Recovering from Stay with Clueless Relatives--Questions re: Exposure

[SwayGirl]

I agree with Rebekah.

This is exactly how my DD always felt when staying at my mom's house.  Always.

It was not anxiety in her case-- it was the fact that the allergen was just everywhere. 

Now, do most people have to worry about this kind of thing?  Absolutely not.

This makes so much sense to me, and it's a great way to frame the discussion. I guess, being new to FAs, on some level I'm still acclimating to the fact that I HAVE an allergy, and have had a harder time grasping that I might be an outlier whose reactions are unusual or that my threshold tolerance might be unusually low. I guess, subconsciously, I figured that if it's adult-onset it couldn't possibly be as severe as another's lifelong allergy. Not sure there's any logic or science to that, and I didn't quite realize I was discounting my instincts so often on that basis. I kept wanting to fit in that 95%, but I just don't think I do.

We've found that aerosol exposures are much more problematic than contact ones.  Contact is no big deal-- unless/until it becomes INGESTION.  Aerosol exposures tend to produce systemic effects for my DD (and myself with shellfish).  Contact is just local and can be dealt with via washing affected skin.

This is my experience as well. Airborne exposures have been a repeated problem for me. Contact, I usually just get itchy/hivey but can wash it off and/or pop a benadryl and I'm ok. Grocery stores are problematic, though, because I think a combo of contact via cart plus airborne stuff has left me woozy and dizzy on more than one occasion.

FWIW, my DD has had three separate, severe anaphylactic reactions from occult exposures to her allergens.  One of those resulted in a loss of consciousness with almost no other major symptoms.  I think you're right to be highly concerned.

But not about walnut WOOD.  The wood contains none of the seed-storage proteins present in the nuts.  Just because you're allergic to chickens doesn't mean you can't eat eggs, if you KWIM, adn people who are allergic to milk don't need to avoid beef.

I should probably clarify that I didn't really think the walnut wood was allergenic, but I wasn't totally certain it wasn't either (I mean, the airborne particulates produced in the commercial wood shop on the property), and at that point it just started to seem, on almost a comical level, like I was surrounded by nuts! The kiln spews out minute particles all the time, and I did wonder about it!

One practical suggestion?  LIMIT your time in this kind of environment, and maintain a safe retreat.  We have done this by staying in a hotel rather than with family.

Sigh. Yes, that's kind of the conclusion I've come to as well. It will be a HUGE problem for DS, but I suppose he can stay with them (he loves it there, out in the country with tons of room to run and play) and DH and I can have a weekend to ourselves in a hotel in town. Doesn't sound too bad!

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I really appreciate the perspective!

Swaygirl

[SwayGirl]

SwayGirl, please trust your instincts.  I'm still learning after 11 years how to manage my DD's allergy and how to pass on what I learned.  One thing I have learned is to be vigilant and trust your instincts.  If you don't sense that the people around you get it, then get away from them even it if means leaving a restaurant or party.  Don't hesitate to speak up for yourself.  We recently removed peanuts that were set out at my nephew's graduation and put them away somewhere before DD had a chance to see them.  Thankfully, there were outside on a patio but we still watched her.  (Though to be honest her exposure to the two cats and the dog in the house were as just as great a concern).

Maeve, thanks for the pep talk. I clearly need it. I'm still a bit surprised at how much I can doubt myself, when I am generally a very confident person and don't have a problem taking decisive action if I feel it's necessary. I hope that out of every experience like this trip I can get a step closer to where I need to be. I am definitely far more certain, usually, about what I'm feeling physically. But sometimes I find that I shy away from taking action, whether to remove myself or ask for help or take measures to treat a reaction... I suppose I'm pretty well socialized to suck it up and not be a drama queen, and when family or friends haven't adjusted to my new reality either, there's a lot of downplaying or minimizing on all fronts.

I do think the information about how safe certain situations "should" be has played into creating slivers of doubt in my mind, because these things shouldn't bother me, right? The comments I've gotten in this thread have really helped to adjust my perspective on these "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" and added much needed clarity. As always, I am so grateful for the support I've found here. It's a steep learning curve, these allergies, but thankfully every day I am learning.

Swaygirl

[brownie]

DS9 played soccer under a walnut tree 2 summers ago.  He spent some time on the ground.  His eyes swelled shut.  This kid is off the charts PA and very high to walnut but has NEVER had any other rxn (mostly thanks to luck and his older brother being diagnosed when he was 6mths old).  We didn't realize the walnut tree was there until after.  It is hanging over the neighbor's yard but grows in their neighbor's yard so we didn't think to note what kind of tree it was.

So now we know he is contact sensitive.  I think it's worse for kids because they tend to put their fingers in their mouths, rub their eyes, etc...but clearly this is a problem for some people.  My ds's can be next to someone eating a peanut butter sandwich but that's different from dust, crumbs and oil being everywhere and even potentially making into your mouth via other food.

Brownie

[SwayGirl]

My ds's can be next to someone eating a peanut butter sandwich but that's different from dust, crumbs and oil being everywhere and even potentially making into your mouth via other food.

Brownie,

Yes, exactly. I think in my original post I made it sound like the idea of walnut trees existing on the property was going to cause a major reaction for me. But I really don't know that there are no proteins anywhere else but the nut itself, and in the process of refining slabs of raw, fresh-cut wood in a commercial shop, particles are released everywhere, and with force, so they spread far and wide. I can make my son toast with Nutella and it doesn't bother me at all (except the memory of how yummy it is ), but I have had reactions in grocery stores just from some combo of contact via the cart and airborne, I think. It always is worst when I hit the bakery aisles. (It was really bad until I learned, via these boards, to always wipe down the cart before I shop. That helps a lot. I think I can handle whatever I'm reacting to in the air without the added insult of a sticky cart handle residue.) It is like the example Dr. Wood gives in the dummies book, that proximity to peanut butter would not be as problematic as being near someone shelling peanuts, which spews particles in the air. With peanut butter, it's bound up and not airborne. A tree minding it's own business is probably not a problem. But your son sitting on the ground under a tree and all its detritus and then possibly putting hands in mouth, or me spending time in a situation where years of dust and residue are everywhere, are maybe a little different.

Thanks for sharing that!
Swaygirl

[becca]

My dd has definately reacted with a swollen eye to residue.  Residue from others having had nuts or PB on the surface where she was later.  One instance, I knew and washed it well, and she still had a reaction.  It was her eyes, each time, and not anyphylactic.  But very uncomfortable.  She was upset and feeling like something was in her eye.  But then the swelling was the kicker.  As if she had a bug bite or something.  Resolved quickly once washed up and if I had benadryl on hand(once I did not). 

Nowadays, though, she can be at a baseball park withour problems.  We have also been at a basketball game and had a guy shelling peanuts behind us and she was fine.  So, she seems less sensetive to this exposure.  As I am sure PN is on surfaces at these venues. 

But I imagine the orchard type environment you describe is loaded.  If people walk in the orchards with dropped nuts on the ground, then on their shoes, come in the home, and then consume nuts all the time inside, there is bound to be alot of residue and chance for contact. 

Maybe benadryl or an antihistamine would help if you must go there?