peanut allergy info

Ok, so today I went to get educated about Thomas' peanut allergy. I feel pretty informed on the egg allergy but I needed more info on the milk one and especially the peanut allergy.
It was really informative and quite scary.

Here is a summary of what I gathered:

1) If Thomas ever comes in contact with peanuts (nuts/candy with nuts/peanut butter), we need to give the epi pen 1st, put the dissolvable benadryl in his cheek, and call the ambulance. Even if he doesn't have a reaction at first, she says it is better safe than sorry and easier to save his airway if we do it immediately rather than wait to see if he will react. This is so very hard for me to imagine doing. With Jeremiah, we give benadryl if we see hives and watch for a more sever reaction, but all he has ever had is hives, which benadryl clears up. I cant imagine giving Thomas a shot of epinephrine and going to the ER, without him ever having a reaction. But, that is what the Doctor told me to do.
2)We have to completely rid our house of peanuts and tree nuts. Anything with them in it or made on the same equipment or in the same factory even. That means Jeremiah is no longer allowed to eat it in our house or any time he could remotely come in contact with Thomas.
Jeremiah is also now allergic to walnuts, so we can not do tree nuts as well. That includes no hand dipped ice creams, since one with nuts may have been scooped before one without and cross contaminated. No bakeries, no buffets, no sprinkles.
3)We have to work really hard to get Winnie the Pooh and our church to be a peanut free zone. If other kids eat and then play and Thomas comes in contact with peanut-butter and rubs his eyes or puts his hand in his mouth, he could react. If it is on any of Jermiah's clothes or bag or shoes and Thomas comes in contact with it, he could react. I also need to work to have them get into a habit of washing their hands and faces after eating, rather than just before, to prevent any cross contamination.
4) I am going to have to start cooking more. Peanuts and tree nuts are hidden in lots of things. It is near impossible to know for certain if what we eat out is safe, therefore we need to steer on the cautious side and not risk it. That, in and of itself will be a challenge. I will need to come up with new ideas for snacks, that don't include milk, eggs, peanuts or any other nuts. That should be fun! No more eating out Asian, for sure, as they use lots of nuts in the food and oil.
5) We have to have our epi pens, benadryl, and emergency plan ready at all times, have people know where to find them and how to use them. It will make it really hard to leave Thomas with a sitter, grandparent or daycare and feel comfortable about it.
6) We will have to hope Thomas will be as outspoken as Jeremiah about his allergy and not be shy about it. He will really need to be one to ask if things are safe to eat or come and ask me and not just eat something someone gives him. This will be really hard at gatherings where people think they are helping you out by feeding your kid. Feeding my kid could be hazardous to his health. That is scary.

We just pray that Thomas never has an anaphylactic reaction to peanuts or Jeremiah to walnuts, but you have to be safe and prepared just in case.

1 more thing- they passed a law saying that the 5 main allergens had to be labeled(milk/soy/egg/peanut/wheat) HOWEVER, if it is listed in the list of main ingredients as its main name (milk), it doesn't have to be re-listed in the BOLD list at the bottom of the ingredients. This means you have to read the entire list of ingredients, not just scan the bold list. This was new info to me. I thought if it had eggs, it would say in the bold, but if it is listed as egg white, it may or may not be re-listed as EGG in the allergy list. So, you have to be very careful!!!
Things to also avoid with an:
egg allergy: albumen, egg white, dried egg, powdered egg, egg white, mayonaise, meringue, pasta, marshmallows, nougat, lechithin
milk allergy: casein, butter, cheese, cream, custard, yogurt, phosphate, whey, sour cream, nougat, pudding, milk in all forms-condensed/dry/evaporated/malted/powder/skim/whole
peanut/tree nuts: artificial nuts, beer nuts, goobers, ground nuts, nut pieces/mixed nuts, peanut butter/ peanut flour, any asian dishes, baked goods, egg rolls