I just thought of something else.  My DH travels frequently so we have a rule that when he is out of town...there are NO new foods for dinner. 

Quote from: hezzier on March 07, 2013, 04:50:34 PM

Also, it took me a while, but I learned to trust my son's instincts when food causes a reaction even if mild.  He whole heartedly claimed he didn't like nuts (diagnosed at 4 with TNA), but I had never given them to him because they were a choking hazard.  A couple years after his diagnosis, I made meringue cookies.  After he said his throat was scratchy and sure enough on his next skin test, egg was positive...he had never been tested for egg, because again, he didn't like them so didn't eat them as plain egg.

YEP. This was me, to a T. I was a picky kid, but the aversion to foods I was allergic to was *different*. I noticed the same arc when I began to develop new allergies as an adult.

If your son's a picky eater in general, it might help to ask him *why* he dislikes specific foods when it comes up--things like "it makes my tongue feel weird" are decent, if far from universal, tells. My parents assumed I was just being dramatic when I told them I wouldn't eat PB because "It sticks in my throat and makes my ears funny." Spoiler: Yeah, not so much.

Okay, yeah, I definitely would ask for a blood test right away. Being on this learning curve is tough enough without having to avoid foods unnecessarily.

But--I would want to clear foods that he doesn't seem negative to in the bloodwork in a doctor's office--called an In-office Food Challenge.  And really--if your allergist has been that (un)helpful, I might consider a different one if after working with this one a bit more you're not satisfied. 

I'm going to quote from what I just typed in your other thread.

Quote from: Macabre on March 08, 2013, 02:05:52 PM

Some things you should know about labeling: it's not as helpful as it needs to be.  Companies only have to label for the top 8 allergens if they are actual ingredients. However, some children have reactions to trace amounts that can remain on equipment--even if the manufacturer says they clean well.  Manufacturers are not required by law to label for shared lines--just actual ingredients.  Some companies label "may contain."  Just believe them. Some of that labeling is CYA, but at this point, just believe them if it says may contain.

However, know that just because a label doesn't say it contains the allergen doesn't necessarily mean that it 100% doesn't. 

Some companies are known for labeling for shared lines:  General Mills, Keebler (Keebler may be a GM brand), Pillsbury, Hershey.

What our allergist told us:
No Asian food unless you make it yourself (most all restaurants don't fully clean the woks, and the cashew or peanut or sesame or shellfish protein remainPF Chang, and they are good abotu serving folks with food allergies--but at this point, I'd just stay away from all Asian restauratns)

No ice cream parlors

No chocolate unless you know it's safe

No bakery items

Carry the epi everywhere (at least two). Make sure you don't let it be exposed to extreme cold or heat. 

he has had sixlets before. He likes them, but since they are shaped different than M&Ms they are not an acceptable substitute (for him, he's 4 and kind of funny about stuff like that) LOL

I bought 2 bags of skippers so those should last him a while. And it is good to know there are other kinds of chocolate I can find in the local stores.

Is there a certain brand of chocolate chips that are safe? He loves chocolate chips in cookies, pancakes, and muffins

Around Valentine's day we found Hershey-ets where were labeled as safe. Too bad they're only seasonal but maybe they'll have some at Easter too.

another option is Smarties from Canada. We buy them from http://www.peanutfreeplanet.com

We find Sixlets at our local Michael's store.   I very definitely prefer them to M&M's, which I've never especially cared for.

Yes, Sixlets are a great M&M alternative.  My DD who can have both prefers Sixlets.  I've also seen them sold at Party City and Hobby Lobby.  They have large-ish single color bags and mixed color bags there.  Hobby Lobby has them in both the party section and the wedding section.

Do you live near an AC Moore?  They now carry bags of Sixlets in their cake decorating area.  They do not look like M&M's.  They are round, candy coated chocolate in lots of really cool colors.  They are made in Canada and are Peanut Free - it's on the package.

I also found them this weekend at Rite Aid in a bag....cellophane tubes of about 10 pieces in different colors for Easter.  (grabbed those for our egg hunt eggs) - the kids are home (snow day) or I'd grab the bag and give more info.

