Child with severe nut allergies

[Sharon in Colorado]

Hi all -

I was wondering if some of you raw mamas might be of assistance in this area. There is a woman in my life group study who has a young boy who's highly allergic to all nuts.

It is so bad, that even when someone in contact with peanuts had swiped him on the cheek inadvertantly his cheek got a rash. They always have to carry around meds, and they don't even keep any nuts in the house.

Last night she was sharing with the group and started to break down about it. I can tell it is really scary for her. It is like she has know his every move.

Just hoping someone with this experience, or knowing someone who was helped with this through the raw diet. I'd like to talk to her about it!

[Live Love Laugh]

Not too sure if this helps at all as I'm sure you have already suggested things to her . But there is a boy that just started at my son's daycare that also has severe nut allergies and carries an epi-pen where ever he goes . I have to be extremely carefull that my own sons lunch is NUT FREE and I've learned to substitute everything (including R.P's brownies ) with sunflower seeds , pumpkin seeds , sesame seeds , hemp seeds etc ... So far I haven't come across any NUT that I can't replace with a SEED .
I wish them both well , as it must be quite scarey .

[rawjojo]

Hi Sharon!

My nephew has a severe tree nut allergy and it is horrible. Nuts are everywhere. He started kindergarten this year and luckily his class is a "nut-free" room. I did some research and apparently with this huge epidemic of nut related allergies that children now have it is becoming very common that 1 classroom in every grade is "nut-free". My sisters family is the same in that they cannot have any peanut butter in the house because not only does he have the usual reactions he also has severe asthma. My sister has started using mostly organic products and this has helped some, however, we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will grow out of it as some children do. We are 99.9% sure that his allergy developed in the womb as my sister was eating an english muffin every morning with peanut butter as a form of protein. Of course we have all learned lots since then and we now know that peanut butter and bread products are not the greatest for nutrition, however I just wanted to share the reasons that we believe he has the allergy. Most are able to substitute with seeds but it is specific to that certain child as everyones "allergies" are different. I believe that nuts are the scariest of all of the allergies that children seem to be facing in this day and age because it seems to have the most deadly reaction. Please tell your friend to hang in there, things will get better...........THEY ALWAYS DO! I know how frusterated she must be!

Jodi

[Sharon in Colorado]

Thanks you two. I was going to try and help this woman and ask about her diet and feeding history since conception.

I have a feeling either something she was eating or allergic to herself has contributed to this. Hope I can help her!

[Pierre]

What exactly are people with nut allergies allergic to? Most nuts are in Fagaceae or Juglandaceae (I think those are in the same order but I'd have to look it up), cashews are Anacardiaceae which have their own allergy problems (poison ivy), and peanuts are in the unrelated family Fabaceae. I doubt there's anything found in all four of these that isn't also found in sunflower, sesame, or hemp.

[quotidianlight]

What exactly are people with nut allergies allergic to? Most nuts are in Fagaceae or Juglandaceae (I think those are in the same order but I'd have to look it up), cashews are Anacardiaceae which have their own allergy problems (poison ivy), and peanuts are in the unrelated family Fabaceae. I doubt there's anything found in all four of these that isn't also found in sunflower, sesame, or hemp.

We are allergic to the protein. Many foods have similar protein... shapes. So once you are allergic to one your body may begin to react to others. So like, I am allergic to latex. Because of the latex allergy I became allergic to several corresponding fruits (banana, kiwi etc). There are cross allergen lists available. That said an allergy is different from a sensitivity and I have no idea what causes those. Here is a basic run down:

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/61/67474
http://www.allergicchild.com/tree_nut_allergies.htm#

[juliebove]

Sorry I missed this when it was first posted. My daughter is allergic to 7 different foods, including peanuts. She is not severely allergic to any of the foods but she will get a rash if she comes in contact with wheat and soy. What we do in terms of food would not work for this lady because she can not bring any nuts into the house at all.

This can be very frustrating for the parents or other family members, especially if they do not have the same allergy. I've seen stories of parents who sneaked away from the house to eat nuts, then lived in fear that coming in contact with their child might inadvertantely kill them.

Because of the allergies, my daughter is somewhat restricted as to what she can do. If we go out for the day, we must think about food first. Where can we eat? Must we bring our own food? It's usually a good idea to pack some food when we leave the house in case she wants a snack or for some reason we can't find a suitable restaurant. It's easy to pack a small cooler with cut up veggies or pieces of fruit like an apple.

If she buys any prepared food, she must read all labels every time. One common trend is listing canola, or peanut oil. I discovered this after stocking up on previously safe cashews then wondering why my daughter kept having nosebleeds. It was peanut oil in the cashews!

Play dates, parties and other events can be a problem. I always speak with the parents, mention the allergies and send along safe foods and treats for my daughter. Most of the time the parents are kind of freaked out about it and invite me to come. I think they fear they must watch my daughter like a hawk and they don't necessarily want to.

I am lucky in that my daughter is super careful to watch what she eats. Not all kids are this way. I was shocked last year at the school holiday party to see what the kids did when making edible sleighs. They kept sticking their fingers in their mouths then grabbing more candy from the communal platters. My daughter would NEVER do this! She would also never sneak something she is allergic to just because she felt it wasn't fair that she couldn't have it.