Today I met with Carter's allergist about his peanut allergy. So when he was tested at one year old, Carter scored a 10 on the RAST test. I found this chart online which will give you an indication of what that means:
CLASS 0 (less than 0.35 KU/L)
CLASS 1 (0.35-0.7 KU/L)
CLASS 2 (0.71-3.5 KU/L)
CLASS 3 (3.51-17.5 KU/L)
CLASS 4 (17.51-50 KU/L)
CLASS 5 (50.01-100 KU/L)
CLASS 6 (greater than 100 KU/L)
Which as you can see puts him at a level 3. When he was tested this past week his IgE levels were at 100. Yup, that puts him into the highest class possible of allergic potential. Anything over a 14KU/L for peanuts indicates a 100% chance of a reaction. Keep in mind that this number is not indicative of the type of reaction, only that there is a high likelihood for a reaction. So where do we go from here? Just keep doing what we have been doing. Make sure the epi pen and benadryl is with him at all times (which it is.) I'm going to have to start training him to wear his medic alert bracelet or necklace (which he really hates.) Keep training him about food safety. Although I have to say so far it's only been a minor inconvience in our lives, and we just have to make sure that we keep it that way. Luckily I choose a peanut free preschool for the fall, and Carter is with family or me 100% of the time. Things will get more complicated as he gets older, but that's where his training has to come in. So next time you invite us over, make sure it's peanut free!
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We are so sad to hear that news. We will be more vigilant than ever to rid the house of peanut products. I really think the big "blowouts" are related. This was one of the things that used to happen to my college roommate eons ago with her anaphylactic allergy.But if the allergen was in a larger amount it would progress to vomiting w the blowout at the same time and severe drop in blood pressure/lightheaded and she would have to use her epi-pen.So..will will invest in the epi-pen company if needed.
ReplyDeleteGamma
Oh, Tracey, I'm so sorry to hear this. If it is any consolation, my kids don't go to a peanut-free school, but everyone is so used to dealing with kids with peanut allergies now that we all just automatically check and double-check any snack etc. that we send in.
ReplyDeleteMy college roommate had a severe peanut allergy, too, and it was an adventure during our semester overseas trying to make sure any meal we got wouldn't kill her. Once upon a time, I could say "peanut" in 8 different languages. :-)