Peanuts first...eggs next...then what?

Reading another allergy mom's post about her child's recent allergic reaction has sent me on a trip down memory lane. Sophie has been blessed to have had no serious reactions for the past 2 years. In fact, her last one was in the allergist's office when we did her peanut challenge in 2008.

Sophie was 6. Her recent tests showed a decline in the peanut and egg antibodies, and our allergist asked her about doing a couple of challenges. Initially, she declined. You may think this is funny, that she was calling the shots, but it is her body and she is the one who suffers if she can't eat what other people eat, so I am inclined to weigh her opinion heavily on these matters. He talked a little more (I had already said it was up to Sophie) and convinced her to try a peanut challenge. She stated that she would only be willing to do the egg challenge if she passed the peanut challenge.

We used peanut butter for the challenge. With the first few doses, she had no problems. No itchiness, no redness, no gasping. After we'd been there about an hour, she got a bigger dose--2 teaspoons if I remember correctly. She was okay for about 10 minutes after she ate it, and then she exploded. Well, not literally, but almost; she projectile vomited a couple of times in a row and then began a rapid-fire sneezing routine. I remember so clearly holding a trash can in one hand and a handful of tissues in the other, doing my best to help Sophie, while the doctor was scrambling around and said to me, "Well, this is 2 body systems, respiratory and digestive. That's anaphylaxis." We both looked at the Epipen sitting on the counter.

Sophie stopped vomiting for a minute, long enough to take some Benadryl. The Epipen stayed put. When she vomited up the Benadryl, the doctor fingered the Epipen and commented aloud that Sophie hadn't sneezed for a couple of minutes. Sophie's body began to calm down--maybe some of that Benadryl stayed in her long enough to do some good, or maybe she was the recipient of a miracle (well, I know that to be true either way), but she stopped vomiting and sneezing. Within an hour, she had taken both Zyrtec and prednisone without vomiting and we were able to go home.

That was 2 years ago, and yesterday Sophie told me that she has no intention of having an egg challenge, since she hasn't passed peanuts yet.