Mother Talkers

Peanut or Medication Allergies

by minnmom

Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 07:44:45 AM PDT

My son had the flu last week (no we did not get the flu shot, yes I will do so in the future) and we gave him Tamiflu. My sister said Tamiflu really helped her when she had the flu to recover quickly so I thought we'd give it a try.

Four days into his five day regimen, he broke out in hives. On the advice of the nurseline, we took him to the ER. They dosed him with a steroid pill and recommended a double dose of benadryl. He's hive-free now.

I didn't question that it was a reaction to Tamiflu, but on the way home I had a thought--he also ate two peanut butter sandwiches that day-- waaaay more than he's ever eaten.

So now I am wondering, could it be a reaction to the peanut butter? My mother hs a severe nut allergy so I am a little paranoid about it. Should have him tested? Do peanut allergies just appear? Or is it something we'd have known about by now (he's 3.5, and while he doesn't eat a lot of peanut butter, he's had a sandwich a month or so). How do food allergies manifest themselves when they start?

I know we have some peanut-free and other food-allergy moms so any advice is appreciated. My insurance is craptacular so I'd like to avoid a visit to the allergist if possible but I don't want his next sandwich to be his last.

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