We took Sawyer in for comprehensive nut allergy testing. Because my brother, Jurgen, is severely allergic to nuts we were advised to keep Sawyer away from nuts until he was at least 2 years old and to have testing done before exposing him. The concern is that, if allergic, his first reaction could be anaphylactic.
Two weeks ago Sawyer had his back pricked with extracts from 12 tree and ground nut varieties, along with one prick with actual peanut butter. The allergist thought there might be a mild reaction on the peanut extract prick - though I didn't think it looked any different than the other pricks (which were all slightly red as would be expected if you pricked anyone's back with a needle with something on it). We followed this test up with a blood test. There was nothing in the bloodwork to indicate that he might be allergic.
Due to the fact that the allergist noted a slight response to the skin test, she recommended that we do a tolerance test in the office to be on the safe side. These tests require 4+ hours in which time you slowly introduce more and more peanut butter over time so that if there is a reaction, the doctor can administer epinephrine right away. We read up on all this and figured this was overkill. Also, since Jurgen's first reaction came almost 11 hours after his first exposure, this kind of testing wouldn't actually protect Sawyer if he had a reaction.
Instead, we started our own tolerance testing at home. Last week we touched some peanutbutter to his tongue. 24 hours later, no reaction. The next day he has the smallest taste. 24 hours later, no reaction. Two days later he had about 1/6 teaspoon. 24 hours, no reaction. The next day he had 1/4 teaspoon. 24 hours later, no reaction. And so on.
At this point he has had up to a 1/2 teaspoon and has yet to have a glimmer of a reaction. While we are not yet at the point of giving a big yummy pb&j, we are fairly certain that when we do we will be in the clear.
I must say, I have been anxiously awaiting this process since I cut nuts out during my pregnancy to protect Sawyer and have only had nuts on a very limited basis since then. I have a much deeper and more meaningful appreciation for how challenging it is to have to avoid a food that is so ever present in our world, particularly when a life is potentially at stake.
That said, I am happy to be ushering nuts back into our lives. Hooray!
1 comment:
Hooray!
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