children have hayfever, and one of them is allergic to bee stings. So i will avoid it for a while yet.

Smithagain-i never realised that someone could suddenly become allergic to something after being fine for years...and for it to be something so scary too. I will also watch the older children for allergies concerning peanuts now-just incase.

Thanks for all your replies everyone.

OP posts:

confusedandignorant · 01/05/2007 09:35

There are some countries in world where major protein source is peanuts and they don't have allergy problems.

We have problems in other direction, DS doesn't eat cheese and I am reluctant to give him meat on a sandwich to sit in a warm classroom all morning but loves nuts and seeds however I cannot give him these for school packed lunches as it is a nut free school

Enid · 01/05/2007 09:39

mine have all had it from 10/11 months with no ill effects

not saying this is right but just what we have done

kels666 · 01/05/2007 14:16

DD had it at aged one. 10 mins later we were on our way to A & E. DP has hayfever - and that is the only other allergy in our family

Mum2FunkyDude · 01/05/2007 14:27

I was not aware of this waiting until they're older thing, I gave some to ds about 3 weeks ago, has had some now on at least 6 occations and no reaction so far, we do not have allergies in the family, but do have hayfever, how does the two connect?

Mum2FunkyDude · 01/05/2007 14:27

he's 17 months by the way

Original poster

Twinmummyx2 · 01/05/2007 16:11

Not really sure how they connect-perhaps it's just a case of if you are prone to allergies already then prhaps you are 'more likely' to be allergic to peanuts?! Hayfever is an allergy, it means an allergy to pollens.....i guess though if he has been ok so far he may be alright...but as smithagain posted earlier...you can suddenly become allergic...so i guess everyone should be aware..all of the time!

OP posts:

Original poster

Twinmummyx2 · 01/05/2007 16:13

kels66-what were the signs of the allergic reaction?? Was it the bad throat swelling straight away? Must have been so scary for you all....

OP posts:

themaskedposter · 01/05/2007 16:14

hmm dd was eating it from about 10 months on!
however we have no history of such allergies in the family, so didn't worry (I think I did keep an eye on her for about 5 mins after eating it though ...)

Smithagain · 01/05/2007 20:18

"There are some countries in world where major protein source is peanuts and they don't have allergy problems."

True. And conversely, the incidence of peanut allergy in the USA is alarmingly high - and peanut butter is practically kids' staple diet. It's all very wierd.

AFAIK no-one has got to the bottom of what is causing the increase in peanut/nut allergy. But there does appear to be some consensus that exposure to nut proteins in early childhood might be a factor. That being the case, I personally feel that avoiding it is a good idea, especially if you have allergic tendencies in the family. It's not as if many people need to eat peanut butter. And living with a nut allergy is, frankly, a PITA, which you want to avoid if you can!

Twinmummy - with a family history of hay fever and one of the children having a bee sting allergy, I would definitely avoid peanut butter for the time being. That's my personal opinion. I am not a medic. Just a mother with allergies to contend with, acting on such advice as I've been given.

DD1 also has a bee sting allergy. After she had that reaction (on her second birthday), we saw a Consultant, who in fact advised that we avoid exposing her to any nuts until she is at least five. After that, she will be referred for proper allergy testing. I'm not sure where we go from there.

That advice was in the context of DH also being nut allergic, but I had the impression the advice would have been the same, even without that history, because of her reaction to the bee sting.

wulfricsmummy · 01/05/2007 20:22

This reply has been deleted

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Mum2FunkyDude · 03/05/2007 14:09

So I'm still brewing on this topic.
If you are meant to keep it away from them, does that mean all products that may contain nuts? What is there is absolutely no nut allergy history in the family? But as in our case, asthma, hay fever and eczema? Does anyone have bona fide research that they can link to? Peanuts is such a good source of protein, good fats and calories?

wulfricsmummy · 03/05/2007 14:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Twinmummyx2 · 03/05/2007 15:26

I am going to avoid it until mine are 5. It's only my eldest who is 14 and DP that likes peanuts in our house..i can't stand even the smell...and all the other boys didn't want to try it because of the smell..so it won;t be a problem avoiding it.

Thanks

OP posts:

boyslovegranny · 03/05/2007 15:30

How did I not know about this under 3's rule
My DS2 is 18 months and has it all the time - can anyone send a link to some info please?

Mum2FunkyDude · 03/05/2007 15:39

As far as I can gather, boyslovegranny, it is generally advised to avoid before 3, but in instances where there is no allergies it is ok, but still it doesn't answer my question about how vigilant you should be? I mean you can avoid giving it, but what if its in a chocolate bar etc. you cannot completely avoid it unless you live in a nut free house?

Original poster

Twinmummyx2 · 03/05/2007 15:47

oh do you mean when a mars bar is made in a nut factory????

well....i think no peanuts.p-butter or snickers for the little uns....but because there is always a slight risk from these rogue mars bars etc...we just have to live with the fact they they still may come into contact and whilst there is only a 'risk' that something might happen until a proper allergy actually happens...i'm not going to worry about the small risk..but peanuts will still be suspect anyway......

that dosen;t make any sense at all does it...lol

OP posts:

Original poster

Twinmummyx2 · 03/05/2007 16:25

There is a link over on 'food' about brand new research saying that exposing peanuts to young children now may well stop allergy to it happening..take a look.

How confusing this parenting stuff is..lol

OP posts:

Seona1973 · 03/05/2007 20:07

The advice I always went by was to avoid till 3 if there was family history of allergic disease but that it is actually ok from 6 months if no family history. My dd has had it from around 1 year. I havent tried it with ds who is 7 months.

Is it safe for my baby to have nuts and nut products

When is it safe to feed my baby...?

tatt · 04/05/2007 09:38

there isn't a lot of good quality research on the causes of peanut allergy (or other allergies). If there is a family history of atopic disease (which includes eczema and asthma if there is an allergic component, as there often is) current advice is to avoid whole nuts until 5 and peanut butter until 3. There is a study looking at whether that is the right advice because there isn't much to back it up.

What you are not told - and should be - is to check any eczema creams carefully for any trace of arachnis (peanut ) oil. Avoid that, avoid soya milk - they both have a proven link to nut allergy and while they may not cause it don't take the risk. Give your child probiotics to reduce the risk of eczema and maybe allergy.

If there is no family history of any atopic disease then you can try nut butter earlier than 3. However be aware that it's the second taste that matters, that first reactions can be so mild you may not notice, the child doesn't always obligingly get a rash and that the reactions are unpredictable so can be mild one time and anaphylactic the next. Keep a bottle of pirtion handy and if you see a reaction ignore the age guidance and tip some into them quickly - while someone else phones an ambulance. An anaphylactic reaction means you may only have minutes to react. If your child can talk they can tell you what is happening, a baby can't.

You can develop an allergy at any age and a child with one allergy is more likely to develop others. However some grow out of their allergies as their immune system matures.

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