My baby (8mo) was diagnosed with peanut allergy at 6mo and allergist offered to start oral immunotherapy around 12 months. I’ve come across a lot of contradicting information about it and feel kind of lost. I know it’s a newer treatment and it sounds like the recommended starting age varies greatly based on the allergist (I’ve seen from 6mo to 3years). I want to give my baby the best possible outcome and starting younger sounds the most promising.
- what does a general OIT plan look like? I know it’s a gradually increasing daily dose but am curious about specific examples. How often are labs/ doctor visits needed?
- is this typically covered by health insurance (USA)?
- I gather there is not yet enough data to know the long-term efficacy. It sounds like this may be something you need to continue indefinitely for it to be effective?

I’d also love to hear of any general resources for newbies to the peanut allergy community. I feel kind of overwhelmed.
Thanks so much

My 9 month (almost 10 month) old was diagnosed with peanut allergy yesterday. She had a reaction to egg a few weeks ago so we went to see an allergist and they did a scratch test. Confirming she has an allergy to both egg as well as peanut. I guess the good news is we found out about this allergy the "easy" way, instead of experiencing a scarier reaction requiring medical intervention. We've since picked up her EpiPens, and will modify our kitchen immediately. I'm sort of reeling from this news and trying to stay calm. It's terrifying as a parent to have to navigate this. My husband and I do not have food allergies, so we're new to all this. I know this is so common and many people thrive inspite of it, but I know it does impact things like eating out, going to friend's houses, school/daycare, traveling, etc. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, hacks, kind words of encouragement?

My husband and I don’t have any family history of food allergies, so when we found out that our daughter has a peanut allergy, our minds just went blank. We honestly didn’t know what to expect or what this might mean for her life.

For adults who have lived with a peanut allergy, would you mind sharing what your experience has been like?

Has having a peanut allergy made your everyday life significantly more difficult? Do you feel like it has shaped who you are or affected your personality in any way? Do you ever find yourself wondering what your life would be like if you didn’t have the allergy?

I think as a parent, I’m just trying to understand what life might look like for my daughter as she grows up, and I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have actually lived through it.

I’m sorry if any of these questions come across as insensitive or bring up difficult feelings. That’s absolutely not my intention. Please let me know if anything I’ve asked is inappropriate, and I’m happy to remove the post.

Did any allergic reactions get worse than how they were before, did it simply go back to how it was before, or was it better than before?

Are there any foundations or programs to help afford the shots to keep getting treatment?

Parents of kids with food allergies:

When you're traveling or trying a new restaurant, how do you decide whether it's safe enough to eat there? My daughter has peanut and sesame allergies which we’ve found out the hard way, and I feel like every trip involves hours of research, phone calls, reading reviews, and still a lot of uncertainty.

I'm hoping to talk with a few parents to understand how others handle this. Specifically, I'd love to hear about the last time you researched a restaurant or traveled with your child. We’re trying to take best advantage of these last few weeks of summer and we just feel trapped and overwhelmed.

If you're open to a quick 15-minute chat, drop a comment below or send me a DM and I'll reach out to set up a time. Parent-to-parent only. No selling, no promotion.

So my 8 month old was taken to the allergist because she had a rash after eating potato and banana. She tested negative for both of those, but tested positive for peanut. I’d never given her any at home before. The doctor wants to do an oral food challenge. Her test was at a 3.06 IGE. I’m not sure how nervous I should be? The chart says this is high but Google is saying it’s fairly low. What can I do to be prepared for the appointment?

Recently anxiety about my mild peanut allergy has been at an all time high. Even though all my reactions to eating quite large concentrations of peanut in the past have been somewhat mild, ie itchy throat and swollen lips but calmed down within 30 mins to an hour, i can't stop thinking that the next time i eat it might be severe anaphlyaxis.

This anxiety is lowkey taking over my life. I just spent a month in china and because i know that peanuts are a somewhat common ingredient, the whole time, every meal, i was having panic attacks because i swore that i was having a reaction. I can speak decent mandarin, and so even at times when the staff explicitly told me there was no peanuts, i kept convincing myself that my tongue was swelling up and that i was about to have severe anaphylaxis and die. Like i would have the emergency number ready to dial, not daring to take another single bite even though the last bite i took was 20 mins ago with no progression in the 'reaction'. It was even at the point where i was eating something like plain bone broth noodles or even KFC and i was swearing that i felt a reaction and not wanting to eat anymore.

Its really stopping me from properly enjoying myself, and its not even based in any kind of reaction that I had before. In fact when i was in china last year i had a reaction to peanut sauce on some street food, and it was uncomfortable but i came out fine within 30 mins ish.

I just can't get rid of the anxiety that the next time (no matter how much i try to avoid there probably will be accidents) will be me dead. PLEASE what can i do to enjoy my life again?? Any good advice??

Going to a get together and I’m taking a mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes. I really wanna try them because they look good and also I don’t wanna look like a weirdo not eating the treat I brought… anyone have a good / bad experience with them ? The website has this disclaimer and I looked through all the flavors they look safe. Just need some reassurance lol. Thanks !!!

Standard Flavor Ingredients
(information includes standard frosting)
Revised 05/2025
**FOOD ALLERGEN NOTE: OUR CAKES CONTAIN WHEAT, MILK, EGGS AND SOY AND MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF TREE NUTS, PEANUTS AND SESAME. CAKES ARE NATURALLY AND ARTIFICIALLY FLAVORED.

