Peanut M&M's Please!

We took J to be re-tested for allergies last Wednesday. He tested positive for a peanut allergy at a very young age. The only reason he was even tested so young was due to the fact that he broke out in head to toe hives from his first exposure to cow's milk in formula at around 10 weeks of age. At 6 months, our pedi-allergist, Dr. L, tested him for 6 basic food allergies. The peanut test turned red and puffy. So for the past 3+ years, J has not had one single peanut. No peanut butter. Nada.

Fast forward to last week. Dr. L decides to test J for peanuts, cashews and pecans, as well as eight other seasonal allergies. This is the most they will test a child J's age for - the "big" panel is usually not done until the age of five. So the nurse starts writing on J's back, marking each area she will prick. He thinks this is funny and tickles. So when she starts the actual tests, at first, he doesn't mind. By the fifth poke though, his little face starts to crumple and it went downhill from there. Poor baby. I am sure it hurt and he was a champ. Almost immediately, a couple of spots start to redden and swell. We know that one is a control - it is suppose to react. The other is a seasonal allergen. It starts to get really red. And really puffy. I keep my eye on the test marked "peanut." So far, nothing. Ten minutes pass. Dr. L comes in . He tells us that the spot that is getting so big and red was a test for Oak. Ahhhh. Makes complete sense. J's allergies are the worst in the spring, and that is Oak season. So now we know Feb - May what to expect. Still no reaction to the peanuts. But we look down a bit and what do we see? Another nut reaction? To Pecans? It wasn't as bad as the reaction to the oak, but it was there. And after waiting a couple more minutes, it got a little bigger. So they measured that spot too, and we were told to go ahead and give J peanuts b/c he had NO reaction to the test. But now, we cannot give him TREENUTS, due to his reaction to pecans. Sigh. We traded one for another.

As far as J is concerned though, he is loving life. And waking up every morning saying, "More peanut M&M's please mommy!" :)

Oh, and we took pictures of him eating his first peanut (in the form of a peanut m&m of course). I'll post as soon as I download!