There is a candy store near me that sells them but by the scoop and therefore I would not buy them due to cross contamination.

My kids love them. 

Perhaps an alternate treat for your little one that won't be confused with M&M's.  My DD loved getting Skippers but I will say when she was 5/6 her friends were confused and wanted her to eat M&M's they brought.

Yes...  peanut is, next to milk, THE MOTHER OF ALL ALLERGENS in the preschool-through-elementary age group.  It's positively surreal.

If you have to avoid it, you'll find yourself sitting WITH your child in art classes, kindermusic, tot gym, etc. etc. etc.  Now, your child will be used to this after a time, and it won't bother the two of you so much, but it WILL label you "that helicopter mom" and "that freakish bubble boy with the wacko parents," and it will mean abruptly LEAVING playgrounds, parks, parties, bouncy places, etc. etc. etc.

You can definitely take my word for this one.  I've lived through these years with a peanut allergy. 

I can't imagine how torn I would have felt telling the kid-gymnastics instructor "yes, you really do need to go over the equipment with clorox wipes or soap and water" after she discovered that a child in another class had dropped a handful of peanuts inside a crawl-through tunnel if I hadn't known that my daughter's safety was truly on the line if she didn't.  I mean, I was apologetic, but I knew that the two or three hours' worth of work would matter the next time my DD was in that class the following week.

  KWIM? 


Even your church nursery is not necessarily a safe zone.  They MUST know how to use those autoinjectors, and they probably need to commit to keeping food OUT if your child is peanut allergic (far too many packaged snacks are going to contain peanuts and it'll be a nightmare for them to track it all).

The two nuts which have proven to be most problematic for my DD in terms of the need to control other people's behavior?  Peanuts and almonds.  They're in EVERYTHING.

Now that she's older, pistachios and cashews are a larger problem than they were when she was little, but peanut is still THE big problem.  We run into it everywhere.

People feed their DOGS peanut butter.  Seriously-- if your child is peanut-allergic, you have to worry about strangers' dogs.  Not kidding.  What if one licks his face?
(We've completely had this happen.  More than once.)

Actually, I am working within that exact framework, and yes I fully agree it is wonderful to have those years together. I attended preschool with my child through a co-op where I was a parent volunteer and later at a facility with an observation room attached directly to the room. Same for playgrounds, I run around with the kids trying to avoid the smartphone zombie MIA parents twiddling with their Facebook apps who treat other parents as impromptu babysitters.

Hopefully repositioning against previous assumption can alert you to the importance of discerning peanut as a life threatening allergen or not, even if you plan to homeschool. Eventually you have a high likelihood of wanting to use a public playground even if it's just your kids everyone else is unknown to you. Same for open time at gyms for homeschooled kids. Parents will be there jamming PB&Js down the kids or serving it right on the gym equipment. No, I have no idea why people have their kids picnic on equipment. Yes, it is gross.

Here's what I'm not saying. I'm not saying drop your kids off with strangers. I'm not saying run out and get a blood draw to test tomorrow. I'm not saying challenge peanut immediately. I'm not saying you can't or won't homeschool. (Although it may surprise you how many of us here homeschool or cyberschool with 504 plans in place.)

What I am saying is at this age peanut is a tremendous allergen in terms of potency, ubiquitousness, omnipresence and political matchpoint for the nostalgic. Crossing off that allergen would be life altering for the positive in terms of choices.

Please take it under consideration as you chart a course for management in the future. There's no need to take my word for it now but the difference lies not in whether or not you are close at hand. You aren't going to have the peanut--but others will and it will surprise you where and how often it crops up if you must avoid it. If you don't have to avoid it you will be blissfully unaware.

It's a formidable allergen for many reasons. I would never advise anyone to take it on under any circumstances unless it were truly necessary.

As for the reasons that contradict taking peanut out of the diet of a tree nut allergic child who is tolerating it I'm going to let someone else field it if they want to because I truly feel I won't do you justice on it in my current sleep deprived state.

It's perfectly normal for a lot of this to not make sense yet.

Quote from: twinturbo on March 07, 2013, 06:46:37 PM
You may want to consider clearing up peanut for more than just mass education. Homeschooling entails more than going solo I know I've done it for a bit. There's playdates, playgrounds, birthday parties, community events, the list never ends.

