Question:
When ds was 2 we confirmed that he was
allergic to peanut butter. prior to confirmation he ended up with hives
anywhere pb touched so we got him tested (skin test) and it was a clear
positive. We avoided pb for the next two years and negligible blood test
numbers(RAST) made the doctors suspect he was not allergic anymore. He had
an oral challenge and passed. We were advised to give him pb and he was fine
after that. Now he's turning six and the past few times he's had it he told
me his throat and mouth felt a little bit itchy. Not a lot, but enough that
he doesn't want to eat it anymore (I think mostly for fear of a reaction).
Maybe he was never truly allergic (he never had a GI reaction) but has a
sensitivity instead? I plan to see his allergist and ped about this soon,
but is it possible that an allergy could come back?
Answer:
My nephew is the same, diagnosed early (not sure how old he was) that he
was allergic to peanuts, avoided them. After a couple of years found he is
no longer allergic and so eats pb, in fact the immunologist, suggested to
eat it frequently. He is now almost 5 with no problems. Perhaps I need to give my sister a heads up about this. My nephew has a
few problems and would not be articulate enough to express this kind of
information. Having a GI reaction doesn't mean anything, if you mean causing
vomiting and diarrhea. He could be severely allergic and never have
that type of a GI reaction. It's more likely it never went away in the first place. I'd just skip
the nuts altogether until he is an adult. My understanding of allergies is that the body needs multiple exposures
to the allergen in order to "learn" to react. It's possible that your DS's body "forgot" how to react to the peanut
allergy during those years when there was no exposure. In fact, I'm
confident that was the goal of zero exposure, and apparently you did a
good job. However, with renewed exposure, it may be that your DS's body has
"relearned" an allergic reaction to peanuts, and that he's now on the
path to a full-scale peanut allergy. The itchy throat is a major warning sign. If I were you, I'd ban
peanuts from him and your house completely and get him a new blood test
(preferably NOT a skin test) for peanut allergy. I'd call up the
pediatrician and allergist PROMPTLY to notify about the new reactions so
that they can note it for their files, and write "peanut allergy" on all
school and camp forms until and unless proven incorrect. Do see how
fast you can get a new epi-pen prescription, since nut allergies have a
bad habit of escalating towards anaphylaxis. If the problem proves not to be nut allergy, taking precautions means
you've lost a few co-pays and perhaps some sleep. But if the nut
allergy is alive again, failing to take precautions could be deadly.
