The other explanation for "more prevalent" is that the actual prevalence has not changed but the rate of diagnosis has.
So the other explanation for why peanut allergies aren't a problem in developing Africa is that kids with fatal peanut allergies die before they figure it out...
My son was diagnosed w/ dairy/all nuts allergy early. We knew at 3 months he was allergic to dairy ( I dropped mac and cheese on him while nursing and he broke out in hives all over his body) -- and discovered just over 1 that he was allergic to peanuts (of course, I had eaten them ALL through pregnancy and nursing -- LIVED on them -- although I should've known better) which was stupid to even try with the already history of allergies.
My child had a reaction the first time he tasted peanut butter so giving him "more" would certainly not have helped. We carry an epi-pen everywhere -- it's tough! New studies are investigating giving them small bits of the allergen (ONLY IN A CLINICAL SETTING!) as opposed to the old theory of complete avoidance -- both at Duke (peanut) and John Hopkins (dairy)
My niece has a peanut allergy and my Sister in Law substitutes cream cheese for peanut butter in pretty much all of the peanut butter kids foods. Cream Cheese and Jelly sandwiches, cream cheese and celery ants on a log etc...
mamster, how about honey-sesame spread? Those flavors go well together and might be more similar to the sweet-nut flavor that makes peanut butter popular.
it was when my son was in a play class at age 5: the teacher and the kids were making a bird house and using peanut butter..before her eyes one of the children began to swell - she saw it on his face and called 911 immediately saving his life...only because she herself had a child inflicted with this allergy that she had in the back of her mind that she was working with peanut butter and no children had been diagnosed in the class having a memo sent home...turns out this child had never had food related to peanuts or peanut butter because he instinctively never wanted...also to that date a first child..
LearP, good question. I keep meaning to try sunflower butter, which sounds good. Iris likes a just plain butter and jelly sandwich--her favorite butter is lavender. I've been thinking about what I could do with tahini, because she loves sesame anything.
My two have no allergies. I tried to follow the strict guidelines of introducing one food at a time but ran afoul at eight months, by eighteen months they were both into sushi (the raw kind).
I agree with those that point to increased diagnosis. Once a kid has any reaction to peanuts, they are in the allergy camp and wisely avoid what could potentially be a deadly trigger. My pet conspiracy theory is that aspertame messes with the immune system, no proof of course.
On a side note what are some favorite peanut butter alternatives? We are considerate of the peanut allergy kids at school and have tried soynut, sunflower and cashew butter. Any other suggestions?
I have a 3 year old with a peanut allergy too (read about it at http://peanutfree.blogspot.com). It is a real challenge day to day, but one you get used to. With food labeling laws life is much better than it was 2 years ago. I have no allergies and neither does my husband - my mom has a shellfish allergy. It's tough to wrap your brain around how this could happen. I just hope she's one of the lucky 20% of kids who outgrow the allergy.
As for the statistic, I believe it. My daughter's day care class has 24 kids. 3 have peanut allergy (2 of the three are allergic to all nuts), 1 has a milk allergy, and another has a shellfish allergy. That's 5 kids in one class. It's unsettling for sure.
Dave, just thinking about it makes me freak out.
Laurel, I think the differences between populations are real. It's not like the doctors working in Niger don't know about peanut allergies and how to recognize the symptoms. An upward trend in Western populations is, of course, harder to prove.
We avoided all nuts/ peanuts until age 3. The end result was our daughter has a peanut allergy, fortunately not through a serious reaction to her first taste of peanut butter.
You can't imagine how much a peanut allergy changes raising a child.
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