I had to call a dcm today to come and get her child immediately and take her to hospital RIGHT NOW!! I have never in over 25 years ever had a situation where I felt a baby needed to be seen by a doctor immediately!

This dcg has been with me since she was 7 months old. She is now 18 months old so she has been with me for over a year. Great mom and dad, sweet beautiful little girl but OMG she gave me close to a heart attack today. I was so scared!

Nap time is from 1-3 30. I put all 6 children to bed. The 3 babies who sleep in the same room all went to sleep right away. At 3pm these 3 were all awake and I began to get them up. One by one I got them up, changed them and got them into their highchairs for their snacks. All was well. Each child had a snack. Whole wheat vegetable crackers which I ran out of so I also gave each child a 1/2 of a peanut butter Nature Valley granola bar and a sippy cup with grape juice. All children ate their snacks, drank their juice as they watched a baby Einstein video. All was still well. After snacks were eaten I began to remove cups and highchair trays washed the children's hands and faces. All was still well. One by one I started to take the babies out of their highchairs so that they could go and play. When I got to 18 month old daycare girl her face and chin were so red & swollen and covered with what I am almost positive were hives, her right eye was blood red and watering. All this in less than one minute! I don't know what happened. Some type of allergic reaction I know! But to what? She has had everything that I gave them today for snack. I have given her the crackers before as well as the same peanut butter bars before. The only thing a bit different was the juice. She has had blueberries at home and both mom and dad said she eats them by the fist full.

I could not believe what I was looking at! I was so worried and upset. She only had this reaction on her face. My dh and I checked her whole body which was fine. I never changed laundry detergent or fabric softener so can't be the sheets/blankets/facecloth I used to wash her with. Maybe a dye or something in the juice? I just feel horrible. Dad picked her up at about 410 about a 1/2 hour after I called mom. Mom called me tonight at 6 30 and baby and dad ares till at the hospital and have to stay for another 2 hours. They think it is an allergic reaction as well.

I guess I just needed to tell someone about this as I am so worried and still very unnerved by this right now. It was just so scary and I have never experienced anything that ever felt like this before.

It is nice to be able to come here for support. Thanks everyone.

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HOW SCAREY FOR YOU! It does sound like an allergic reaction. I would have probably called 911. Just because of the fast reaction and for fear of something else happening.

And of course the mom and dad.

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Wow, that would be a scare. Maybe a combination of the juice and peanut butter. I was even wondering of a bug bite. As long as the airway is not swelled otherwise I would have called 911 for an ambulance. Let us know what the doctors said was the cause or if it was an anaphylactic reaction.

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Yikes, that is scary! I wonder if she got some of something (the PB would be my chief suspect, but who knows?) in her eye and it caused the reaction. I had a dcg who got banana in her eye and it caused a similar reaction (and she's had bananas TONS of times with no obvious reaction). Hopefully she's fine, and it was some weird freak occurrence!

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Oh my gosh, that is SO scary! I also agree that it may have been an allergic reaction. I am so sorry this happened under your watch.

Please keep us posted! (((hugs)))

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OH MY. My own eyeballs are deathly allergic to bananas! I've only known one other person like that. If I eat/touch/look at/ think about a banana, my eyes both swell up like grapefruits. Had plenty in my day, just became allergic out of thin air at the age of 23.

As to the little girl, I hope she's ok. You did the right thing calling, and I am so sorry you had that scare. The parents must be glad to have her with someone who knew what to do.

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wow, that is scary. Its weird that it would only be on her face. Maybe it was the juice, what kind was it.

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Hugs to you and that little one. Sure sounds like bad allergic reaction. So glad they took her in...cannot imagine how scared you were. Keep up the good work and care of our future. Let us know what happens and how she turns out. Try to rest and have a decent evening....

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No problems at all with her airways. She was completely fine except for the horrible reaction to her face. She was happy, still wanting to be playing and everything. Any indication of anything serious I would have called 911 and had them meet me on route because I would have already been on my way to the emergency department.

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I never thought of her possibly getting it into her eye. She does rub her eyes a lot.

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I am waiting for mom to call me back. Last I heard from mom at around 6 30 pm was that daddy and baby were still at hospital waiting for an extra 2 hours to make sure baby was okay.

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It was a juice I actually NEVER buy! My 7 year old son and I went grocery shopping and he saw this Fruitopia Blueberry juice and wanted me to buy it so I did. I am going to stick to apple and orange juice and milk from now on for my dcks. I have never been so scared in my life!

