I've posted before about Ahren's delayed allergy to peanuts. I'm really grateful he doesn't have a primary allergy that we have to avoid all contact with peanuts for fear of a reaction or worse, anaphylaxis. We go back to the homeopathic dr. this week to talk about what his diet should look like long term. He has had no peanuts for 3 weeks now and has been migraine free! Even after a week of vacation which included swimming and playing mini golf in the 90+ degree weather and irregular sleep he didn't once complain of feeling sick.
Maria on the other hand does have a primary allergy. I gave her a PB&J sandwich for the first time the night before we left on our trip. I gave all of my kids PB at 12 mos., just like the dr. recommended. (She recommended waiting until 12 mos. to introduce it). Maria had less than a tsp. However, an hour later she started vomiting (in the car), breaking out in welts, swelling and redness in her face, frantically itching at her ears and coughing and crying a lot! I knew right away she was having a reaction to the PB. I called my friend Caroline who has a lot of experience dealing with food allergies with her kids and asked her what I should expect. Do we need to go straight to the ER or can we give her benadryl and wait to see if it takes affect? How long should we wait? Is it okay if she falls asleep? Caroline gave me good advice and told me what to watch for and assured me she and her husband would be praying. After Maria barely got the benadryl in her (she had trouble swallowing because her throat was swollen) the redness started to fade and she fell asleep in her carseat. Tim and I had taken the kids to the church's parents night out and we had planned to go to dinner. We took Maria with us and drove towards the hospital to eat in case we needed to get her to the ER. We got carry out at Qdoba and by that time she was awake from her nap and seemed happy. After a long talk with the nurse on call we decided she didn't need to be seen at the ER. I knew what to watch for and felt confident that she was going to be ok. We put her to sleep in our room that night so we could monitor her and gave her one more dose of benadryl at midnight because there were still a few welts on her face. When she woke up the next morning she was like new - like nothing had ever happened.
Maria goes to the dr. tomorrow for her 1 year check up so we'll get a plan of action for how to approach her diet in the future. Obviously it will not include peanuts....but I wonder if she might outgrow it? Wouldn't that be nice?
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