So my daughter does not have peanut allergies, then what could it be?

Canada
December 7, 2007 5:30pm CST
My daughter a few weeks ago broke out in hives all over her body. It was after her afternoon nap, and she did have peanut butter on her sandwhich at lunch. The next day the same thing happened after we tested her with a peanut butter cookie half way through the day to see if it was nuts. She then started to break out again and we gave her medicine to take away the reaction. But today we went to an allergist and they tested her for the peanut allergy and it came back that it was not peanuts nor any other nut allergy. So I wonder what it could be that the hives were so bad, any suggestions?"
2 people like this
5 responses
@icon_001 (584)
• India
11 Dec 07
Well;It is surprising as Symptoms point to allergy to Nuts . May be it could have been due to a Combo of Peanut and Butter. Still keep a watch on her condition and if necessary show her to another doctor .
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Dec 07
No, they do not point to nut allergy. They point to an allergy or sensitivity of ANY kind. It could also be something in the bread or the cookie other than the nuts. It could be something in her bed area. If it is a sensitivity instead of an allergy - it could be anything she was exposed to in the last 48 hours.
@speakeasy (4171)
• United States
17 Dec 07
The first time I had hives, it was because of bell peppers. Even though I had eaten them in food all of my life, I suddenly became allergic to them. I ate them in a sauce at lunch and woke up in the middle of the night covered in hives and an allergy test of everything I ate in the previous 24 hours showed it was the bell peppers. Hives can take up to 48 hours after being exposed before the symptoms show. You can also become allergic to something that was safe before. Tracking it down should start with a trip to the allergist and doing skin tests. If they don't find it; then you need to do trial and error (process of elimination). It could be a reaction to a chemical in the bread or cookie - read the label and see what ingrediants they have in common (a lot of people have a reaction to the different chemicals and preservatives in food and beverages). Hives can also be caused by contact allergens and airborne allergens - detergents, fabric softeners, air fresheners, etc. Plus, hives can be caused by STRESS. Was she being difficult to get to take her nap? For some people, stress makes their body produce histamines and the result can be hives. Best of luck with this problem. I hope you find the culprit soon.
@Trace86 (5030)
• United States
9 Dec 07
Is there anything else different in your house? Did you switch laundry detergent or fabric softener? I get terrible hives from Tide. Did the allergist find anything she was allergic to? If not, it may just be a contact reaction.
• United States
9 Dec 07
It could be something that is in or around her crib, if she's breaking out specifically after having a nap. I would start by looking in the area that she's sleeping. I would also check into your laundry detergent. A lot of people have sensitivity to certain chemicals and will break out from contact with them. If she's sleeping in a bed, I would check the mattress. It's possible that you might have mites or something like that. Or it could be something in the fabric of the mattress that she's developed an allergy to. They do make hypoallergenic mattress covers for just that reason. I never had a single allergy as a child, nor during my early adulthood. Nothing bothered me, except for bell peppers making me sick for some reason. Then we moved to Tennessee and I was fine for about a year, but when I turned 28, the following summer, I was allergic to just about every kind of outdoor plant there was. I walked out into the grass in my yard barefooted and broke out in hives and felt like I was being eaten alive from the inside out. My doctor told me that just because I wasn't allergic to it last year doesn't mean that I won't develop and allergy to it at any given time. I hope you find out what it is soon.
• United States
8 Dec 07
mabey a certin sugar or sypruo they use? i would read the back of the penut butter jar and also the cookie pack and see if there are other ingredients the same