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Thanks MARSTELAC, I will rest when I hear back from mom. I am having such a hard time with this tonight. I know in my heart that I did nothing wrong but still feel like somehow I may have but not knowingly

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I hate fruitopia, my odd is allergic to yellow dye and one day my dad bought her some because she was thirst and all she did was throw up like crazy, I will bet you it has to do with the juice. I buy peach juice too, the kids love it, and No Frills has it on sale for a 1.00 the 2 L Fruite one.

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I see you are answering a lot of posts one by one. Suggest you use the multi quote function just to the right of the Quote button. it looks like this (") Click on it in each post you want to reply to. then click on the the big "Post Reply". It will contain aff of the post quotes that you can comment on in just one reply.

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Oh my goodness!
sending blessings your way...pass them on to lil DCG.

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I used to have a dck who was allergic to bananas too! I never heard of that before either.

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Wow! I didn't know this either. However, I guess I'm not the smartest tonight because I still don't understand how to do it. I don't see anything to the right of the "Quote" button. Any further explanation? Sorry if I'm being an idiot!

Not to get off topic, though, very scary! It could have been the peanut butter, too, sometimes the reaction doesn't happen the first time the child is exposed. I hope they find out what it is so it doesn't happen again!

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there are four buttons at the bottom right of any post: EDIT QUOTE "+ and pen/paper
The square button to the right of QUOTE should just be "+
check the small box at the top right off all the posts you want to quote, then hit the "+ button

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allergic reactions are one of the scariest things, especially if it's not you/your child. I do hope she is ok and they can deduce what happened. big hugs to all of you!

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Thanks, I see it now. I think I wasn't logged in before, and if you are not logged in then there are no buttons after the quote button. That must be right because my DH didn't see them either-now we both do. Thanks for your help, though.

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I'm so sorry that happened to you! You had to be terrified!

Even if she had had PB before it still could have beem a reaction to it. Sometimes it takes the body eating something new a few times or many times before you can become allergic or have a reaction to it (I have a BIL who can no longer eat seafood, he swells up with hives & he used to eat it regularly with no problems). That is what our allergist has told us (my son has a peanut allergy). I strongly suggest you mention that the parents think about doing allergy testing. Not being judgmental but do you really feed PB products to kids so young? I wouldn't want to risk it personally b/c peanut allergies can be fatal. What happens is this child had this sort of reaction & possibly if she has the same thing again her reaction could be worse the next time. Sorry you had to go through that. I imagine it was very scary.

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Do you have a menu where the parents get to see what you serve? I would definitely create one and stick to it. If you change what is on the menu for the day then change the menu BEFORE you serve it. This way, if anything happens again you will already have specifically what you fed written down and not have to think about everything the child ate when you're scared and heart is racing. I sure hope she is okay. I don't know much about young toddler feeding, but I think a lot of kids that age have a PB and J sandwiches so I'd think they were already exposed to it at 1.5 years.

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My vote is on the peanut butter. She can have it before and not react. Nut allergies are really serious. Please require them to have her tested for it immediately. The facial outbreak could be your last warning shot before she has a systemic reaction.

I don't give peanut butter until the kid is two to three and the parents have given it at least ten to twenty times.

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I don't serve peanut butter either I do have one with a peanut allergy and I also delevop a peanut allergy in my 30's after my fourth child was born and I swelled like a ballon it is very scary

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Here is hugs for you, hope the little girl is doing fine. Please let us know how she is doing and how you are doing.

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I agree with what was said about the peanut butter allergies. My doctor always told me do not give any child peanut butter until they are at least 2 yrs old, but preferably 3 yrs old. I never listened, but I got lucky. She said they can eat the peanut butter many times, even daily but because they are so young it is more likely they will develop the allergy over time if introduced early. They could be 5 yrs old by the time they have the reaction.

Also, my parents used the same laundry detergent my whole life, never changing it once. Then one day I had an allergic reaction to it. Over time, the products do build up in your system. Or sometimes maybe you put a tad bit more soap in the load, or a few less items into the load, making the soap concentration higher. Not likely the suspect, but i broke out in hives everywhere that the soap touched. If it didn't touch it, I was fine and hive free.

Unfortunately with children, it's not fun to determine the cause of an allergy. But if you have a likely culprit, like the peanut butter, then she should definitely get checked for AT LEAST that. More than likely this is what caused it.
I know that all the schools around here are now nut free schools and some are even egg free! Allergies are everywhere now. At least where I live.

