Seasame - pls tell me he's been exposed..

[AdminCM]

http://allergy.hyperboards.com/action/view_topic/topic_id/19888

Posted: Aug 24th, 2011 at 10:25 pm    
Last year DS had bloodwork done and came up positive to Seasame and shelfish.

we were given vauge instructios to avoid.

this year we went back - no testing but got an opinion from the doc...

she says

avoid seasame
avoid any bivalves

if you want him to try other shelfish..crab/shrimp/lobster schedule an in office food challenge

try treenuts at home...he already eats hazelnuts safely

********************************

so my questions

1)outside of OBVIOUS sorces....where might my boy have been exposed to (or is being exposed to) seasame? I'm hoping that he is safely eating it and I just haven't identified it yet.   

2) Diamond Almonds are peanut safe - yes?

PurpleCat
Member

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 08:27 am    
Sesame seeds, paste and oil can be (as an ingredient, not topping) in crackers, breads, crunchy snacks, salad dressing, dip, marinades, rubs, and bread crumbs.

lakeswimr
Member

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 10:36 am    
Sesame is also often in things like pretzels, corn chips, soup, soy sauces, asian food, etc. It is an ingredient in hummus.

It is our most difficult allergen to avoid. It is in minute amounts/x-contam in a LOT of the above things that Purple Cat and I listed. Even if you eat a bread that doesn't list sesame or 'may contain sesame' on the packaging most breads are made on pans that also cook sesame containing breads and these pans are not washed in between and are littered with sesame seeds according to the many bread companies I spoke with on my 2 year quest to find a safe bread for my son.

My son has had serious reactions to foods that had nothing to indicate the presence of sesame in them on the label (tiny, tiny amounts of these foods) that were x-contamed with sesame. Awareness of sesame allergy is increasing but it is less known than the top 8 and many companies still do not clean for it or treat it as an allergen. It has the potency of peanuts so it is super potent and tiny minute amounts can cause x-contam reactions. I would think your child has had some type of sesame exposure.

There was a study that showed some huge % of kids who test positive to sesame are not allergic. I think it was like 78% or some high % like that. There is also the recent National Jewish Hospital study that said over 80% of kids who were diagnosed by test results alone weren't allergic to those foods.

I would want to challenge before avoiding. My guess is that your allergist did not tell you HOW to avoid sesame. Sesame is often in foods that say, "spice" or "natural flavor" and it can be listed by many other names such as till and benne and more in Canada and maybe in the USA, too. It is a top allergen and required to be labeled in canada, though. If you are in the USA and didn't know sesame could be hidden, etc you are probably eating foods that have at least some.

The rate for peanut allergic children testing falsely positive to sesame is higher than others, I *think*. I think I remember reading that. I didn't pay that much attention since DS for sure has a sesame allergy. This is one allergy you DON'T want! It is a PITA and very difficult to truly avoid. If you don't have it it would be good to know. There have been no studies yet to tell us PPV and NPV for sesame so skin and blood tests for sesame don't mean anything necessarily, even! They give less info than skin and blood tests for allergens like peanuts, eggs and milk, in any case.

Why did you have sesame tested?

CMdeux
Moderator1

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:26 am    
I'm finding it extremely peculiar that you were advised to avoid BIVALVES if your DS had a positive test for crustaceans.




What am I missing here??

Stinky6
Member

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:28 am    
Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:26 am, CMdeux wrote:
I'm finding it extremely peculiar that you were advised to avoid BIVALVES if your DS had a positive test for crustaceans.




What am I missing here??


he tested pos to both but less so/borderline to crustaceans

I'm fairly certian he's had shrimp before....but not completely certain

Stinky6
Member

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:32 am    
Aug 25th, 2011 at 08:27 am, PurpleCat wrote:
Sesame seeds, paste and oil can be (as an ingredient, not topping) in crackers, breads, crunchy snacks, salad dressing, dip, marinades, rubs, and bread crumbs.


thanks...I'm going to check all of our products...but because of the way I cook and PA he doesn't get a lot of those things...

crackers....wheat thins, goldfish,saltines, cheese its
bread - a variety but all determined peanut safe - mostly Franz whole wheat white - thomases english muffins
crunchy snacks....tortilla chips, corn chips   
hardly any if at all...salad dressing, dip, marinade, rub or bread crumbs that aren't homemade...

