This is how Lydia looked after her bout with peanuts. We were thisclose to taking her to the ER, but with the advice of our doctor, who was thankfully on call, we held off. Fortunately, she got better relatively quickly. Lydia's Uncle Dan found some websites and some relevant content regarding peanut (and tree nut) allergies.
MAJOR SOURCES OF PEANUTS AND TREE NUTS
• Peanut Butter • Mixed Nuts • Cold-Pressed Peanut Oil, & Walnut or
other Nut Oils
• Anything labeled "Nuts" • Peanut Flour • Almond Butter • Cashew Butter
• Peanuts may also be called "Ground Nuts"
HIDDEN SOURCES OF PEANUTS AND TREE NUTS
• Pesto • Egg Rolls • Sauces and Gravies • Hydrolyzed Plant or Vegetable
Protein
• Nougat, Marzipan, and other Confections • Prepared Salads • Chocolate
and other Candies • Salad Dressing • Baked Goods • Breakfast Cereals like
Granola and Muesli • Frangelico and Amaretto Liquors • African, Chinese,
Indonesian, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese Cuisines • High energy bars • Grain breads
Some hidden sources of peanuts:
Arachis oil is peanut oil.
Artificial nuts can be peanuts that have been de-flavored and re-flavored
with a nutty taste, such as pecan or walnut.
Peanut butter, peanut flour.
Mandelonas are peanuts soaked in almond flavoring.
Cold pressed, expelled or extruded peanut oil.
African, Chinese, Indonesian, Mexican, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes often
contain peanuts, or are contaminated with peanuts during preparation.
Dishes to avoid include: baked goods; candy; chili; egg rolls; enchilada
sauces; flavoring; marzipan; nougat, and sunflower seeds.
Foods sold in bakeries and ice cream shops are often in contact with
peanuts.
Many brands of sunflower seeds are produced on equipment also used for
peanuts.
Keep in mind most experts recommend peanut-allergic individuals avoid
tree nuts.
Fortunately, and surprisingly, Lydia is not allergic to tree nuts, but this is good to know.
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After my last mention of allergies, I got this message:
Hello, I was doing some research on peanut allergies and came across your blog. My name is Stephanie. I have a 2 year old daughter, Sophia, with a peanut allergy. We live in Fort Plain NY. It about 40 minutes west of Schenectady. I'd love to set up a playdate for the two girls- it'd be great if Sophia had a friend her own age with peanut allergy as well. (I know this sounds weird- since its on the internet- but its genuine:) Hope to hear from you!!
The problem is that, literally, I have no idea who sent this, other than the markers in the message. It was sent as an anonymous message, so I cannot even reply, one way or another.
3 comments:
Roger, are there degrees of sensitivity to peanuts? Is it possible that while eating actual peanuts would affect two people with an allergy, eating something that did not contain peanuts but was processed in proximity to peanuts might only affect one of them? Looking at the lists you posted, it seems like avoiding all contact with peanuts would be pretty hard to do. Of course, the new food labels help alot.
Eddie- In a word: yes and yes. We avoid plain M&Ms for her because they're made on the same conveyor belt at the peanut variety, so the label suggests. Would she react to it? I dunno, so we err on the side of caution.
From http://www.allergicchild.com/peanut_allergy.htm
"The peanut allergy was once considered life long, yet new research has determined that up to 20% will actually outgrow the allergy by school age. This is especially true if your child has few, if any, other food allergies; doesn’t have other allergic issues such as asthma or eczema; and has a low peanut IgE on a RAST blood test."
The good news is that she has no other allergies, not even tree nuts. The bad news is that she does have eczema.
Peanut allergy is quite scary. I'm so glad our boy doesn't have it because frankly, that would eliminate 90% of the peanut butter monster's diet right now...
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