peanut allergy and eating other nuts

[momofmine]

Hi there,
I would like some insight from other folks with peanut allergic kids. My 3 yr old has a peanut allergy, and we are currently also avoiding all nuts just to be safe. I always suspected, even when he was a nursing baby drinking only breastmilk, that he was sensitive to peanuts. So I never gave them to him. The way I discovered he is truly allergic was through a couple of cross-contaminated things and then one time where he was accidentally given peanut butter instead of cashew butter and he had a full reaction.

So, no more peanuts in the house. Ever. Before we knew he had a true allergy, he ate cashew butter and almond butter regularly. He actually ate cashew butter a lot. Of course, it was the kind that said, processed on shared equipment with peanuts. After we discovered he was truly allergic, and we stopped all nuts too, I noticed that before stopping nuts, he occassionally would have very small, very mild patches of eczema. It was never that bad, and I never tried to figure out what it was, because it was so minor, but that stopped after we stopped all the nuts.

So, what I don't know is if the eczema (which was really very occassional, very mild, and very minor) was from the nut butters, or from the fact that they could have had traces of peanuts in it.

We used to be on the SCD for my older son, and for some other health reasons, I think we need to go back to that, but it would be really nice to be able to eat some nuts again. What do you do about other nuts? I am considering trying some, like Tierra Farms, that do not process any peanuts. We are not having him tested now. We know he is allergic to peanuts.

Any thoughts?

[imagine21]

Peanuts are not nuts, they are peas (legumes.) Nuts grow on trees. If your ds is allergic to peanuts this has NOTHING to do with tree nuts. Some people are allergic to both but these are separate allergies. If your ds has eaten cashew and almond butter in the past, you can be confident that he does NOT have a tree nut allergy.

I am 40 yo and allergic to tree nuts. I have been able to eat peanuts without worry my whole life.

[4Blessings]

Depending on the study, 34-50% of peanut allergic individuals have coexisting tree nut allergies. (Peanut Allergy Answer Book by Dr. Young).

My DS was diagnosed with PA at 11 mo. Was negative for all treenuts through age four. He developed an allergy to cashews sometime between the testing at age four and age five. We have avoid all tree nuts since 11 mo. old.

We continue to avoid all tree nuts. It just isn't worth it for us. We do use some soy butter and frequently use Sunbutter (sunflower seed).

I have seen almonds that are available without peanut cross contamination if you do choose to use nuts. I believe the brand is Blue Diamond?

I would discuss this with your allergist to be sure. IMHO it isn't worth the chance.

[Chinese Pistache]

Originally Posted by imagine21

Peanuts are not nuts, they are peas (legumes.) Nuts grow on trees. If your ds is allergic to peanuts this has NOTHING to do with tree nuts. Some people are allergic to both but these are separate allergies. If your ds has eaten cashew and almond butter in the past, you can be confident that he does NOT have a tree nut allergy.

I am 40 yo and allergic to tree nuts. I have been able to eat peanuts without worry my whole life.

This is true, but I absolutely wouldn't give nut products that are procesed in the same facility as peanuts. They might be tough to find, though. Have you heard of Sunbutter? It's produced in a peanut-free facility.

[Handsomesmomma]

My ds was diagnosed through testing with peanut allergy at 11 mths and his allergist told us to steer clear of all nuts. That peanut allergy book is really great too

[momofmine]

yes, we use Sunbutter a lot. The main reason why I have been avoiding all tree nuts too is because of the cross contamination issue. Most places that process nut butters, etc, also do peanuts. So we've just avoided all to be sure. But I was considering trying nuts that are processed peanut-free, I think there are a few around. I was just curious what other people do.
Thanks for the book rec!

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by imagine21

If your ds has eaten cashew and almond butter in the past, you can be confident that he does NOT have a tree nut allergy.

Cashew and almonds are not the only tree nuts that someone could potentially be allergic to.

My ds is allergic to peanuts and cashews (anaphylatic), highly allergic to almonds, and mildly allergic to a bunch of others. He is not allergic to pecans.

We avoid all nuts because of cross contamination issues. While we could get pecans in the shell and shell them ourselves, I think to allow ds to have this one type of nut may be somewhat confusing to him. It's easier to say "No peanuts, no nuts." When he gets older and can fully distinguish all nuts for himself, then he can know that pecans (under safe circumstances) are ok. Right now, I'm not taking the chance.

[momofmine]

I guess I was just thinking that, potentially, anybody can be allergic to anything, and anybody can also develop an allergy to anything at any point. So, if he is only allergic to peanuts, and not tree nuts, and we could get some tree nuts from places that would not have cross contamination issues with peanuts, then that would be a reasonable thing to do. We also have gut issues in our house, and grains are a problem. So it would be great to be able to use some nuts again.

I was just curious what others do. When you talk to most people about peanut allergies, they don't seem to realize what it really means, so that's why I'm asking here.

[4Blessings]

Originally Posted by momofmine

I guess I was just thinking that, potentially, anybody can be allergic to anything, and anybody can also develop an allergy to anything at any point. So, if he is only allergic to peanuts, and not tree nuts, and we could get some tree nuts from places that would not have cross contamination issues with peanuts, then that would be a reasonable thing to do. We also have gut issues in our house, and grains are a problem. So it would be great to be able to use some nuts again.

I was just curious what others do. When you talk to most people about peanut allergies, they don't seem to realize what it really means, so that's why I'm asking here.

Sure, you can be allergic to anything but you are more likely to be allergic to things like treenuts, peanuts, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat, corn, sesame, soy, etc. So I would be very careful introducing the top ten+ food allergens to a child with allergic tendencies. And as stated above, upto 50% of individuals with peanut allergy also have a tree nut allergy. Tree nut allergies also tend to be life-long and serious. All reasons to be careful.

Good Luck with your decision

[momofmine]

Originally Posted by Proud2BeAnAmerican

Sure, you can be allergic to anything but you are more likely to be allergic to things like treenuts, peanuts, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat, corn, sesame, soy, etc. So I would be very careful introducing the top ten+ food allergens to a child with allergic tendencies. And as stated above, upto 50% of individuals with peanut allergy also have a tree nut allergy. Tree nut allergies also tend to be life-long and serious. All reasons to be careful.

Good Luck with your decision

Yes, I hear what you are saying. I wonder why that many people with peanut allergy also have tree nut allergy, when people talk all the time about how they are not even the same type of food (legume vs nut).

I understand what you're saying about being careful with the top allergens, it's just that he had already eaten all those foods, even many kinds of tree nuts, on a regular basis, and does not have any other allergies. I think my whole family does better without dairy, but he does not have an allergy to it.

Even though he was already eating many types of tree nuts, I decided to cut them out for now because of the cross contamination thing. Anyway, I am just thinking out loud here, so it's always helpful to process things like this and hear other perspectives.
Thanks!

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by momofmine

Yes, I hear what you are saying. I wonder why that many people with peanut allergy also have tree nut allergy, when people talk all the time about how they are not even the same type of food (legume vs nut).

You will want to read this & it also has good information on food families in general. I learned something new: I had no idea that maple syrup could be a problem for a person with a tree nut allergy.

http://food-allergies.suite101.com/a...nuts_allergies