Talking Allergies

Hi

I girlfriend of mine just found out that her 4 yr old daughter is allergic to cashews. She saw her regular pediatrician who didn't get too excited about it (benedryl cleared up the hives and otherwise it just gave her a stomach ache). She is going to see an allergist soon but just had a few questions:

Do you avoid all tree nuts if you are just allergic to one? If so, why?

Do you avoid all foods that say 'processed with tree nuts" or do you just call the company and find out which tree nut they use?

I would think avoiding cashews would be easier than other nuts like peanut and almond. But does it matter or should she worry that something with almonds is cross contaminated with cashews (mind you she has not had any allergic reactions before now and has eaten other nuts and peanuts and been fine).

But I guess i wonder that now that she has been fully exposed to cashew (she ate 5-6 pieces), if she now eats something with just trace amounts of cashews, is she more likely to react than she was before?

_________________
2.5 year old: allergic to wheat, dairy, egg, peanut, oat, turkey, and cats
5 year old: no known allergies
Husband no known allergies
Me allergy to morphine only

Peanuts and tree nuts are separate things. Peanuts are a legume, not a nut. I got diagnosed really late in life. I am fairly sure I never had a reaction to any nuts, but I tested positive on the skin test for them. Interestingly, I tested negative to 'tree nut mix' and positive only when he tested me for individual nuts. Of the three I had reactions to on the test, they are all nuts I have eaten before and since with no incident. I do try and avoid them (why tempt fate?) but I don't avoid any of the 'may have been processed in a facility' products.

_________________
Asthma and eczema
Drug allergy (succinylcholine)
Food (corn, raw apples, green beans, tree nuts, flax)
Misc (pollen, grass, mold, dogs, cats)

Taken from: http://www.sickkids.ca/kidshealth06/section.asp?s=Nutrition+%26+Food+Allergies+%28Special%29&sID=18400&ss=Food+Allergy+Basics&ssID=18412

The reason one would want to stay away from all tree nuts is the cross-contamination factor. Usually (but not always) where they process one nut (or legume, in the case of peanuts), they'll process others. You could call the company and ask (when it says may contain tree nuts) which tree nuts they are specifically referring to, but even if there are only pecans in their product, those pecans were most likely processed in a factory that also processes cashews and therefore there would still be a risk of cross-contamination. My advice would be to stay away from all products that say "may contain tree nuts" or "may contain peanuts". She might have been OK eating products that contained other nuts or had "may contain" warnings in the past because the foods she ate at that time probably didn't have any traces of cashews. There are no guarantees, it may or may not contain traces. I compare eating products with "may contain" statements for allergens to playing Russian roulette with your life. You just never know and it's personally not worth it to me. For tree nuts, currently manufacturers only have access to a test for almonds (in order to guarantee a product almond free) -- the other option would be to buy bulk nuts and crack them (to avoid proccessing cross-contamination) but I guess the outer shells still could still have cashew nut residue...

Mt DD is only allergic to cashews and pistachios ( same family) but my allergist told us to avoid all tree nuts until she is older and will be re-tested. I generally stay away from new products that say "may contain" but give her things that she had eaten safely previous to the allergy.

I would suggest she go to an allergist to test for all tree nuts ( she may find she is allergic to pistachios too). I also recommend picking up an Epi-pen!

_________________
daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

We avoid all tree nuts. I don't even remember which nuts our kids are allergic to.

_________________
8 year old: dairy, seafood, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, cats, dust; asthma
4 year old: dairy, eggs, soy, peas, lentils, cats
4 year old: dairy, eggs

Thanks for the info!

Given my son is allergic to so many foods, we just avoid everything it seems. I was stumped when she said she was allergic to just cashews (or at least this is all she knows about until further testing).

thanks again

_________________
2.5 year old: allergic to wheat, dairy, egg, peanut, oat, turkey, and cats
5 year old: no known allergies
Husband no known allergies
Me allergy to morphine only

PLEASE tell her to avoid pistachios. Cashew and pistachio are in the same family.

_________________
daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

FYI, we've got a story on people living with multiple food allergies in the upcoming Summer issue of Allergic Living magazine. It contains some interesting statistics.

Here's a little preview on nuts. The info is from Dr. Scott Sicherer of Mt. Sinai's Jaffe Food Institute:



This is from me - The cross-contamination risk (that someone else mentioned) and the heightened risk of allergy to more than one nut group lead most allergists to recommend avoiding all nuts.

_________________
Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

I'm new here but I have been nailed by cross-contamination and felt like road kill. It happened 3 times and each time I had some what different reactions but then end result was the same. I wasn't a happy camper. When I told the allergest what had happened, she told me to call 9-1-1 and go to a hospital just in case.

Read your labels is all I can say and DON'T buy in bulk.

The double wammy for me is that I am visually impaired and can't read lables much at all.

_________________
Adult onset tree-nut allergy. Almond & pistachio.

Hey Justmee -

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry that you are having such troubles with the labels. Is there anyone who can help you out with that? I realize that might be a lot easier said than done.

I assume you have an EpiPen or Twinject? Your allergist gave you good advice. You should always administer the auto-injector, call 911 to get paramedics onsite as soon as possible, and ensure you are taken to the hospital for further observation.

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

four out of six of us are nut allergic - one severe for peanut, two for tree nuts and peanut, one for tree nuts. I've always been told that if you are allergic to one tree nut, chances are you might be, or might develop, allergy to other tree nuts. Also beware, even though peanut are not tree nuts, you can develop an allergy to them later on. I ate peanut butter until in my 40's then reacted. ...not as badly as with walnut, peacan, hazelnut etc but enough to stay away from it. Now I use Soynut butter (not a nut but rather the sopybean - tastes similar to peanut

_________________
4 out of 6 of us nut allergic (mom & 3 kids) - hey, who needs 'em! we're nutty enough!