Peanut allergy?

[Anonymous]

OP here, we did a blood test and it came back 5.49 for egg white, 1.44 for egg yolk, and 1.78 for peanut. The allergist says she recommends staying away from eggs and peanuts completely and retesting in a year. I’m not sure what to think about this. My baby definitely had an allergic reaction to eggs (hives and itchiness) after the third time we gave it to her, but she has never had peanuts. It’s my understanding that there is an egg ladder and often eggs baked in things can be tolerated and help expose the body to the protein and cure the allergy. I’m also concerned that skin and blood allergy tests have a lot of false positives. I don’t want to avoid peanuts if we don’t have to and cause an allergy that way. Also kicking myself for allowing a skin prick test of a food she’s never had orally before because I’m worried it caused the allergy. I’m thinking I’m going to call around to a few of the allergist mentioned and see if they would recommend an oral food challenge for peanut in this case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we did a blood test and it came back 5.49 for egg white, 1.44 for egg yolk, and 1.78 for peanut. The allergist says she recommends staying away from eggs and peanuts completely and retesting in a year. I’m not sure what to think about this. My baby definitely had an allergic reaction to eggs (hives and itchiness) after the third time we gave it to her, but she has never had peanuts. It’s my understanding that there is an egg ladder and often eggs baked in things can be tolerated and help expose the body to the protein and cure the allergy. I’m also concerned that skin and blood allergy tests have a lot of false positives. I don’t want to avoid peanuts if we don’t have to and cause an allergy that way. Also kicking myself for allowing a skin prick test of a food she’s never had orally before because I’m worried it caused the allergy. I’m thinking I’m going to call around to a few of the allergist mentioned and see if they would recommend an oral food challenge for peanut in this case.

I'm the PP who has a DD with an anaphylactic egg allergy. Yes, there is an egg ladder. You can push for your allergist to do an in-office baked egg challenge, as starting off with baked egg is the lowest rung on the ladder. We've done 2 baked egg challenges with our DD, and there's a special muffin recipe I had to use to ensure it was the proper ratio of egg to flour and baked for the appropriate time. Unfortunately, DD went into anaphylaxis during both challenges, so we are avoiding eggs completely for the forseeable future. I know some people will attempt a baked egg challenge at home but, based on our experiences, I would NOT recommend that.
You could also request an in-office peanut challenge. Your allergist should be able to accommodate in-office challenges done under medical supervision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we did a blood test and it came back 5.49 for egg white, 1.44 for egg yolk, and 1.78 for peanut. The allergist says she recommends staying away from eggs and peanuts completely and retesting in a year. I’m not sure what to think about this. My baby definitely had an allergic reaction to eggs (hives and itchiness) after the third time we gave it to her, but she has never had peanuts. It’s my understanding that there is an egg ladder and often eggs baked in things can be tolerated and help expose the body to the protein and cure the allergy. I’m also concerned that skin and blood allergy tests have a lot of false positives. I don’t want to avoid peanuts if we don’t have to and cause an allergy that way. Also kicking myself for allowing a skin prick test of a food she’s never had orally before because I’m worried it caused the allergy. I’m thinking I’m going to call around to a few of the allergist mentioned and see if they would recommend an oral food challenge for peanut in this case.

I'm the PP who has a DD with an anaphylactic egg allergy. Yes, there is an egg ladder. You can push for your allergist to do an in-office baked egg challenge, as starting off with baked egg is the lowest rung on the ladder. We've done 2 baked egg challenges with our DD, and there's a special muffin recipe I had to use to ensure it was the proper ratio of egg to flour and baked for the appropriate time. Unfortunately, DD went into anaphylaxis during both challenges, so we are avoiding eggs completely for the forseeable future. I know some people will attempt a baked egg challenge at home but, based on our experiences, I would NOT recommend that.
You could also request an in-office peanut challenge. Your allergist should be able to accommodate in-office challenges done under medical supervision.

Yes, to be clear, I wouldn’t do the egg ladder on my own. But I just found it strange that the allergist was basically like completely avoid it and fingers crossed she’ll grow out of it. Don’t you need to help them grow out of it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we did a blood test and it came back 5.49 for egg white, 1.44 for egg yolk, and 1.78 for peanut. The allergist says she recommends staying away from eggs and peanuts completely and retesting in a year. I’m not sure what to think about this. My baby definitely had an allergic reaction to eggs (hives and itchiness) after the third time we gave it to her, but she has never had peanuts. It’s my understanding that there is an egg ladder and often eggs baked in things can be tolerated and help expose the body to the protein and cure the allergy. I’m also concerned that skin and blood allergy tests have a lot of false positives. I don’t want to avoid peanuts if we don’t have to and cause an allergy that way. Also kicking myself for allowing a skin prick test of a food she’s never had orally before because I’m worried it caused the allergy. I’m thinking I’m going to call around to a few of the allergist mentioned and see if they would recommend an oral food challenge for peanut in this case.

I'm the PP who has a DD with an anaphylactic egg allergy. Yes, there is an egg ladder. You can push for your allergist to do an in-office baked egg challenge, as starting off with baked egg is the lowest rung on the ladder. We've done 2 baked egg challenges with our DD, and there's a special muffin recipe I had to use to ensure it was the proper ratio of egg to flour and baked for the appropriate time. Unfortunately, DD went into anaphylaxis during both challenges, so we are avoiding eggs completely for the forseeable future. I know some people will attempt a baked egg challenge at home but, based on our experiences, I would NOT recommend that.
You could also request an in-office peanut challenge. Your allergist should be able to accommodate in-office challenges done under medical supervision.

