food allergy can anyone help?

[suki30]

my 2yr old has a food allergy which causes him to go into anaphylaxis shock {breathing difficulties} this is usually common in nut, fish & egg allergies but my son is allergic to PEAS ! and its life threatening. this is very uncommon and my son is the 1st known case in my area, i was wondering if he is the only case in great britain? he is also allergic to LENTILS which causes the same effects.he is allergic to nuts and soya but these only cause mild reactions but the're getting worse as he gets older.

[EssJay1]

Don't panic Suki30.  My daughter carries an epipen, being allergic to peanuts.  She has mild allergies to other things - dog, cat and horse fur -and some other foods.  She's 12, has had no anaphylactic reactions and leads a normal life, avoiding her known allergens.. 

I presume your 2 year old has had his blood tested to determine his precise allergies.  Make sure you read food labels carefully and expect related foods to be harmful too.

Make sure your family and any people who may look after your son are aware of the seriousness of his condition. 

Chase the doctor if you feel you are not getting the help and advice you need.

I've avoided herbal medicines as I'm told that they may have plant extracts which could be harmful - I don't know if that's just scaremongering.

Remove all known allergens from his diet for the moment.  Remember there's a difference between allergy and intolerance.

Hope this rambling answer has something which helps, Suki30.

[ursula62]

Sorry to hear about your child's allergies.

 

Be careful of some convenience foods and always check the ingredients.

 

e.g. Supernoodles contain pea fibre.

[suki30]

thanx in a pickle for ur reply ive been on google and found only 3 people so far in france have an allergy to lentils but not peas gonna keep searching though !

[suki30]

to essjay1 your in the same boat as me i see ! i do carry the epipen and yes weve been through all the tests i just wonder weather he is gonna grow up not leading a normal eating life like school dinners, eating out with his mates when hes a teenager, hes had 2 lots of tests and so far the second test has come back with a higher allergy reading. your statement saying theres a difference between allergy and intollerence is a good one i will keep that in mind. thanx its good to talk to someone in the same situation...

[Fern57]

This was interesting to read:
http://www.soya.be/soy-allergy.php

[suki30]

hi fern57, thanx for that link really interesting the section cross reactivity with soy, that is the first link ive seen with peas even the dietician at hospital couldnt help with this. he is allergic to all types of beans/pulses too, that helps to explain why,. Brilliant thanx again

[simont]

Hi,  I have an anaphylaxis reaction to peanuts, lentils, chick pea and some garden peas. (Basically ALL pulses).    Garden peas are worse for me when they are cold and in cold gravy.  Also mushy peas from chip shops can do it too.   I have been allergic to for 27 years now (since I was three and my mum gave me a peanut butter sandwich).  However, some nuts I can eat, for instance Coconut and Almonds, also on some occasions hazlenuts - most other nuts are a no go.  I can an epipen around.    Be very, very aware of all oriental food - this was nearly a killer for me about 10 years ago I had a chinese and specifcally told them not to put any nuts or lentils in it - I ended up in casualty nearly dead.  Later I found out that they fried absolutely everything in ground nut oil - this is basically pure nuts without the smell!!    I can normally smell nuts before it gets near my hand but I couldn't smell this.  Singapore, Thai and japanese is also very common to find ground nut oil.

My allegies are all aound the Legume family (leguminosae) this includes peanut, soybean, green beans, garden peas, chickpeas, white beans, kidney beans, black-eyed beans and carob.  Symptomatic hypersentivity to more than one legume is considered uncommon.  So your son and I are in the rare cases of people who are allergic to more than one legume!

My sensitivity to these foods have definately got worse as I have got older.   But it's not unmanageable.  The risk for me as a toddler was mums cooking cupboard.  Make sure you get rid of all foods in the house that they are allergic to - even if other members of the family are fine with them.   

hope that helps. 

Simon

[EssJay1]

Good luck to you and your son. Stay sane!

[suki30]

hi simon, hope you read this it really helps to know there is someone who knows what my son may face in the future. Doctors in my area can do little to ease my mind about his diet where docs in New Zealand and canada link peanut allergies directly to legumes and advise people to avoid them. My sons (so called)specialist didnt take me seriously when i told him about the pea incidents we had, he said they were a coincidence until i insisted on blood tests.

When my son suffered his first anaphalaxis reaction 10 months ago we were eating out, he always got a rash when he ate peas during weaning, then we noticed  his voice going hoarse then next the coughing it was then we decided that peas were causing it. We decided to avoid them but at our meal i advised the kitchen staff and waitresses that he was allergic to peas and not to let any come into contact with his plate. He bit into a yorkshire pudding and that was that he could barely breath we opened his airways with my husbands inhaler and left the restaurant i controlled him with piriton and he seemed ok but the following morning he was having trouble breathing thats when i realised that this was more serious.

We discovered that there had been pea juice in the gravy and that had started it. now when we eat out we take instant gravy or a tin of spaghetti but i still feel the staff in these restaurants dont take us seriousley.

luckily so far we have never had another incident like that and hope we manage to avoid them in the future. Hope you do too!

Im assuming that you do live in great britain so at least i tell my son when he gets older that hes not the only one with this condition. Thanks Simon.

take care, Sue.

[soniaallam]

My one year old is also legume allergic, we have now been waiting weeks to see the allergy specialist. She reacted to lentils first and was ok with peas to start with but now develops multiple red and very itchy hives around her mouth when she has some. I also suspect she is allergic to other beans too, but she seems to react to peas the worst so far. We are trying to keep all such products out of the house but i am sure, as you know, it is so hard to do. There are nuts in nearly all processed foods and peas are around much more than you think too.

I think total avoidance of anything you know he reacts to should be undertaken. From what i have been reading i think these are rare allergies to outgrow. I wish you well and understand what you are going through as it is a constant source of worry and stress.

[soniaallam]

Just to add, are you seeing a proper allergy specialist. If not then ask to be referred to one at your nearest kids hospital. I am still waiting but i have been finding out as much as i can meantime from internet searches, websites such as allergy uk, anaphylaxis campaign and all their related links e.g. to companies suppying allergy awareness bracelets, stickers, clothes etc. I find the advice on product scrutiny , avoidance, travelling, eating out at restaurants etc very useful. I dont think you can ever really relax from now on (and i have found this so hard to adapt to ) but i guess you just have to be strong, make lots of contingency plans and get on with it. I also find allergy magazine good too (there was an excellent article about coping with severe allergies in schools which i know will be extremely useful in the future, S x

[suki30]

six years later......my wonderful son is now 9 and he is very clever, strong and absolutely gorgeous!!! We have managed his allergies successfully over the years and over the last twelve months we have been in hospital taking part in food challenges...Thankfully he can eat most nuts, beans and seaseme now. Our next challenge is in august when he will try PEANUTS!!!! It looks like he has outgrown some allergies but the hospital are reluctant to attempt a pea or lentil challenge; however, he is trying new foods and his diet is improving...Thankyou to everyone who passed on vital info in 2005 x