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Oh come on, don't flame her for giving peanut butter to the kids before they go to kindergarten! There's enough conflicting evidence out there on peanut allergies and when peanut butter should be introduced that it's a silly debate in the first place. Years and years ago when peanut butter was introduced MUCH earlier, there were WAY fewer allergies. YES there were a lot of other factors as well that could have been at work. But the facts don't lie...the later we wait to introduce peanuts/peanut butter, the more allergies to it we keep seeing.

Recommendations on when the "highly allergenic foods" should be introduced have changed recently anyway--and peanut butter was included. The AAP itself changed the recommendation and admitted that there is NO conclusive evidence that delaying exposure to peanut butter, shellfish, and eggs beyond 12 months does ANYTHING to prevent allergies, and may in fact be causing more of them. Instead, the recommend discussing it with a pediatrician and exercising common sense--if a child has a family history or self-history of severe food allergies, use more caution when introducing something like PB.

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LINK to the AAP's statement revising it's stance on when to introduce highly allergenic foods. Scroll down to the section entitled, "Role of Introduction of Complementary Foods on Atopic Disease"


From the summary:
-Although solid foods should not be introduced before 4 to 6 months of age, there is no current convincing evidence that delaying their introduction beyond this period has a significant protective effect on the development of atopic disease regardless of whether infants are fed cow milk protein formula or human milk. This includes delaying the introduction of foods that are considered to be highly allergic, such as fish, eggs, and foods containing peanut protein.
-For infants after 4 to 6 months of age, there are insufficient data to support a protective effect of any dietary intervention for the development of atopic disease.
-Additional studies are needed to document the long-term effect of dietary interventions in infancy to prevent atopic disease, especially in children older than 4 years and in adults.

And also from the article, the definition of "atopic disease" for those who don't know (I didn't, but gathered it was allergy related from context)
-Atopic disease: Clinical disease characterized by atopy; typically refers to atopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food allergy. This report will be limited to the discussion of conditions for which substantial information is available in the medical literature.

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That would be very scarry and it could happen to any of us. Just remember you did the right thing and called parents right away and the child is ok. The parents may not say it but I think you did a great job looking over the child and being so aware of new foods she had been introduced to. Could happen to anyone.

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This is how I handle peanut butter as well. It's just one of those foods I choose to be cautious about, as I have had kids in care with allergies.

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Not sure if you were giving me grief about what I posted silversabre...

But like I said, I never listened, I gave my kids peanut butter before they were a year. Mainly because they would get ahold of the older kids sandwiches or toast and nothing happened.
I also give my dck's peanut butter ONLY as long as the parents have already given it. I dont' want to be the first to try it out on their kids just in case.

I am also the person who believes the people who don't have animals, who dust 100 times a day, and who basically keep babies in a bubble, are the ones setting their child up for major issues. Maybe not necessarily allergies, but my own thoughts on this is that they have to be introduced to germs to create any kind of immunity towards them. I have no idea if that's right, but that's my theory and I'm stickin to it! lol.

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no, no no! Not giving you grief AT ALL!!!! That was at the ones who WERE flaming her for giving pb "so early".

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ok thanks!

I've been watching myself so far today lol. And was hoping my first post of the morning was starting anything lol.



I think as long as parents say they have given peanut butter already, and they give the go ahead for peanut butter then you are fine. I wouldn't serve it if the parents have said they have never tried.

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What is wrong with being cautious?! I have a son who has peanut allergies so you can bet I will be overly cautious. If I am not extra cautious my son could DIE. That's a pretty serious situation so no I won't just give a child under 2 PB without parent's authorization. And we do no PB when my son is home from school. And I also realize the guidelines are constantly changing. Our pediatrician still recommends that b/c our oldest has a peanut allergy we should be extra cautious with our younger kids (ages 7 & 3). Our 7 year old is fine w/ peanut products but did not try until he was almost 3. Our 3 year old has had some but not until he was 2 1/2. No problems with him either. That's the thing. . . as a provider I would not want to give a peanut product to any child without knowing how much of the item they had consumed at home. It's way too much liability IMO. My question would be to the original poster did/had this child regularly been consuming peanut products at home? I don't blame the original poster at all, she did the right thing contacting parents, etc and I didn't mean to "flame" her. I think most people, until they have to deal with it in their own family, are not educated in reference to food allergies.

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I am sorry if I made you feel bad about serving a PB product. That was NOT my intent at all!

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janarae, having a peanut allergy in your own home and in your own family is different. Frankly, I'm surprised that you don't have a peanut-free home since you have a peanut allergy in the family. Being extra cautious is necessary in your case. Being extra cautious *for most people* could be setting them up for problems, not preventing them.

