Talking Allergies

Since our daughter's allergies and her level of sensitivity have been a big growth curve for people in our lives including ourselves, it wasn't a big shock when we had our second and from what felt like the moment he was born, people have been asking "Does he have allergies?!" - my standard answer has been "not yet" as in truth I have known that he could (a) not have any (b) develop them later in life or (c) we might not have had exposure to his allergen(s). Besides, it gets tiresome being "the allergy family" let's talk about something else!

Anyway, got the allergist referral today... looks like we might be heading into peanut territory. Not scary at all somehow, just new twists in kitchen management - I am sure I will be looking for tips from all you familys with D-MFAs: different multiple food allergies in the same living space!

The cute part, my daughter was so delighted! And "he has allergies just like me! and to the same one as my friends "C" and "M"!" couldn't help but smile...

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renie
daughter: ana for egg, sesame, dairy, pistachio/cashew/hazelnut. allergic on contact. allergic to soy protein isolate. other lesser allergies (e.g. dogs, dust mites). well controlled asthma. eczema.
son: p-p-p-p-peanuts

Thanks for the update, Renie. In a weird way, finding out that a second child has allergies is much easier the second time around, because you have already gone through the steep learning curve, come to terms with it, etc. It's pretty much like what it's like to have a second child - you are calmer, you sort of know what to expect, etc. At least that is what I have found.

It is challenging to have different MFAs, but it is do-able. And to have them both allergic is to have them both "in the same boat", which can be easier on some levels.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Why must life be so difficult

I'm sure you will find peanut much easier to avoid than your daughter's allergens. I always thought sesame is particularly challenging...

Let us know what the allergist finds.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

In a weird kind of way it is not such a bad thing that they both have food allergies. I think they feel less different because in their little world their closest ally also has food allergies. One of our concerns as parents of kids with food allergies is that they will feel different or apart from others. That's not their reality in the home which is where they spend most of their time at the beginning. It's a strange kind of blessing.

My youngest is the one with lots of allergies and he's always happy to say but I'm not allergic to fish, I'm not allergies to shrimp!!

If you are already dealing with sesame, I don't think you will find nuts or peanuts as difficult as you think. It seems to me that sesame and dairy are the most limiting allergens that we deal with.

It does get easier and quite manageable, it becomes second nature eventually!

Denise

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Oldest son 9: allergic to fish and shellfish, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites
Youngest son, 5: allergic to peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, sesame, kiwi, asthma, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites

Just to add to my earlier post, I wouldn't wish food allergies on anyone but since we have no control over whether our children will have food allergies or not, when you find out that your second child also has allergies you start to look for silver linings. This is one of those unexpected little pluses. For us, some of the other pluses have been eating much healthier, eating fresh home made bread, and we save alot on restaurant meals.

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Oldest son 9: allergic to fish and shellfish, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites
Youngest son, 5: allergic to peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, sesame, kiwi, asthma, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites

Thanks everyone for the support. It is odd but I don't have any negative feelings and honestly am just glad that he tolerates other highly allergic foods such as wheat which I think would be much more difficult to manage.
Unless he becomes reactive to an open peanut butter jar (G-d forbid) I don't foresee peanuts beng difficult to manage except that it is one of our daughter's staples. I think that there is way more public understanding and acceptance of peanut (and nuts) over things like soy, sesame, wheat, fish etc.
I do think that they will have more mutual understanding if they both have an allergen. What I do have to admit I hope is that we draw the line at one priority allergen vs muliple or a non-prioritised one (life was VERY difficult before sesame was prioritised...)

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renie
daughter: ana for egg, sesame, dairy, pistachio/cashew/hazelnut. allergic on contact. allergic to soy protein isolate. other lesser allergies (e.g. dogs, dust mites). well controlled asthma. eczema.
son: p-p-p-p-peanuts

Introduce your daughter to Sunbutter- sunflower seed butter. I like it more than PB. It is addictive.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

Time to update the signature...

We lucked out and got a cancellation appointment with our allergist. Anyway, we had the appointment today and it confirms what I already knew - peanuts are out for my little man. Didn't do extensive testing - just the peanuts, egg, treenut mix. Negative at this point for egg (he's had it once) and treenuts (no exposure unless through breastmilk).

May be time for me to invest in a labelling machine and re-organising the kitchen. While the allergist advocates eliminating it from the house (but also the importance to continue to provide it to our allergic daughter to keep her "immunity" to it - where do you feed a kid peanuts in public these days?!) it simply doesn't seem practical to further limit a very limited diet and deprive her of a favourite, comfort food. Sigh. Maybe time to actually invest in a VitaMix machine ($$$) so that we can make alternative "nut" butters at home ...

Isn't it crazy? Peanut doesn't scare me. What makes me uncomfortable is now that we know that there is one allergy, it is the thought of what else is possibly looming around the corner? And when to introduce my once-favourite-now-nemisis food: sesame. (Perhaps this one is my "fear" - people don't get it, it is everywhere, really hasn't been prioritised long and was also our anaphylaxis initiation)

It's actually good insight too - we have no idea what his real sensitivity is - obviously we are going to take it very seriously but I suppose this is how some people don't perceive allergies as a big risk - if we didn't have several anaphylactic episodes in our past, I wonder if we would really "get" it if this was our first experience. It is very eye opening for me and perhaps something that will make me more tolerant -- maybe some of those people with allergies in their lives who don't "get" what we deal with day to day have only had this sort of benign introduction?

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renie
daughter: ana for egg, sesame, dairy, pistachio/cashew/hazelnut. allergic on contact. allergic to soy protein isolate. other lesser allergies (e.g. dogs, dust mites). well controlled asthma. eczema.
son: p-p-p-p-peanuts

We also worried that our oldest son could develop a peanut allergy if not exposed to it for a long time. Our allergist recommended, a few years ago, that we give him M&M's. They are easy to control and contain. We keep them in a high cupboard and when we give them to him, he eats them out of a spoon, opens wide while I pour them in and then we wash up carefully. We only ever do it when we have the time to be careful or vigilant, never when we are rushed. Our youngest does know where they are and what they are, I think it's less likely that he'll be curious and try them accidentally even though he doesn't typically put stuff in his mouth without checking.

Ironically this same allergist told us this summer that it wasn't likely that our oldest would develop a peanut allergy. Not sure why, he was the one who recommended the M&M"s as a good idea. I think there is still lots of unknown in the science we call food allergies. We do our best, that's all we can do.

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Oldest son 9: allergic to fish and shellfish, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites
Youngest son, 5: allergic to peanuts, nuts, dairy, eggs, sesame, kiwi, asthma, pollens, pets, mould and dustmites