27 Jul Nut Allergies and Outgrowing Them
Nut Allergies and Outgrowing them
For years I shared that my daughter was extremely allergic to nuts from the time she was 2. We found out when we gave her a tiny taste of peanut butter at age 2 and she had a reaction. Further testing gave us a long list of all the nuts she was allergic to. As most moms are with this diagnosis, I was always nervous about hidden nuts in foods, in other kids lunches, in her environment and more.
We carried Benadryl and an Epipen with us everywhere at all times and taught her how to always ask, to be responsible, accountable and to verify what is in foods and snacks. We had a system… read labels, ask questions, verify, be prepared.
We had a few scares with nuts over the years
Over the years we had a few scares. The time at her friends birthday party when my daughter the the precaution and ASKED but asked the 6 year old kid. A bite into the cookie was super scary for us but we reacted quickly and she was fine.
Then there was the time(s) where the schools called us because she “may have accidentally sat next to, had a bite of, grabbed the wrong snack etc…” Ugh. Those emergency pick up trips are always fun.
We stocked the school with Epipens, sent them on play dates with her and checked and rechecked food ingredients before she ate every meal. We taught her to be on top of it, not blame and to always take personal responsibility for her health
Growing out of it
When she was around the age of 8 I learned that there is a possibility that kids could grow out of nut allergies. I quickly enrolled her in a study and a food challenge and 10 minutes into the first appointment we were told “here allergy is severe and she is not a candidate to grow out of it”
My instinct told me she would
Instinct, mothers intuition, not sure, but something in me wanted to revisit this at age 12. When she asked about having an appointment at the allergy doctor to “hear for herself” the extent of her allergies I booked an appointment.
They did the back scratch test first. And we were ALL shocked to see that the welts were very very small.
So we then did the blood test. NEGATIVE… this was good
Next was the Food challenge test where you go to the hospital with a jar of peanut butter adn 4 hours blocked off. They slowly give you a tiny bit and wait. At our first 4 hour appointment we spent 3 hours convincing her to TRY. We had conditioned her for so long to stay totally away from nuts and she was scared! The last hour, she tried… NO REACTION!
The next week we were told to have small amounts. My daughter and her strong personality had that “small amount” turn somehow into 2 reeces peanut butter cups. NO REACTION.
At 13 now, we learned this last year that she had GROWN OUT of the allergy! Super rare for this to happen but at age 13, it is now a thing of the past for us.
NUT ALLERGIES are more common than you may think… and when it comes to PEANUTS, About 1 IN 50 children have an allergy to it and 1 out of every 200 grown ups! And this can be a deadly allergy!
Our story is rare but it is possible for you…. Talk to your doctor about the possibility of this for you and your child
By the way , not being able to have nuts in your diet is hard for kids! Peanut butter is everywhere !
In all those years looking for a nut replacement options I learned about sunbutter. It’s a SEED but has the same texture and similar taste to nut butters. Most who are allergic to NUTS can have sunbutter.
I, myself have become hooked on it because it’s high in protein, taste great and is very easy to use in recipes. I have some most days now with an apple for a simple balanced snack.
This is why I share so many recipes with that as a main agreement and aligned with this company last year. If you don’t yet know of sunbutter check it out!
XO,
Natalie Jill