Yes, to be clear, I wouldn’t do the egg ladder on my own. But I just found it strange that the allergist was basically like completely avoid it and fingers crossed she’ll grow out of it. Don’t you need to help them grow out of it?

Not necessarily. You can always look into treatments like OIT, but our allergist said most kids outgrow egg allergy by 5, with or without actively trying through programs like OIT, TIP, etc. My DD is 4 and her latest bloodwork numbers were still very high (and our allergist isn't comfortable with challenging her again), but he still insists she will likely grow out of it, or at least get to the point that she can tolerate baked egg. I'm not nearly as confident at this point, and I'm considering looking into some form of OIT or similar if we are still dealing with this in another 2 or 3 years.

I grew INTO a peanut allergy as a teenager, and I ate copious amounts of PB&J as a kid (it was my preferred lunch!), so I'm honestly not sure what to think of all the research showing early exposure helping to prevent...but obviously I'm an outlier there. We tried that approach of early and often exposure to common allergens when our younger DD was a baby, and yet she still has multiple food allergies, although egg is by far the worst (and hardest to avoid). Unfortunately, it didn't work in our favor. But we did the same with our older DD who has yet to develop any allergies, so who knows.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone heard of the food allergy institute in California? It’s not OIT and they say they can completely cure food allergies. Seems too good to be true!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone heard of the food allergy institute in California? It’s not OIT and they say they can completely cure food allergies. Seems too good to be true!

It is expensive, not covered by insurance, and protocols are pretty involved. Plus, it requires frequent travel to CA.
I'm in a couple of food allergy groups on Facebook, and the Food Allergy Institute comes up frequently in conversations. There's a mix of both positive and negative stories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, we did a blood test and it came back 5.49 for egg white, 1.44 for egg yolk, and 1.78 for peanut. The allergist says she recommends staying away from eggs and peanuts completely and retesting in a year. I’m not sure what to think about this. My baby definitely had an allergic reaction to eggs (hives and itchiness) after the third time we gave it to her, but she has never had peanuts. It’s my understanding that there is an egg ladder and often eggs baked in things can be tolerated and help expose the body to the protein and cure the allergy. I’m also concerned that skin and blood allergy tests have a lot of false positives. I don’t want to avoid peanuts if we don’t have to and cause an allergy that way. Also kicking myself for allowing a skin prick test of a food she’s never had orally before because I’m worried it caused the allergy. I’m thinking I’m going to call around to a few of the allergist mentioned and see if they would recommend an oral food challenge for peanut in this case.

I'm the PP who has a DD with an anaphylactic egg allergy. Yes, there is an egg ladder. You can push for your allergist to do an in-office baked egg challenge, as starting off with baked egg is the lowest rung on the ladder. We've done 2 baked egg challenges with our DD, and there's a special muffin recipe I had to use to ensure it was the proper ratio of egg to flour and baked for the appropriate time. Unfortunately, DD went into anaphylaxis during both challenges, so we are avoiding eggs completely for the forseeable future. I know some people will attempt a baked egg challenge at home but, based on our experiences, I would NOT recommend that.
You could also request an in-office peanut challenge. Your allergist should be able to accommodate in-office challenges done under medical supervision.

Yes, to be clear, I wouldn’t do the egg ladder on my own. But I just found it strange that the allergist was basically like completely avoid it and fingers crossed she’ll grow out of it. Don’t you need to help them grow out of it?

Not necessarily. You can always look into treatments like OIT, but our allergist said most kids outgrow egg allergy by 5, with or without actively trying through programs like OIT, TIP, etc. My DD is 4 and her latest bloodwork numbers were still very high (and our allergist isn't comfortable with challenging her again), but he still insists she will likely grow out of it, or at least get to the point that she can tolerate baked egg. I'm not nearly as confident at this point, and I'm considering looking into some form of OIT or similar if we are still dealing with this in another 2 or 3 years.

I grew INTO a peanut allergy as a teenager, and I ate copious amounts of PB&J as a kid (it was my preferred lunch!), so I'm honestly not sure what to think of all the research showing early exposure helping to prevent...but obviously I'm an outlier there. We tried that approach of early and often exposure to common allergens when our younger DD was a baby, and yet she still has multiple food allergies, although egg is by far the worst (and hardest to avoid). Unfortunately, it didn't work in our favor. But we did the same with our older DD who has yet to develop any allergies, so who knows.

Ugh, I hate the BS rhetoric to "introduce foods early to prevent kids from having allergies."
Statistically people are more likely not to have allergies than to have the allergy, so of course it sounds like it "works" to introduce allergens early--but those kids would never have had the allergies anyway. It's all genetics, folks. but sure, let's blame the parents because that's easier than allergy researchers admitting they have no clue why some people have allergies and some do not.

[Anonymous]

Definitely call Dr. Fraser. She was big on us not avoiding things unless proven necessary ( so when skin test and blood test positive, wanted oral food challenge). She said if it was demonstrated allergy oit is most effective early

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds old school. I also have a six month old who was in the ER the first time we gave eggs, and he tested positive for peanut too. Our allergist had me give increasing amounts of bamba puffs daily for several weeks then had me give peanut butter. He’s tolerating it without any reaction, but who knows if it was a false positive or if we desensitized him.

We started baked eggs even though he had a severe reaction to scrambled, and he’s fine. We are giving baked eggs daily now and will start the egg ladder if he stays okay with this. No family history here either. I think you should get a second opinion!

Who was your doctor?

Sorry, we are in NYC so not local to DC. I hope you find someone who will work with you on your baby.

When reading the rest of the thread, my sympathies to the kids who had severe reactions to baked egg at home. That must have been really scary.