What's up with peanut alergies these days.
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Christian Graus wrote:
The point, I believe, is that the child knows not to eat nuts, or drink milk, BUT, in theory, all sorts of foods can have traces of peanut in them. As I said, I don't know the specifics, I was thinking out loud, and he may well be as affected by, say, cows milk in chocolate. If he is, I'd not hesitate to raise hell about it. And that not being the case would not guarantee I wouldn't do it anyhow.
Sorry. I was trying to be a bit ironical. I think we can cope with my son's issue a bit easier than the peanut people since milk in most cooked foods doesn't seem to have the same effects. More than anything, I am really curious about what has caused this 'outbreak' of peanut allergies. Since I haven't seen any historical data I still wonder about the root cause or if the percentage of the population with issues is the same in percentage but just louder and better at threatening law suits.
Christian Graus wrote:
Yes, the other thing to remember is that you get to blow your fuse, but he will pay the price.
Oh yeah, I try really hard around him. I made sure I listened to the mellow stuff later.
Christian Graus wrote:
( i.e. if it doesn't hit him as fast and therefore he has time to feel it coming on and get help )
Spot on.
Christian Graus wrote:
at least a reason to drop it rather than have him stuck in the middle of a war on the school.
Yeah, I went through too many silly wars with my dad fighting the system just for the sake of it.
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --?
Chris Austin wrote:
Sorry. I was trying to be a bit ironica
OK, that's cool. I was worried I might offend you, it IS an issue that affects your son's health, after all.
Chris Austin wrote:
More than anything, I am really curious about what has caused this 'outbreak' of peanut allergie
It's happening in Oz, too. I'm very interested, please do post if you find out anything.
Chris Austin wrote:
Yeah, I went through too many silly wars with my dad fighting the system just for the sake of it.
Exactly. I could easily find it in myself to be that way, but I always try to think if it will make my kid better off, or not.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista.
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As the farther of a seven month old I've been interested in the same topic. The official advice here in Oz is that introducing babies to solid food early (before 6 months) is thought to be associated with the increase in food allergies. In the last few months a study was released that came to the opposite conclusion - that waiting too long to introduce solid food is associated with food allergies. We started at 4 months because he is a massive little fella (in the 100th percentile for height, 90th for weight) and breast milk alone was not satisfying him. There is another school of thought that links the increase in early childhood vaccinations with (amongst just about everything else) food allergies. I've also read that not breastfeeding a child is linked to allergies. We were advised that certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy as they have been linked with childhood allergies. I asked the doctor if avoiding certain foods like peanuts during pregnancy could cause allergies as that seemed logical to me (ie the opposite of the advice). She said that no one really knew as it would be unethical to attempt a study. My personal thought is that no one really knows what causes these severe allergies and everyone with a chip on their shoulder about particular parenting methods has attempted to draw a connection between allergies and their area of interest. I see a similar thing with Autism, not breastfeeding causes it, vaccinations cause it, eating X causes it, not eating X causes it etc etc There is also a defined distinction[^] between an allergy and an intolerance yet most people only use the term allergy
modified on Monday, March 16, 2009 8:40 PM
Nothing *causes* autism, it's not a disease. GIven how scared women are nowadays of stuff they can't eat when pregnant, I think your theory probably holds some water.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista.
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As the farther of a seven month old I've been interested in the same topic. The official advice here in Oz is that introducing babies to solid food early (before 6 months) is thought to be associated with the increase in food allergies. In the last few months a study was released that came to the opposite conclusion - that waiting too long to introduce solid food is associated with food allergies. We started at 4 months because he is a massive little fella (in the 100th percentile for height, 90th for weight) and breast milk alone was not satisfying him. There is another school of thought that links the increase in early childhood vaccinations with (amongst just about everything else) food allergies. I've also read that not breastfeeding a child is linked to allergies. We were advised that certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy as they have been linked with childhood allergies. I asked the doctor if avoiding certain foods like peanuts during pregnancy could cause allergies as that seemed logical to me (ie the opposite of the advice). She said that no one really knew as it would be unethical to attempt a study. My personal thought is that no one really knows what causes these severe allergies and everyone with a chip on their shoulder about particular parenting methods has attempted to draw a connection between allergies and their area of interest. I see a similar thing with Autism, not breastfeeding causes it, vaccinations cause it, eating X causes it, not eating X causes it etc etc There is also a defined distinction[^] between an allergy and an intolerance yet most people only use the term allergy
modified on Monday, March 16, 2009 8:40 PM
Josh Gray wrote:
introducing babies to solid food early (before 6 months) is thought to be associated with the increase in food allergies.
