Peanut Allergy - Saint Paul,MN

Hi J.,

This is a bit contradictory to what has already been posted. My son is 14 months and like your son diagnosed with a peanut allergy through a RAST test. My allergist said to always administer the Epi first and then call 911 immediately afterwards. There is no harm in delivering the Epi even if you find out later that the reaction may not have been severe enough to require one. Benadryl is good to follow after the shot.
My husband and I make sure that our son has his Epi on him at all times and have anybody who is taking care of him watch the 5 minute video on how to administer the shot.

I am so sorry your son's diagnosis has been confirmed. Like previous posts have mentioned, it is very positive to hear that kids CAN lead a very normal life with this allergy. Best to you!

hi J.! I am so sorry that you have to deal with this.
You are smart to make a plan. Absolutely have him wear a bracelet. My daughter has diabetes and I found a kid friendly, velcro bracelet to indicate her condition. They also make them for peanut allergy. Google, kids medical alert bracelet.
As far as your son visiting friends and family, I would have a pen on hand and instruct the adult where your child is visiting to call 911 BEFORE administering a shot and tell them only to do exactly what the emergency personel instructs. An epi injection is very easy to administer, but all injections by untrained adults should be guided by medical professionals as a liability and safety issue.
I am in the process of having our church nursery go peanut free to accomodate 2 little ones with severe peanut allergy. The most important part is to have EVERYONE on the same page and don't feel bad for making special requests! People will understand that your son's safety is very important.
I hope this transition is easy for you! Luckily there are many manufacturers that are sensitive to nut allergies. I have also hear that California Pizza Kitchen restaurants have a special area set aside for making pizzas that will not be contaminated by nut containing ingredients. All you have to do is ask :)

Did your allergist give you an Food Allergy Action Plan? http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey... If not, definitely ask for one. It will outline the possible reactions and reccommended action to take. It eliminates the guess-work. Keep a copy with your child's Epi, give copies to caregivers etc.

Some other posters here have mentioned how kids learn what they can and can't have. That's a little scarey. Would you really trust a 5 year old with a potentially life & death decision? Kids learn a lot about what they can eat, but it's too much to saddle them with the responsibility of determining what is safe and what isn't. You need to read the ingredients list on food labels every time you buy the food. Ingredients change constantly, without notice.

There's a lot to learn about having a child with a food allergy. This is one of the best places to start: http://www.foodallergy.org/

Good luck!

How serious is his allergy life threatening?

If it's mild tell them to call 911
If it's life threatening 911 and epi pen

Also teach your child to be a food freak. What I mean is I use to work at a home daycare and we had a little girl 5 who had a milk/dairy allergy and she was so on top of what she could eat and couldn't eat. She could smell something and know if it would set her off or not. She was a very smart little girl.

we had a girl with a peanut allergy at camp and i think the fact that she new a lot about her allergy helps tremendously. She was 5 and she knew what she could and couldn't eat. Her parents also seemed very good at helping her not feel left out. She knew how important it was and she didn't feel uncomfortable or sad if she ever had an experience where she was left out because of her allergy. we had a nut free camp that summer but there are always moms who are too lazy to pack there kid something other than peanut butter so there were days when she had to take a buddy to go eat lunch with her in another room.