Why do Reese's peanut butter cups have to taste so good?

When I was growing up, I used to love peanut butter... especially in the form of Reese's peanut butter cups. I had my own special way of eating them. I would basically eat around the edges first and then pop the rest in my mouth. Since Christopher's peanut allergy entered our lives, I haven't eaten as many peanut butter cups. We definitely do not keep any peanut butter in our house. Occasionally, during a business trip or on a weekend trip with my wife, I will indulge in a peanut butter cup. Also, during the "candy" holidays of Easter and Halloween, I make the "sacrifice" of eating any peanut butter candy in order to protect Christopher. While I can easily give up peanut butter cups alltogether for Christopher, I still ask myself "Why did they have to make Reese's peanut butter cups taste so good?" Who knows, maybe Reese's will make a peanut substitute cup someday for those who have a peanut allergy.

Sunflower Kernels could be a great alternative

One of the alternatives to peanuts that we have discovered are sunflower kernels. We, being the health-conscious individuals that we are, always get the salted kind. Truth be told, sunflower kernels not only taste good, but they're good for you. Christopher loves them. It almost seems to give him the feeling that he can eat a snack like salted peanuts, even though they're not. He likes them in his salad, as well as just right out of his hand. As a reminder, please, always check the allergy information on the label. Some companies that produce the sunflower kernels may also produce peanuts...please read the label for allergy information. All this talk about sunflower kernels is making me hungry... I'm gonna go grab some sunflower kernels.

Take me out to the Ballgame... Maybe

One of the songs that Christopher loved to sing this past Summer was "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". Because of his peanut allergy, we tend to replace some of the words in the line that refers to "peanuts and cracker jacks" with snacks that he can eat, and yet still keep the rhyme. When going to a ballgame this year, we were confronted with the oversight of peanut shells. Of course... one of the biggest food associations with baseball, besides hotdogs, is salted peanuts. I loved going to a game with my Dad when I was young and eating peanuts in the shell. The best part was that it was somewhat acceptable to litter by placing your empty peanut shells on the stadium floor. Now that I have a child with a peanut allergy, those memories take on a different feeling. Fortunately, Christopher had no reaction to being near the peanut shells; we tried to keep him as far away from any empty shells. We had a fun time at the game, but sometimes I found myself distracted, looking for peanut shells. I know in my heart that someday, Christopher will be able to go to a baseball game with his son (or daughter) and share some peanuts and hotdogs, and just have a great time watching the game instead of looking for empty peanut shells.

XOLAIR - prescription medicine for peanut allergy?

Some of the beginning clinical trials which I referenced in my last post ("Other Clinical Trial sites") are studying whether an existing prescription medicine for asthma-related allergies could also be effective in the treatment of the "dreaded" peanut allergy. The name of the prescription medicine mentioned for the trials is XOLAIR. From checking out the XOLAIR web site, the medication appears to be an effective solution for Allergic Asthma. I'm assuming the trial is hoping to utilize the medication to prove that it is as effective in battling peanut allergies as it does allergic asthma. My preference for Christopher is to pursue the "cure" which involves building up a tolerance for peanuts through the consumption of minute amounts of peanut flour... the desensitization program. Why can't this process move forward quicker? Maybe I'm just impatient.

XOLAIR FAQ link

Other Clinical Trial sites

As I continue to search for clinical trials involving the "dreaded" peanut allergy, I continue to become more hopeful. I found a web site called CenterWatch which provides incredible information on clinical trials being performed. Considering we live in the Midwest, I'm hoping to find something close to home. For Christopher, I will fly / drive to Duke University or Arkansas if necessary though... but it'd be nicer if the location of the clinical trial was a little closer to home. The CenterWatch lists clinical trials by state which is nice.The next step is coming up soon... I can feel it. The time when we begin to "sign-up" for a clinical trial.

CenterWatch link including clinical trials by state

Connection between Vaccinations and Peanut Allergy?

With all the talk of H1N1 a.k.a. "Swine Flu" and the race to create a vaccine for the dreaded virus, do you sometimes wonder what these vaccines may be doing to our bodies? Does the benefit outweigh the potential side-effects? These are personal questions that we each have to decide for ourselves. You are probably wondering, "What does this have to do with 'Peanut Allergy'?" I found an article that proposes a connection between vaccinations that we receive to save our lives and allergies that it may be potentially creating in us. Whether you agree with the article or not, I find it to be an interesting reading.

Vaccination and Peanut Allergy article

Finding a Peanut Allergy Clinical Study

Doing some more research on Duke University Medical Center's web site, I came across a link to a national Clinical Trials site... appropriately named ClinicalTrials.gov. The site is a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This may be the first step I was looking for. I performed a search for "peanut allergy" under the "Search for Clinical Trials" option. There are some trials that are recruiting and others that are not yet recruiting. At least its a start. One step closer.

Peanut Allergy Clinical Trials link

How To Become Part of Desensitization Program

From the research that I've done I've found that there are desensitization studies happening at some U.S. locations including Duke University Medical Center and Arkansas Children's Hospital. I am interested in enrolling my son in one of the studies (preferably the Duke University program) but how do you "get into" the program. I will be focusing more on this aspect over my next postings. I'm not sure how to do this, but I feel this is the best solution considering that as Christopher gets older, it will become more difficult for him to totally avoid peanuts as society currently exists.

