Repeated accidental exposure to nuts-- should I say, To heck with it?"

[alsoSarah]

Dd is eleven months old. We've supposedly been waiting to introduce her to tree nuts and peanuts (per our ped's advice, "Just in case," as we have lots of environmental alergies (pets, pollen, beestings, dust mites, etc.) in our family. No food allergies, though.)

The thing is, when she was around seven or eight months old I fished pecan halves out of her mouth literally about *five times* over the course of a few days before I was able to find the snack container where the cats had been batting them out from!

She also once got a walnut chunk that fell from an apple pancake, a month or so ago.

The latest? Today, as I was cleaning up the kitchen, she pulled a peanut-buttery knife from the dishwasher and put it in her mouth. She was really bummed when I took it away.

Should I just throw in the towel and figure that she's fine with nuts from here on out, or should I continue to at least *theoretically* keep her away from them?

TIA,
alsoSarah

[47jennifer]

If you're feeling comfortable, I would go ahead and give her nuts. Peanut butter is my favourite food...and I remember wondering about DS even when he was a couple months old, as I'd offer him a finger to suck on only to realize there was PB on it! When DS was about 5 months,I asked my aunt, who's an allergist, whether food allergies would show up from this. She told me that if he was allergic, we'd probably know it, and that actually exposure to allergens seems to result in lower chance of allergy (contrary to older advice).

We ended up giving DS nuts "on purpose" by the time he was 11 months old. He loved PB toast right away, and it's such a good healthy snack, I was glad to be able to give it to him!

That being said, no kid needs nuts. If you're more comfortable waiting, then wait...it's all about your comfort level.

[JessieBird]

Same thing happened to us and I'm not worried anymore. DH is addicted to peanuts and peanut butter and though he was really careful in the beginning, he gradually got more relaxed about cleaning up perfectly, sharing a plate that might have pb smears on it with DS, dropping a peanut or two on the floor and just leaving it (), that sort of thing. There is no way that DS wasn't repeatedly exposed to peanuts in his first year. On several occasions I accidentally fed him foods that had nuts in them when I wasn't vigilant about asking for ingredients (home made granola at a friend's house, that sort of thing). So gradually we've stopped being careful. However, it isn't part of my routine to feed him nuts intentionally so he hasn't yet had pb on toast or pecan cookies or anything like that.

[Kmama2]

Just be cautious as if he does have an allergy it can develope after repeated exposure. WE have allergies in the family too.. cats, dust etc ( no food allergies either) DD got her first bite of peanut butter by accident in a cookie that I didn't know about.. then around 18 months old she ate some granola bars with PB in them or a few bites of a PB crackers. I noticed she would give a rash around her mouth afterwards. We had her tested and low and behold a reaction on skin test... she has asthma so now we carry an epi pen and are a nut free house as a peanut allergy is the least likely to be outgrown esp if the kid has asthma and just because she has had a mild reaction before doesn't mean she can't have a full blown anaphlatic reaction to peanuts at any time.

[alsoSarah]

Thanks, Mamas!


More opinions/anecdotes would be welcome, too.

alsoSarah

[sapphire_chan]

I have environmental allergies out the wahzoo and waited about 2 weeks after starting solids to let Lina have any nut butters.

She's had food reactions, but only to raw legumes.

[mambera]

I introduced nut butters around 9 mo. Start with a tiny taste, wait 3-5 min, if no reaction give larger taste. If still no reaction, good to go.

It sounds like your DD has been fine with small exposures. I'd keep going if I were you - nuts are super healthy, and as a PP said exposure actually can be helpful for allergy prevention. The cure for an allergy is actually desensitization by graded exposure.

[Kmama2]

Originally Posted by mambera

The cure for an allergy is actually desensitization by graded exposure.

Not something you want to do yourself though. Food reactions can be fatal- obviously.

[nola79]

I wouldn't worry about it at this point.

[GretchenC]

In generall, I am an AWFUL rule follower, so take this with a grain of salt. I say if your comfortable trying, go ahead and just watch for a reaction, like the rash someone mentioned. Best of luck!

[alsoSarah]