[Matthias' mum]

I think my 7 month old DD is allergic to peanuts. She has had a reaction after DS has been eating peanut butter (I hadn't cleaned it off him yet). He played with her and kissed her, and she got hives on her hands (he was holding her hands) and on her face where he kissed her. This is the second time I've noticed a reaction after she has been playing with him after breakfast, and I've only just made the connection.

This time he had a lot of peanut butter on him, and she got hives where there was visible peanut butter on her skin, so I'm pretty sure it was the peanut butter. After I washed her, the hives went away after about 15 minutes.

Our GP is on holidays, but I'm obviously pretty concerned about it, so I will take her to see one of the other doctors at the medical centre. In the meantime, aside from getting rid of peanut products from the house while we wait for further testing, what else should we be doing?

Should we have an epipen just in case? I have had training in using them as I am a teacher. Not sure about using one on a baby though. I guess the doctor will answer these questions. I'm just so upset and stressed about it. It's awful to think my baby girl could have such a dangerous allergy.

[Jemstar]

Try not to freak out, getting skin reaction does not mean your child will have anaphylaxis. I wouldn't even remove all peanuts from the house as yet. I would make sure that your older child is washed clean after eating peanut butter and stress to him not to go near the baby when he's eating it. Then toddle off to the doctor and get a referral for testing. Being allergic can mean a variety of things, it is not always life threatening (in fact rarely so).

[gettheetoanunner...]

I agree with Jemstar.
Don't panic, be aware and get to GP.

With DS2, we had similar situation with peanut butter contact and younger brother. It happened twice, with the second exposure seeing all his skin hive and mottle in a three minute period, with his eyes swollen shut. He has asthma and eczema, and I wasn't sure if it was the peanut butter or a grass exposure, so I gave him a big shot of Zyrtec, a big hit on his puffer (although there was no wheezing or obvious signs of respiratory distress) and raced him up to emergency.

They suspected allergy/anaphylaxis, couldn't give an epipen, so referred to our GP. Our GP rang immune specialist who OK'd an epipen script, which we got and then we went to paed immune specialist. She did the tests and he had a very strong reaction to peanuts and eggs.

There are reports that suggest children with atopic disorders (like asthma and eczema) are at a higher risk for food related anaphylaxis.

We were also told that there was a good chance he would outgrow it, as a decent majority seem to do.

[Matthias' mum]

Thanks for the replies.

Forgot to add, DD is already allergic to Cows Milk Protein, has had a reaction (hives) when she ate corn, and until recently was covered in eczema from head to toe (it's now just a few patches here and there).

I guess my fear is that if it is a severe allergy, I don't want to find out the hard way... Do they test young babies via a prick test?

[somila]

We were also told that there was a good chance he would outgrow it, as a decent majority seem to do.

Who told you that? As far as I know 80% of people with peanut allergy will have it for life, and the 20% that outgrow it will usually do so before the age of 5. That's been the standard info for the last 10 years and I can't find anything recent that contradicts it.

OP I agree with don't panic (hah!), avoid contact with peanuts (my personal preference was to get it out of the house while my son was little, but being ultra-careful with cross-contamination will also work) and get a referral to a paed allergist asap.

Best wishes.

[somila]

Thanks for the replies.

Forgot to add, DD is already allergic to Cows Milk Protein, has had a reaction (hives) when she ate corn, and until recently was covered in eczema from head to toe (it's now just a few patches here and there).

I guess my fear is that if it is a severe allergy, I don't want to find out the hard way... Do they test young babies via a prick test?

Yes, young babies have a skin prick test. My DS#2 had a very early one on his back. Otherwise it will be on the arm. DS#1 has never been overly troubled by them (could be distracted by stroking, DVD etc) but others have reported that their children were upset, so I guess you need to be prepared for that.

[gettheetoanunner...]

Hi Somila

I've just pulled out his notes and the paed's handwritten info, and the comment that "prob. grow out of" is next to the notes regarding egg - not peanuts.

Seems I have been labouring under a furphy.

Apologies to OP (and others I gave a bum steer to) and thanks to Somila.

[mumtoactivetoddl...]

I was also told by rpa that egg is often grown out of, nuts is much less common to do. I was also told at rpa that they prefer to leave skin prick testing til about 10 months old if possible as it is more accurate.

[30bt]

I agree with Jemstar too!
Our skin has lots of T cells in it- these react more easily than our mast cells which are the ones that make an allergic reaction happen.
Keep your other child eating peanut butter, get a referral to a paediatric immunologist as it sounds like she needs testing. Skin prick testing along with a history will determine the actions the immunologist takes!

[Akatara]

Both of my kids were tested at a young age, (9-12 months)

And I'm about to have a third one tested at 7 months.

You can ring around and see if there are any paediatric specialists who have an interest in allergies, or a dermatologist. Might be quicker than waiting to see an immunologist.

http://www.allergy.org.au/

Some good info on here, and a list of specialists.