My theory is that introducing babies to government bureaucracy early is associated with the increase in food allergies. :laugh:
Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.
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Josh Gray wrote:
introducing babies to solid food early (before 6 months) is thought to be associated with the increase in food allergies.
My theory is that introducing babies to government bureaucracy early is associated with the increase in food allergies. :laugh:
Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.
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So, My son is extremely allergic to cow's milk (It's far worse than lactose intolerance). But, we don't force others to modify their diet around him. Even at three, he knows he is not supposed to drink cow's milk and he knows to ask anybody that gives him milk if it is cow milk. However, when I sat down with a preschool headmaster this morning she made it very clear that he is not to ever bring a lunch that includes anything to do with peanuts. I thought sure, I can deal with that even though my boy loves a "PB&J sammich". So, I asked if they would make sure that he enjoys the same level of quarantine around cow milk. She looked at me like I was crazy and simply said 'no'. Needless to say, it upsets me that my child's allergy is not deemed as important as those with a peanut allergy even though he suffers nearly the same symptoms. My personal feelings aside, when did so many kids start becoming allergic to peanuts? I am not that old and I don't remember it being something we had to be paranoid about when I was in school. Has our diet of processed foods and mass produced meat caused this? Or, is it just another case inconveniencing everybody to appease a few whiners?
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --?
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As the farther of a seven month old I've been interested in the same topic. The official advice here in Oz is that introducing babies to solid food early (before 6 months) is thought to be associated with the increase in food allergies. In the last few months a study was released that came to the opposite conclusion - that waiting too long to introduce solid food is associated with food allergies. We started at 4 months because he is a massive little fella (in the 100th percentile for height, 90th for weight) and breast milk alone was not satisfying him. There is another school of thought that links the increase in early childhood vaccinations with (amongst just about everything else) food allergies. I've also read that not breastfeeding a child is linked to allergies. We were advised that certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy as they have been linked with childhood allergies. I asked the doctor if avoiding certain foods like peanuts during pregnancy could cause allergies as that seemed logical to me (ie the opposite of the advice). She said that no one really knew as it would be unethical to attempt a study. My personal thought is that no one really knows what causes these severe allergies and everyone with a chip on their shoulder about particular parenting methods has attempted to draw a connection between allergies and their area of interest. I see a similar thing with Autism, not breastfeeding causes it, vaccinations cause it, eating X causes it, not eating X causes it etc etc There is also a defined distinction[^] between an allergy and an intolerance yet most people only use the term allergy
modified on Monday, March 16, 2009 8:40 PM
I saw this in a TV report and found it of interest: http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters/us_allergy_nuts.html[^]
John Carson
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I saw this in a TV report and found it of interest: http://health.yahoo.com/news/reuters/us_allergy_nuts.html[^]
John Carson
Several times in my early teens I came in contact with poison ivy on camping trips; some of the reactions were extensive and painful. I recall one time practically living in the bathtub and swimming in Calamine lotion for a few days. Yet these days I uproot poison ivy plants with my bare hands ... and eventually go wash up. It seems that if I wash within about 1/2 hour it doesn't bother me much, perhaps one or two small blisters on a finger or two.
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Ilíon wrote:
What's up is just yet another Yuppie "I'm so special" hysteria/fad.
I hope so because that's curable.
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --?
Chris Austin wrote:
I hope so because that's curable.
I'm not so sure. Oh, sure, eventually it will not be chic to have a peanut alergy, and then the "incidence" will decline as mysteriously as it grew, and probably more quickly. But that will only mean that an even more trendy alergy has been "discovered."