However, it might be prudent to keep peanut on maintenance in the diet for a child that has true tolerance. While studies on other allergens such as milk, egg and apple (yeah, apple's a weird one but I have it) show that tolerance declines without maintenance I think the most evidence exists for peanut maintenance. So for that reason alone it could be worth determining.

Someone more awake than me may want to massage my words there and correct my inaccuracies.

yes, I know But i still think it is nice that I can be with him all day (at least now while he is very young) instead of trusting someone else to watch out for him 7 hours a day 5 days a week. While I definitely appreciate all teachers do,  I prefer to keep my kids with me. At least I will only be responsible for my 4 kids and not a class of 20+ 

As for your 2nd paragraph, I am really sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about! What do you mean by "keep peanut on maintenance"? 

You may want to consider clearing up peanut for more than just mass education. Homeschooling entails more than going solo I know I've done it for a bit. There's playdates, playgrounds, birthday parties, community events, the list never ends.

However, it might be prudent to keep peanut on maintenance in the diet for a child that has true tolerance. While studies on other allergens such as milk, egg and apple (yeah, apple's a weird one but I have it) show that tolerance declines without maintenance I think the most evidence exists for peanut maintenance. So for that reason alone it could be worth determining.

Someone more awake than me may want to massage my words there and correct my inaccuracies.

I think he only tried peanut butter once. He told me he wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so I made him one. He took one bite and said "Yuck! This has peanut butter on it!" I hate peanut butter so at the time I just assumed he did too. He has had a few peanut M&Ms (he spit them out) Reese's Pieces (he thought they were M&Ms, he gagged and spit them out) a few bites of Nutella (hazelnut I think) carrot cake with walnuts, and pecans on sweet potatoes and pecan pie a few times. Other than that I cannot think of any time he has had nuts. He has never liked nuts, so he hasn't had them often. He never had a reaction to any of them until this past December.

My husband and I had already decided before we ever had kids that we would be homeschooling our children, so we do not have to worry about sending him off to school in August. The only time he is ever away from me is at church (I am in the same building) and when he is with my parents or my husbands parents.

We had considered sending him to a week long half day camp this summer. I emailed them about his allergy and this is the response I got "We have a few children extremely allergic to peanuts. We only provide peanut free snacks/meals. Some of the kids bring things from home and we strongly encourage them to be peanut free but there is no guarantee. As a precaution, we keep our allergic children away from food brought from home. (Similar to a peanut free zone). Of course, they are not isolated as we allow children with peanut free snacks to join them. I hope this helps!" (they also run a preschool, after school programs, and parent's night out.) I asked if their staff was trained in how to use an epi-pen and she said they were and that they had multiple children who brought epi-pens just in case.

Quote from: EmilyAnn on March 07, 2013, 04:09:36 PM
so should I ask for the blood test for him? to compare the results to the skin test? The allergist said it was an expensive test and she doesn't see the point in doing it. Would it give us more information? Of course I don't want my little one to go through a blood draw if he doesn't need to.

There probably isn't a reason to do it NOW....


but...

yes, at some point down the road, it would be really nice to know whether or not your son has elevated IgE to just one, most, some, or all tree nuts... and, probably most importantly, to peanuts.

Peanuts are a lot harder for kids to avoid than treenuts tend to be.  They are just present in a lot more "kid-friendly" foodstuffs, and they also tend to be present as cross-contamination in many, MANY more things.  So the bottom line is that not being PEANUT-allergic means less restrictive lifestyle modifications for him-- and, potentially, for his classmates.  It's a lot easier to advocate when you KNOW that you're doing it because you truly must do it, and not just because "probably" you should?  I mean, one thing to ask it of family-- quite another to ask 25 or 30 other families not to send PB+J in lunchboxes. 

Besides, I'm sure your DS would be happy to undergo a challenge in order to get M&M's back!!  (I feel for the guy-- my favorite foods are all off limits now, too, because of my shellfish allergy.  It really sucks.)  The VNF skippers aren't really the same candy, though they are reportedly similar.