I have plenty of food issues in my own family--dairy, gluten, food dyes, sugar, and a couple others--including a possible nut allergy/sensitivity in my own DD. Not just my immediate family, but my sisters and their children as well. Just because there's no full-blown nut allergy doesn't mean I'm not educated and don't know what I'm talking about. I reckon I know more about food allergies and issues than most people do. Gluten intolerance may not be a severe as a peanut allergy, but it sure as heck is just as annoying, if not moreso, when it comes to trying to find safe food to eat.

I myself keep sunflower seed butter on hand and I give it equally as often as peanut butter, or I will give it to the youngest couple of kids while the rest get PB.

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I admit that we are not totally peanut-free but only because I eat peanut butter (not around my son, he is in school, he's 9). I don't serve peanut butter to anyone in my care b/c the little boy I care for also has a peanut allergy & although my 3-year old has had peanut products he has never had PB. I think it is a sympathy thing with my younger kids, they know their older brother can not have it so they don't want it & don't want to try it (maybe they think it's terrible?!). Maybe I should try one of the other nut spreads (almond/sunflower/they even make a soy which a friend told me was good). I totally know that it can be a bad thing to wait longer to try things but I think sometimes people get a false sense of security when they have tried something 2-3x with no problem & then wham-o that 4th or 5th time they have a minor reaction & think nothing about it. Then that 6th time -watch out! I guess that is why I avoid it for anyone I care for but for more obvious reasons (because 2 kids in my care have the allergy).

Oh yeah, I have heard gluten int. is very hard to deal with. I have a friend whose toddler had that problem. It was not fun for them until they got the diagnosis as to what he should avoid. I guess if anything I think it is important for providers to ask their DCF if a child has tried something at home & like Nannyde I would recommend not giving certain "problem/potential problem food items" until the item had been served at home 10-12x or more at home with no problem.

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Children First - Any updates?

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Sorry this happened to you and the child. If it helps any, I caused something similar at church one Wednesday night.

We all took turns bringing a snack for the kids. I decided one night to take Little Debbie brownies. I usually bought the ones with the walnuts on top for myself, so that is the ones that I grabbed. Not thinking anything about it.

Served them and all was fine. When one little 4 y/o was headed out we all noticed his face was really red. Pointed it out to Mom. None of us could figure out why. As the night progressed at home, they finally ended up at the ER. He was allergic to the walnuts. His brother had nut allergies too.

If it helps, she was not upset at all. She was happy that it had happened in that controlled environment, where she was easy to get and not the next year when he was in kindergarten. His diet is now watched and he always has a epie pen in his back pack.

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As for the peanut allergies, I have a totallly different take. If I ever had a child that the parent wanted a peanut free home, I couldn't keep them

I'm a type two diabetic. Peanut butter is my BEST FRIEND! When my sugar bottoms out, I head for 2 glucose tablets and a table spoon of Peanut butter!
Peanut butter and peanuts are my snack many times a week for me personally.

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My DH is what they are calling a type 1.5 diabetic and we have every type of nut available in our house too! It is the only snack that really hits the spot and doesn't play nasty tricks on his blood sugar levels. His fav is Pastachio's.

In 16 years I have never had a peanut allergy in my care or anyone who has even asked. As a matter of fact, the only allergy I have had here is to strawberries.

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Children First... do you have an update?

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Hi Everyone, Thanks so much for all of your comments and all of the kind words of encouragement.

The little girl is doing fine. Mom called me again last night after getting home from the hospital. They were there for a good 5 hours as they wanted to keep a close watch on the baby to make sure. She now has 2 epi pens and mom and dad are making an appointment today for allergy testing.

They do believe that it is a peanut allergy although this little girl has had peanut butter at home many, many times. I would never feed a child peanut products if I was not 100% sure that it was okay! In this case it was okay for this little girl for over 6 months. But that's what they said at the hospital, that it could come on just like that!

Mom and dad were very nice and continuously thanked me last night on the phone for acting so quickly.

I am feeling so much better now. I was so scared and I will never ever again give any of my daycare children peanut products! Thanks again

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Glad she is ok and glad they sang your praises!

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wow, awesome kudos to you,.... what wonderful ways to show it too!!

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I am happy to hear the little girl is ok. And you did a great job!!

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This means that they were giving a twelve month old peanut products.

If you are going to keep this child you need to HEAVILY research peanut and nut allergies. Having even a slight exposure could take her life. You will need to be completely peanut free which will most likely DRASTICALLY alter your food life. You also need to make sure that ALL kids coming into your home are peanut free EVERY day. Some children can even react to peanut residue on clothing or on another child's breath.