Stinky6
Member

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:34 am    
lakeswimmer - I have read that PA kid test pos and are more likely to be allergic to seasame...

since we had this result last year - we changed NOTHING and have had no reactions...

what I'd love to hear is that seasame is in Hienz ketchup....then I know he's not allergic - LOL

thanks everyone....off to work

SilverLining
Moderator1

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:40 am    
Aug 24th, 2011 at 10:25 pm, Stinky6 wrote:

1)outside of OBVIOUS sorces....where might my boy have been exposed to (or is being exposed to) seasame? I'm hoping that he is safely eating it and I just haven't identified it yet.   



If I were to place a bet, I would say your son HAS been exposed to sesame. A lot of people on this forum dealing with sesame do not take the same measures they do with peanut. They avoid the obvious sesame, but don't avoid the cross contamination. Maybe your son is allergic but not yet sensitive enough to be reacting to trace amounts. Maybe he never will. Or like me, maybe every exposure will increase his sensitivity.

I admit it drives me crazy when people don't treat sesame allergy as seriously as they treat pa. I try to stay out of those threads, but since you are asking, I'm answering with my opinion.

CMdeux
Moderator1

Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:42 am    
Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:28 am, Stinky6 wrote:
Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:26 am, CMdeux wrote:
I'm finding it extremely peculiar that you were advised to avoid BIVALVES if your DS had a positive test for crustaceans.




What am I missing here??


he tested pos to both but less so/borderline to crustaceans

I'm fairly certian he's had shrimp before....but not completely certain


Oh. That makes more sense, then.

Hmmm... well, you could poke around down in the SFA forum, but I know that he's probably been exposed if he's eaten anything fried in a shared fryer in a restaurant... let's see, Worcestershire also is often contaminated.

Fish?

A lot of fish (other than local salmon) is contaminated. The only "store" salmon that I eat is the stuff from Costco, which has historically been fine. I've had a LOT (as in about 80-90% of the time) of issues with cross-contamination with fish from other places. (Other than getting it from friends who fish, of course.)


Sesame--

flatbread? Pitas? both are often cross-contaminated.



As a follow on to what SL is saying above-- I think I'd want more than test results or cross-contaminated stuff to go by, here. For all three allergens (bivalves, sesame, and crustaceans).

Where you live, the bivalves and crustaceans are HARD to avoid in any restaurant situation (just like they are for us)... and sesame is just plain really hard to avoid period.

Better to challenge and really KNOW, at least IMO.


[ Guest ]lakeswimr
Posted: Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:47 am    
Aug 25th, 2011 at 11:32 am, Stinky6 wrote:
Aug 25th, 2011 at 08:27 am, PurpleCat wrote:
Sesame seeds, paste and oil can be (as an ingredient, not topping) in crackers, breads, crunchy snacks, salad dressing, dip, marinades, rubs, and bread crumbs.


thanks...I'm going to check all of our products...but because of the way I cook and PA he doesn't get a lot of those things...

crackers....wheat thins, goldfish,saltines, cheese its
bread - a variety but all determined peanut safe - mostly Franz whole wheat white - thomases english muffins
crunchy snacks....tortilla chips, corn chips   
hardly any if at all...salad dressing, dip, marinade, rub or bread crumbs that aren't homemade...


DS has Heinz ketchup just fine. wheat thins--most are fine but some have flavors and we avoid, goldfish should be fine for sesame and saltines and cheeseits. Bread--see above. Which tortilla chips? Which corn chips?

Stinky6
Member

Posted: Yesterday at 01:35 pm    
well - he ate almonds (we've been told this should be fine for years -but finally did it)
he didn't like them, but didn't react at all

think next will be shelfish challenge at dr's office

CM - we don't often eat out - but we eat salmon alot, weekly depending on price - we buy from QFC - sometimes Costco - and I've never worried about xcont ( didn't think I had to)

he eats fried corn dogs (YUCK!!) at Red Robin - I know they have fried shrimp at least

he eats sirlion at Outback - tons of shrimp there

I hate to type this....but I just dont think he's allergic to seasame or shellfish - bivalvues.... maybe? but the other two I just dont believe it....but I am taking it seriously and following dr's recommendation - which is to avoid...but not remove or change anything that you are doing if he's not reacting to it. ...make sense?

[CMdeux]

I only saw this last night-- sorry Stinky, I have been busy... <ahem>

I think you're probably right.