Sudden Food Allergy?

[noon_child]

Last night we were at my parents house eating a meal of risotto. My daughters mouth got a bit sore and itchy. Then about 5 minutes later she had a funny taste in her throat and said it felt "spikey". She got more distressed as it hurt to swallow. I noticed at this point that her sore itchy mouth area (where food had contacted it) actually had a few well defined hives on it. Unfortunately we couldn't find any Piriton in my parent's house so I gave my LO a soothing warm honey drink to take her mind off it and by the time she finished a few mouthfuls I could tell that the reaction was going away as her mouth was almost back to normal. 5 minutes later she's totally back to normal, talking away and eating her pudding. Does this sound like an allergic reaction?

If it was an allergy, I'm not too anxious as the reaction was self limiting, but I know reactions can get more severe every time they happen, so I'm not sure what to do now. Do I make a doctor's appointment knowing they'll probably just say "If it happens again give Piriton."? Do I tell the school, even though we don't know what ingredient might have caused it? Basically no-one in my family has ever had a food allergy so I'm really not clued up on what to do.

 

[tommyg]

My knowledge of allergies isn't that great however I do know that you can become allergic to something at any point in time. I know someone who suddenly started taking severe reactions to wheat in their 30's.

I would not ignore it esp as it affected her throat. I would play safe and get an appointment with the GP, not an emergency appointment, just a routine appointment.

Remember that a severe allergic reaction can be potentially fatal, arteries dilate, airways contract. Requiring a shot of adrenalin and a hospital visit.

 

[Septie]

If you haven't done so, I would also ask you parents for a list of ingredients of that risotto...

 

[SophiasMummy]

I would be going to the Dr's. The reaction your daughter had was a serious reaction as it affected her mouth and throat quite quickly. A small reaction would be itching and coming out in hives but anything that causes the throat to swell is a serious reaction

 

[noon_child]

Thanks for your replies ladies. Well the doctor was pretty sure it wasn't an allergy as such but Scombroid fish poisoning which can mimic an allergy because the bacteria break down in to a chemical very similar to histamine. This is caused by eating old fish.

HOWEVER flash forward two months and we are at my parents again eating snacks when my daughter complains of the same "spikey" throat. I'm sure at this point it must be a jagged crisp she's eaten or some reflux or something and reassure her it can't be the same as before as she hasn't eaten fish. This is when she tells me she has eaten some of the batter off a tempura prawn. This time I have brought Piriton and so I give her a dose, even though her symptoms are mild it is distressing her, and 5 minutes later she is fine again. I have no idea if she would have been fine without the Piriton but to me this sounds more likely to be a Prawn allergy than mild Scombroid poisoning occurring twice in two months in exactly the same type of fish.

I feel like I need to update the doctor but booking an appointment seems such a waste of everyone's time. I wish there was a way of emailing updates to the GP for stuff like this! Then they could decide if they needed to see her, prescribe anything, refer her on, or just log it on her file, without taking up valuable appointments (it takes about 7-10 days to get an appointment).