Peanuts in the School Cafeteria

Christopher started classes at a new school this year. Me, being the overprotective Dad that I am, I was very interested (and concerned) about what type of monitoring would take place in regards to my son's peanut allergy. Christopher will be eating his lunch at a special peanut-free table. The school is also storing / keeping one of our Epipens and are trained on how to use it. After talking with his homeroom teacher, I have the sense that she has had many students (in her years as a teacher) that have had a peanut allergy, and she knows exactly what to look for. It's difficult enough for a parent to place their child's care in the hands of another individual... it's ever so much more difficult when that child has a potentially life threatening allergy. Sometimes you just have to have faith that everything will be okay.

Causes for Peanut Allergy

In a previous post of mine ("Why So Many Kids With Peanut Allergy?"), I wrote about one of the reasons (that I've heard) that peanut allergies are so much more prevalent today, is that we have become such an anti-bacterial society, that out bodies are looking for things to fight off. I recently found a web site that identifies what they feel the causes are for peanut allergies. The site is affiliated with Cincinnati Children's Hospital and their Cincinnati Eosinophilic Disorders Center. Some associations with peanut allergy include the duration of breastfeeding, the consumption of soy milk or soy formula, and rashes over joints and skin creases. My wife breastfed Christopher for about 1 year. He did drink soy milk, but this was only after we discovered his peanut allergy and milk allergy. Christopher did have rashes over some of his joints; we considered this to be eczema. The site goes into greater detail; I've provided a link below and would encourage you to look at the information.

Causes for Peanut Allergy

Nut Free Snack Food

I discovered a wonderful "nut free" snack food this weekend called "Wheat Nuts". At first, the name made me question how tasty this snack food would really be. However, after I started eating them, I found that I had difficulty trying to stop eating them. Christopher had the same experience I had, but even liked them moreso... I think. He made one of those comments that every child makes... he stated he loved them so much, he wanted to marry them. Three things will keep me buying Wheat Nuts: 1.) They are nut free, so I don't have to worry about Christopher's peanut allergy 2.) It is a healthy snack food 3.) They taste great. Next time your in your neighborhood grocery store, look for and try "Wheat Nuts"; we did and we really enjoyed them.

About Wheat Nuts

Nestle's Peanut Free Candy

I was pleasantly surprised to find a major player in the candy world committed to a peanut free platform. I'm not just talking about food that doesn't have peanuts in it, but actually food that is produced in a peanut free facility, so that the risk of peanut allergy is totally removed. The specifically peanut free facility appears to be located in Canada. The brands of candy on their web site include the following: Kit Kat, Aero, Smarties and Coffee Crisp. As we approach Halloween, this presents another possible solution to the peanut allergy dilemma.

Nestle's peanut free site

Why So Many Kids with Peanut Allergy?

Why are peanut allergies (and allergies in general) so common in kids today? When I was a kid, the biggest thing we had to deal with in regards to our health was chicken pox, a scraped knee or a runny nose. Allergies didn't seem to be all that common. When my wife and I started having children, we began to come face to face with the reality of allergies. Now it seems as if at least 50% of school children have a peanut allergy, or at least some type of allergy. One reason I've heard of which explains why this is happening in today's society is that we are too "clean". We have antibacterial everything and our bodies are now looking for things to fight, so they begin choosing things like "peanuts". I don't know how true this thought is, but it kind of makes sense. I will continue to always wash my hands after I use the restroom... I'm not going to any extreme you know. However, maybe I won't get as worried about germs as I sometimes have been in the past. It s not easy with all of the H1N1 talk in the news these days. Sometimes I think our bodies are smarter than we believe they are; maybe they know what is best for them.

Food Allergy Bracelets

I have seen much information out there regarding bracelets (or necklaces) for children that identify them as having a food allergy. I guess I haven't thought much about this need, but as my son continues to get older, and will be spending more and more time out of my sight, it may be something that we do invest in for him. My wife and I will continue to take every precaution when it comes to Christopher's peanut allergy, but we also realize that we will not always have the opportunity to wait next to him with a epi-pen in hand. If Christopher does have an allergic reaction to peanuts or even something else, a bracelet may be the only clue that a medical professional will have in order to know how to best proceed in assisting him.

Allergy Bracelets

Peanut Butter Kisses

Can kissing your child ever be a bad thing? It can if your child has a peanut allergy and you can't stop yourself from eating peanut products. At our house, we keep everything peanut - outside. We decided that if Christopher wasn't able to enjoy the taste of peanut butter... then neither would the rest of the family. Truthfully, we just don't want to take any chances. All it could take is one kiss after eating some peanut butter or having the trace of peanuts on your hands and touching your child's face, to cause an allergic reaction. We will continue to kiss our children, but we will definitely make sure there isn't any peanut butter on our lips.

Herbal Remedy?

I have always been fascinated with articles that discussed the health benefits of Chinese medicine (this includes acupuncture and martial arts as well). The link below will take you to an article that discusses the potential benefits of Chinese medicine in regards to peanut allergies. The article mentions an herbal remedy that may be effective in the treatment of peanut allergies in humans. At this point, it sounds as if the testing has been limited to animals. With each story I read, I become even more hopeful that my son will not have to be so concerned about his peanut allergy with every day that passes.

Herbal Remedy article

Peanut Free Restaurants

I became so excited when Christopher finally reached the right age that he could start eating fast food. Okay, maybe excited isn't the best word to describe how I felt, but it was great to know that he could share in our restaurant experience. Little did we know the dangers that some restaurants pose to a child with peanut allergies. Some restaurants use peanut oil when they cook their french fries. There is always a concern that the restaurant employees might use the same knife they used to spread peanut butter on someone else's sandwich, to cut the sandwich that your child is getting ready to eat. My word of advice... simply keep your eyes open, ask lots of questions, and do a little research. I found a great website (the link is below) that lists some safe places to eat if you have a peanut allergy. Go ahead... dig in!!

Safe Places to Eat Link