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Several times in my early teens I came in contact with poison ivy on camping trips; some of the reactions were extensive and painful. I recall one time practically living in the bathtub and swimming in Calamine lotion for a few days. Yet these days I uproot poison ivy plants with my bare hands ... and eventually go wash up. It seems that if I wash within about 1/2 hour it doesn't bother me much, perhaps one or two small blisters on a finger or two.
Yes, I tend to agree with the other poster who said the problem could be over protection, as much as anything.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista.
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As the farther of a seven month old I've been interested in the same topic. The official advice here in Oz is that introducing babies to solid food early (before 6 months) is thought to be associated with the increase in food allergies. In the last few months a study was released that came to the opposite conclusion - that waiting too long to introduce solid food is associated with food allergies. We started at 4 months because he is a massive little fella (in the 100th percentile for height, 90th for weight) and breast milk alone was not satisfying him. There is another school of thought that links the increase in early childhood vaccinations with (amongst just about everything else) food allergies. I've also read that not breastfeeding a child is linked to allergies. We were advised that certain foods should be avoided during pregnancy as they have been linked with childhood allergies. I asked the doctor if avoiding certain foods like peanuts during pregnancy could cause allergies as that seemed logical to me (ie the opposite of the advice). She said that no one really knew as it would be unethical to attempt a study. My personal thought is that no one really knows what causes these severe allergies and everyone with a chip on their shoulder about particular parenting methods has attempted to draw a connection between allergies and their area of interest. I see a similar thing with Autism, not breastfeeding causes it, vaccinations cause it, eating X causes it, not eating X causes it etc etc There is also a defined distinction[^] between an allergy and an intolerance yet most people only use the term allergy
modified on Monday, March 16, 2009 8:40 PM
Josh Gray wrote:
I've also read that not breastfeeding a child is linked to allergies.
I've read that, too. And it makes sense to me. As long as children are breastfed -- apparently that was originally a couple of years in the dawn of civilization - the mother's immune system is helping the child's system learn to tolerate a universe a heck of a lot less tolerable than the womb.
Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
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Josh Gray wrote:
I've also read that not breastfeeding a child is linked to allergies.
I've read that, too. And it makes sense to me. As long as children are breastfed -- apparently that was originally a couple of years in the dawn of civilization - the mother's immune system is helping the child's system learn to tolerate a universe a heck of a lot less tolerable than the womb.
Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface
Oakman wrote:
I've read that, too. And it makes sense to me. As long as children are breastfed -- apparently that was originally a couple of years in the dawn of civilization - the mother's immune system is helping the child's system learn to tolerate a universe a heck of a lot less tolerable than the womb.
Our experience of parenting a baby is that it's a minefield of conflicting advice and associated guilt. Often the advice given is the result of a personal vendetta against a particular parenting practice as much as it is the result of scientific study. Breastfeeding is probably the best example, 30 odd years ago when we were babies our mothers were encouraged to use formula, we met many midwives who insist that every woman is able to breastfeed and to not do so is tantamount to child abuse. I know of at least one woman who has suffered serious PND as a result of this pressure and being unable to breastfeed her child. The breastfeeding thing is often taken too far now I think. My niece started school last year at five years old and there were kids who were still being breastfeed before bed every night.
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Oakman wrote:
I've read that, too. And it makes sense to me. As long as children are breastfed -- apparently that was originally a couple of years in the dawn of civilization - the mother's immune system is helping the child's system learn to tolerate a universe a heck of a lot less tolerable than the womb.
Our experience of parenting a baby is that it's a minefield of conflicting advice and associated guilt. Often the advice given is the result of a personal vendetta against a particular parenting practice as much as it is the result of scientific study. Breastfeeding is probably the best example, 30 odd years ago when we were babies our mothers were encouraged to use formula, we met many midwives who insist that every woman is able to breastfeed and to not do so is tantamount to child abuse. I know of at least one woman who has suffered serious PND as a result of this pressure and being unable to breastfeed her child. The breastfeeding thing is often taken too far now I think. My niece started school last year at five years old and there were kids who were still being breastfeed before bed every night.