I don't keep kids with peanut allergies because I can't maintain a peanut free enviornment. It would be too rsiky for them to come here. I would have to terminate this child immediately.

The children with nut allergies are protected under the disability act so if you choose not to go peanut free and terminate you may have to prove it is in conflict with the best interest, health, and safety of the other people in your home (your family, you, your other day care kids).

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Even though they THINK it's a peanut allergy, I'm still curious to see what the allergy test results are. I'm glad she's okay, and the parents commended you for acting quickly!

Keep us posted about the test results!

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I agree with this. My gut tells me it's the PB. It's just such a common allergy and would seem to cause a reaction this severe. But I am sure I could be wrong.

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Sorry this happened to you and I'm so glad the child is okay!! My DS has a peanut allergy (among other allergies), and my home/daycare is peanut-free. It is part of my policies that children not have peanut or tree nut products brought into the daycare. It is not that difficult - I've only ever had to turn away 1 "granola bar" that had nuts in it, but that's it. If the dck's love peanut butter that much, they eat it at home. There are plenty of other peanut-free things to eat. Hope all is well with the little girl and keep us updated on what the allergy testing says!!

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Congrats on the way you handled this situation. I thought about her all evening!!

One of my children's best friends has a nut allergy among many other allergies. IT IS A REALLY BIG DEAL! He is a teen and only allowed to go to friends houses who have training with the epi pen. I keep an emergency contact list for him on my fridge. He only eats food provided by his parents.

My husband's colleague died after eating a candy bar with a new "nutty" recipe.

Good luck.
Maybe have parents provide food from here on out?

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i've always heard kids shouldn't eat peanut butter until they're four so their airway doesn't completely close up if they have a reaction. i can't remember what age EXACTLY i gave my kids peanut butter, but i know for sure it wasn't before they were at least 3. people argue the age all the time, but 1 year is def. too young and it's better to be safe than sorry. of course people can say "kids can have PB before they're 4" if their child doesn't have an allergy! it's when they DO that it's dangerous and deadly which to me is worth the wait.

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Which school should I choose for my 7 year old scandinavian-speaking boy in Tokyo from next year?

He doesnt speak neither English nor Japanese, so we are looking for a training course before he can enter normal classes. We hope ha can learn to speak Japanese after one or two years in Tokyo...

Any recommendations or experience?

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This CAN be true, but you don't need to assume that. I have 3 kids in my daycare that have peanut allergies. It's not hard at all to feed them, or keep them safe. They each have their own ipe-pens, which i've never had to use. I don't serve anything to any of the kids with peanuts or any nuts...or that has been processed with nuts. It's really quite easy, unless you buy a lot of packaged cookies/crackers. The labels clearly specify what's in them, and usually have a seperate list for common allergens like milk, nuts...
There are children that are super-sensitive and need many more precautions than I do, but with my 3 I haven't had to alter what my family eats at all, or what the other children eat at home. I have had these three for 3 and 4 years, and never once had a problem, so I wouldn't panic before you actually hear what the Drs. have to say
And kudos to you for the way you handled yourself in an emergeny...you were great!

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So very sorry this happened to you. We went through a similar situation with a toddler who fell and cracked her head open in a crazy freak accident. Although this wasn't an allergy, we ended up having to call an ambulance because mom worked too far to get here in time. I work in a large daycare and in the 5 years I've been there, while we've had lots of bumps and cuts, but we've never had a true emergency situation. Also, I raised 3 boys and they all had their share of stitches & bruises, but the feeling one gets while caring for another person's child who then gets hurt is horrible to say the least. I couldn't get the girl's face out of my mind for days afterwards. (She ended up completely fine and mom and dad were angels about the whole thing).

I hope your dcg is ok and you should not feel any of it is your fault. If it is an allergy to pb, it would have happened sooner or later anyhow. Most parents do not pre-test for food allergies until their kid has a reaction. If they rule it is, you will then have to decide if you can handle a peanut-free child at your home. Good luck.

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So glad she's okay. It sounds like you handled it very well and I'm glad that the parents see that. I'm sure that they appreciate how quickly and appropriately you responded.

I gave my daughter peanut butter around 12 months and she's had it since then with no problems, but both my husband and I are aware that it can happen, even though it's rare. I don't give peanut butter to any dcks because I have a 3-yr old with a severe egg allergy who has never had peanut butter and the parents don't want to try it, so we avoid it for now.

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