Taking the plunge -- Introducing Nuts

[Italiamom]

(cross posted in the toddler forum)

I have a pretty severe allergy to two different nuts (although not peanuts, thankfully). When I say severe, I mean that if I eat those nuts, or something with those nuts in them, I puff up, my throat closes... It's an emergency situation. Because of this, we have held off on offering things with nuts to DS, who is 18 months today. While I could hold off longer, I know that it's inevitable that he will eventually have something with nuts in them. And I know that nut butters are a protein and calorie dense food, and would be a welcome addition to DS's diet.

This might sound silly, but I was hoping that maybe someone could walk me through how to introduce nuts to DS. If yours is a family with severe nut allergies, how did you do it? Did you feed them for the first few times in the ER parking lot? Did anyone have any catastrophic reactions on the first exposure, or did it take a few exposures? Can an anyaphylactic reaction be delayed (such as with other foods, where a rash shows up a day or two later? And if DS does have a severe reaction, are there things I should know in the ER? I've never been in a situation with DS where seconds count, but I know what that's like based on my own reactions to certain nuts.

I would ask our pediatrician, but the last time I saw her she spent the whole time berating me for extended breastfeeding (and no, switching peds is NOT an option for us right now, and is another thread entirely). Basically, I want to finally take the plunge on these last allergenic foods, but I'm pretty scared. Tips or advice for how you handled introductions, or a newly discovered nut allergy would be appreciated.

[changingseasons]

I'm just curious- how are you going to serve him nut products (and keep them in the house) if you are that allergic? Or are you just wanting to know if he's allergic before he has accidental contact?

The easiest thing to do would be just getting him tested. Can you ask your ped for a referral to an allergist based on your family history of anaphylactic allergies?

Otherwise, you can trial a food like this (at home, or the ER parking lot ):
- take some of the food and rub a little on the inside of his forearm. You can wash it off after about 5 minutes (or obviously before that, if there is a reaction.) Make sure you have a good soap with you that will get all the oils off the skin in case there is a reaction. Benadryl would also be good to have on hand, but it will not necessarily stop an anaphylactic reaction. Wait 20 minutes.
- If NO reaction, wipe some on his cheek. Wait 20 minutes.
- If NO reaction, put some on his lip. Wait 20 minutes.
- If NO reaction, put some on the inside of his lip or cheek. Wait 20 minutes.
- After that, if you've seen no hint of a reaction, you could feed him a tiny bit. But remember, often a reaction will happen on the 2nd exposure, so you might want to go through that whole process twice. I would wait at least a couple days between exposures.

[Italiamom]

Thanks for the feedback. I actually hadn't even thought about exposing him to the nuts I am allergic to. We (obviously) don't keep those in the house, and are very cautious about them. I am NOT allergic to almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, or pinenuts. We keep these nuts in our house, and I would like to resume using them in my cooking. Especially the peanuts and almonds... It would give us quite a few more options for DS's diet. But I know that my allergy to a few nuts, makes DS more likely to have an allergy to ANY nut. So I was more looking for how to introduce any nuts, not so much the nuts that I personally am allergic to. That could be pretty tricky!