Josh Gray wrote:
five years old and *snip* still being breastfeed before bed every night.
That's just wrong... On the other hand - make sure you are getting some!! ;P Do what you think works best for you guys... yes, breastfeeding is great for the kid's immune system, and the containers breast milk comes in are fun to have around, but at the end of the day, kids will thrive on formula just as well. I remember with our first one, he would NOT sleep on his back or side, only on his stomach. SIDS research suggests always putting your baby to sleep on its side or back, never on its stomach... HOWEVER, given the choice between a sleeping baby with a very mildly increased risk of SIDS, or a baby that screamed the house down and wouldn't sleep, we put him to sleep on his stomach every day. (Although we did buy a SIDS reducing cot mattress - but this was before he was born.)
Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!! Booger Mobile - Camp Quality esCarpade 2010
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Josh Gray wrote:
five years old and *snip* still being breastfeed before bed every night.
That's just wrong... On the other hand - make sure you are getting some!! ;P Do what you think works best for you guys... yes, breastfeeding is great for the kid's immune system, and the containers breast milk comes in are fun to have around, but at the end of the day, kids will thrive on formula just as well. I remember with our first one, he would NOT sleep on his back or side, only on his stomach. SIDS research suggests always putting your baby to sleep on its side or back, never on its stomach... HOWEVER, given the choice between a sleeping baby with a very mildly increased risk of SIDS, or a baby that screamed the house down and wouldn't sleep, we put him to sleep on his stomach every day. (Although we did buy a SIDS reducing cot mattress - but this was before he was born.)
Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!! Booger Mobile - Camp Quality esCarpade 2010
_Damian S_ wrote:
That's just wrong...
My theory is if they can ask for it they're too old. That I dont want to fight him for the rights to said containers. Our basic philosophy is to seek advice when we feel we need it and trust in our own common scene. Have you been watching the "Bringing up baby" tv series? The sleeping business has turned into a major drama the last month or so. We've done the controlled crying thing which worked to a degree but he's still not sleeping well./
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So, My son is extremely allergic to cow's milk (It's far worse than lactose intolerance). But, we don't force others to modify their diet around him. Even at three, he knows he is not supposed to drink cow's milk and he knows to ask anybody that gives him milk if it is cow milk. However, when I sat down with a preschool headmaster this morning she made it very clear that he is not to ever bring a lunch that includes anything to do with peanuts. I thought sure, I can deal with that even though my boy loves a "PB&J sammich". So, I asked if they would make sure that he enjoys the same level of quarantine around cow milk. She looked at me like I was crazy and simply said 'no'. Needless to say, it upsets me that my child's allergy is not deemed as important as those with a peanut allergy even though he suffers nearly the same symptoms. My personal feelings aside, when did so many kids start becoming allergic to peanuts? I am not that old and I don't remember it being something we had to be paranoid about when I was in school. Has our diet of processed foods and mass produced meat caused this? Or, is it just another case inconveniencing everybody to appease a few whiners?
Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --?
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Oakman wrote:
I've read that, too. And it makes sense to me. As long as children are breastfed -- apparently that was originally a couple of years in the dawn of civilization - the mother's immune system is helping the child's system learn to tolerate a universe a heck of a lot less tolerable than the womb.
Our experience of parenting a baby is that it's a minefield of conflicting advice and associated guilt. Often the advice given is the result of a personal vendetta against a particular parenting practice as much as it is the result of scientific study. Breastfeeding is probably the best example, 30 odd years ago when we were babies our mothers were encouraged to use formula, we met many midwives who insist that every woman is able to breastfeed and to not do so is tantamount to child abuse. I know of at least one woman who has suffered serious PND as a result of this pressure and being unable to breastfeed her child. The breastfeeding thing is often taken too far now I think. My niece started school last year at five years old and there were kids who were still being breastfeed before bed every night.
Josh Gray wrote:
I know of at least one woman who has suffered serious PND as a result of this pressure and being unable to breastfeed her child.
