Allergy Testing

This is what someone who's back tested positive for tree nuts looks like.  On the left they numbered dots 1 thru 5 and on the right side it was number 6.  Number 1 was I think Almonds, 2-4 were cashews or hazelnuts and pecans and walnuts.  Spot 5 was water, a control, if she had reacted to water they would not have been able to confirm a reaction otherwise.  #6 was a histamine, another control, in this instance 

they wanted to see her have a reaction.

So Elise has a bonafide allergy to tree nuts meaning peanuts and peanut butter (a staple in our house) is okay.  No pistachios, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts basically every nut that that grows on a tree.

We now have an epi-pen in case she goes into anaphylaxis a life-threatening type of allergic reaction. The allergist in fact wants us to avoid all items that say "this product may have come into contact with tree nuts."  Seems a bit extreme to us.  We'll stick to what foods she has been exposed to but will start reading labels for new purchases.

Well what brought this on you think?  She has vomited within 10 minutes every time she ate walnuts.  The first time she was 2-3 and at that time she went thru a phase where she would vomit a few times a week especially in the morning so we didn't think much of it.  When she began to talk well enough to describe what she was feeling she said she didn't like the taste of walnuts.  She vomited 3 or so times with walnuts so we excluded walnuts from her diet.  Well last summer we went to a birthday party and Elise asked if she could have a cookie.  I said yes, they looked like shortbread.  They were shortbread pecan and within 10 minutes she vomited.  Fast forward to this Christmas season Elise and I were making holiday treats.  It was her job to place the pecan on melted chocolate and we were doing just fine when all of a sudden she screamed and said her eye hurt.  It began to swell quickly.  We washed her hands, she was ordered to to eat any other the dessert, fearing if it darn near shut her eye what could it do to her throat?  We made an allergy appointment because it seems to have gotten worse with subsequent exposures.  Mama knew best.  Let's hope we never have to use that epi-pen!