Welcome => Welcome and Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: Starearedkid on February 13, 2013, 08:28:44 PM
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Title: New to allergies
Post by: Starearedkid on February 13, 2013, 08:28:44 PM
My husband & I have absolutely no food allergies. No one in our families have food allergies. No asthma, eczema, nothing.
However, our 21 month old daughter we found last summer had a mild egg allergy. Because of the allergy--our allergist told us to avoid all foods with eggs in them. He suspects she may outgrow it. We got her retested this week, and she still has it. He also confirmed a peanut allergy. I suspected a sesame seed allergy as well. Her skin test of tree nuts and sesame seeds were inconclusive. So we are waiting for the blood work on that--along with chick peas. (She reacted to hummus).
Hopefully we have some answers soon. She did have sun dried pesto with pine nuts awhile back with no reaction to it. :)
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: Macabre on February 14, 2013, 07:43:47 AM
Welcome! Sorry you had to find us. :-/
So often when kids outgrow it's more around the age of 5. But with egg and dairy it can be earlier (can be earlier with peanut, too, but not as often).
Has she reacted to peanut? Skin Prick Tests have a high false positive test, so I'm glad you also got bloodwork done. Even that can be wrong--reaction history is the true guide (I am NOT suggesting you give her peanuts--just saying that testing can have incorrect results).
Pine nuts are from a different family than peanuts. My son is not allergic to them according to blood tests (and skin tests). However, he has yet to have them, because getting them from a peanut free facility is difficult. Most pine nuts come from China and Russia. Our family doesn't eat food that doesn't come from the US or Canada--with a few trusty exceptions. There are some American pinenut manufacturers, but it's very seasonal. My son is in high school and loves pesto made without pine nuts.
Sesame is very tricky with regard to eating out--and so is egg.
I'm glad you found our community! I hope we're a helpful and supportive place.
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: hezzier on February 14, 2013, 08:14:41 AM
Welcome! There is so much great information here. I've learned so much from this board.
Just a quick note, since you suspect a sesame allergy, hummus contains tahini which is made from sesame.
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: rebekahc on February 14, 2013, 08:34:01 AM
Hi and welcome! I'm glad you found us, but sorry you needed to :)
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: Mfamom on February 14, 2013, 10:03:52 PM
Hi & welcome. Peanuts are actually from the Legume family (not nuts) so it isn't surprising to see chick peas as a possiblity for an allergen since they are in the same food family (along with peas, soy, etc). Hopefully, the tests will give you more information. Did your doctor prescribe epinephrine? If not, you might ask about whether she should carry that in case she has a reaction.
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: TabiCat on February 15, 2013, 06:57:51 PM
Hi! So glad I found us. This journey can be a rollercoaster but these people make it easier.
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: lakeswimr on February 16, 2013, 07:54:16 AM
Welcome! Did she ever have a reaction to egg? As other said, testing alone can't diagnose an allergy, even if you test positive to both blood and skin testing. Positive tests were found to be WRONG over 80% of the time. However, negative test results have a much better accuracy rate -- about 90 to 92% accurate. But there is still that 8 to 10% for whom positive results are not accurate. So, if your child reacted to hummus then your child very well may be allergic to sesame.
What were the symptoms she had from eating hummus.
As others said, it isn't possible to diagnose a food allergy just by testing so if you have not yet seen a reaction to peanuts that may or may not be an allergy for your child.
Title: Re: New to allergies
Post by: lakeswimr on March 29, 2013, 10:23:15 AM
Testing alone can't diagnose a food allergy so unless you have reason to suspect a particular food is an allergens I would not test for foods. You could easily end up with a bunch of false positive results that lead you to avoid foods needlessly. Anything to which you have not seen a reaction might be a false positive. What lead you to test for eggs, etc? What reactions have you seen? Testing can NOT tell whether a reaction will be 'mild' or potentially life threatening and so if you have an IgE food allergy you should treat it as potentially life threatening and have epi pens. I'm worried that your allergist might not be that great if he/she told you your child's allergy is 'mild'. There is no way to know that from standard testing. There is a more recent test for peanuts that can tell who is at risk of anaphylaxis but it is a special test not usually used yet.