Well, PND is a physical condition brought about by chemical changes, you'll get it or you won't. I'm sure the pressure compounded the problem tho. It is true that any mother who can breastfeed, is doing their baby a favour by doing so, but putting on the pressure does not help anyone. It takes a while to realise it's your kid, and you need to tell everyone else, well meaning or otherwise, to bugger off if they don't like how you do it.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista.
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Stan Shannon wrote:
My theory is that introducing babies to government bureaucracy early is associated with the increase in food allergies. Laugh
:) Is that a reaction to our government having guidelines for this at all?
Josh Gray wrote:
Is that a reaction to our government having guidelines for this at all?
Well, ya know, it is a curious correlation. More government health care - more peanut allergies. Just something to think about...
Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.
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_Damian S_ wrote:
That's just wrong...
My theory is if they can ask for it they're too old. That I dont want to fight him for the rights to said containers. Our basic philosophy is to seek advice when we feel we need it and trust in our own common scene. Have you been watching the "Bringing up baby" tv series? The sleeping business has turned into a major drama the last month or so. We've done the controlled crying thing which worked to a degree but he's still not sleeping well./
I didn't watch the tv series, although I have read a bit about it (and the saga it has caused). Do you have the baby in the room with you? Or is he in his own room? Ours have never been in the room with us - they went straight into their own rooms as soon as we got home from hospital...
Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!! Booger Mobile - Camp Quality esCarpade 2010
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Josh Gray wrote:
five years old and *snip* still being breastfeed before bed every night.
That's just wrong... On the other hand - make sure you are getting some!! ;P Do what you think works best for you guys... yes, breastfeeding is great for the kid's immune system, and the containers breast milk comes in are fun to have around, but at the end of the day, kids will thrive on formula just as well. I remember with our first one, he would NOT sleep on his back or side, only on his stomach. SIDS research suggests always putting your baby to sleep on its side or back, never on its stomach... HOWEVER, given the choice between a sleeping baby with a very mildly increased risk of SIDS, or a baby that screamed the house down and wouldn't sleep, we put him to sleep on his stomach every day. (Although we did buy a SIDS reducing cot mattress - but this was before he was born.)
Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!! Booger Mobile - Camp Quality esCarpade 2010
_Damian S_ wrote:
That's just wrong...
My theory is if they can ask for it they're too old. That I dont want to fight him for the rights to said containers. Our basic philosophy is to seek advice when we feel we need it and trust in our own common scene. Have you been watching the "Bringing up baby" tv series? The sleeping business has turned into a major drama the last month or so. We've done the controlled crying thing which worked to a degree but he's still not sleeping well.
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Josh Gray wrote:
I know of at least one woman who has suffered serious PND as a result of this pressure and being unable to breastfeed her child.
Well, PND is a physical condition brought about by chemical changes, you'll get it or you won't. I'm sure the pressure compounded the problem tho. It is true that any mother who can breastfeed, is doing their baby a favour by doing so, but putting on the pressure does not help anyone. It takes a while to realise it's your kid, and you need to tell everyone else, well meaning or otherwise, to bugger off if they don't like how you do it.
Christian Graus Driven to the arms of OSX by Vista.
Christian Graus wrote:
Well, PND is a physical condition brought about by chemical changes, you'll get it or you won't. I'm sure the pressure compounded the problem tho.
But what causes the chemical changes? Could undue pressure, either specifically to breastfeed or to generally be a "good" mother cause those kinds of chemical changes? If what you say is correct could pregnant women not be tested for PND?
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_Damian S_ wrote:
That's just wrong...
My theory is if they can ask for it they're too old. That I dont want to fight him for the rights to said containers. Our basic philosophy is to seek advice when we feel we need it and trust in our own common scene. Have you been watching the "Bringing up baby" tv series? The sleeping business has turned into a major drama the last month or so. We've done the controlled crying thing which worked to a degree but he's still not sleeping well.
Deja vu all over again!
Knowledge is knowing that the tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad!! Booger Mobile - Camp Quality esCarpade 2010