There is a lot of conflicting advice out there concerning when to introduce high risk foods like peanut butter to your child. The recommended age ranges from 1 to 3 or 4 depending on who you talk to. When we were deciding on a time line for our family, we considered our family history with food allergies. There is none! I decided to go ahead and do a small trial run with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which was made with a very thin layer of peanut butter.
Immediately I noticed he did not seem to like the peanut butter, but I was not too surprised by this reaction. After all, peanut butter is so different from other foods when it comes to taste and texture. I couldn’t expect him to love it right away just because it’s one of my favorite foods, right? Within ten minutes I noticed he was starting to develop some hives around his mouth area and his hands where he had been handling the sandwich. I immediately took the rest of the sandwich from him and clean up his face and hands as well as I could.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The peanut butter was already in his system. With no experience with food allergies, I had no idea what to do. I had my husband take a look at him and he said to keep a close watch and call the doctor if necessary. The hives were spreading quickly around my son’s body and he started exhibiting other symptoms as well. His eyes swelled. His ears began to itch.
Before I knew it, he was covered in hives, swelling everywhere, and he had a runny nose that just wouldn’t quit. I was freaking out, on the phone with the pediatrician, running to my neighbor’s house with my nearly naked baby to get a dose of Benadryl. I gave him a tepid bath, put pulled him out when he started shivering. I was a mess. He was a mess. It was awful!
Here is a picture of what he looked like just before the reaction was in full swing:
To be continued…