Hello! My husband is the person with the “allergy” so I have been buying Wow Butter for years. For the past month or two, I haven’t been able to find it at 3 large chain grocery stores. Normally, we could go without, but I need it every day to give my dog her meds. My dog is in the end of life stage with a brain tumor. She takes a few anticonvulsants, a steroid, and a couple anti fungal. She won’t take them with anything but Wow Butter (or peanut butter, which isn’t allowed for obvious reasons).

I know people might suggest cheese, pill pockets, cream cheese, sunflower butter, etc, but she either won’t swallow the pills with those alternatives, or she will chew the pills, which is not allowed for some other meds.

I am desperate and about to buy it on Amazon for double what I pay locally, but I am wondering if there is a bigger issues going on.

I would be heartbroken if it isn’t made anymore, but mostly for my husband. He loves taking peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to work. He never got that kind of stuff when he was a kid and he has really leaned into it. I make all sorts of nut based desserts (like peanut butter pie) that he loves.

If you use it, are you still seeing it on the shelves at the store? I see it’s made in Canada and I am from the USA. If it’s related to that, I would just be at a loss for words.

Why is it that I’ve read to potentially avoid cumin? Does anyone have any experience with having a reaction? It just seems so random to me.

Has anyone with a peanut allergy eaten at Shipleys before? I tried to email them this morning to see if they had any peanuts since they have walnuts and this was the semi unhelpful response.

Thank you for your interest in Shipley Do-Nuts! Our products may contain wheat, soy, milk, egg and walnuts. We do not have gluten free products available.

Thank you for your inquiry and we look forward to seeing you again!

Please let me know if you have any experience!

do you all follow the advice to give siblings peanuts regularly? my doctor made me feel bad we don’t give it to our non-allergic daughter. she’s allergic to eggs. I test her for peanuts at the annual and she’s negative. it just stresses us out thinking of the logistics when my son is so severe. they’re both preschool age. it’s going to be a peanut free house no matter what for my son. so now do I make every outing to my daughters new weekly activity a peanut trial by default? and worry the whole time that she will react or my son could get exposed? the recommendation says multiple times a week that’s just too crazy.

for people who avoided giving to siblings did that sibling develop the allergy?

Hello everyone! I am really struggling with this so I thought I'd get some different thoughts from other parents that are in the same boat as me. My little one just started kindergarten. She had 2 years of preschool where I packed lunches and snacks. We are 3 days into kindergarten and my kiddo has started asking if she can have school lunches instead of packed lunch. She sees other kids with these lunches and is curious about them. I did fill out a cafeteria menu modification form. She is allergic to peanuts and cashew/pistachio. The school nurse told me that the information would be entered into the cafeteria system and would flag her if she tried buying something with nuts, such as an uncrustable.

That is great but I cannot get a clear answer on "may contain" items or "made in a facility with" items. Also, what if the system fails or someone misses something? I've been so careful to ensure she doesn't accidentally have an exposure and I am terribly afraid to trust others to be as careful. I don't want her to feel left out but I need to keep her safe.

She understands she cannot have certain foods, but she isn't to the point yet where she can read labels or advocate for herself regarding her food allergies.

What would you all do?

Would you guys consider this clear or risky? I am anaphylactic to peanuts and peanuts only but I am very interested in this company.

Hello Courtney,

Thank you for reaching out and for your interest in Oats Overnight! I completely understand your concern regarding peanut allergies, and I’m happy to provide you with detailed information to help you make the best decision for your health and safety.

All of our flavors are produced on the same equipment, which undergoes a thorough and detailed sanitization process after each batch. This includes taking the equipment apart and cleaning it meticulously between flavors to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. While the risk is low due to this intense cleaning process, we want to be transparent that there is still a small possibility of cross-contamination.

Given the severity of your peanut allergy, we recommend carefully reviewing the ingredient list for each flavor before making a selection. Additionally, if you decide to proceed with an order, you can manage your flavor preferences by opting out of any flavors that contain peanuts or other allergens. This can be done through your customer portal by navigating to "Account" → "Account Details and Preferences" → "FID Preferences" → and updating your preferences accordingly.

Your safety is our top priority, so if you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Kind regards,
Oats Overnight Customer Support

RIP, been loving these for years. They introduce a peanut flavour and now all of them say "may contain"....

except the website still omits that, only the physical product has it. The website still shows them as safe.

Their response is basically "you're out of luck, sorry our product isnt good for you anymore".

I am mad, thats all.

I’ve just found out my 7 month old is allergic to peanuts. She got a few mild hives and we took her for a scratch test which confirmed it. I had a peanut allergy as a child but have outgrown it.

Firstly I am feeling so guilty that I didn’t introduce peanuts at 5-6 months. The dr said we may have prevented it if we’d introduced earlier. We live in Asia where peanut allergies are uncommon and peanuts are used in so many things. I think it will have a big impact on her life here.

The Dr said we can start OIT at 1year when she’s more comfortable with solid food. I’m worried about waiting so long with no peanut exposure and potentially making the allergy worse. Is this a valid concern? Did anyone else wait between exposure and starting OIT?

We’ve dealt on and off with various allergy restrictions in our 6 year old kiddo’s classroom, but this year his room has both a tree nut allergy and a peanut allergy.

His snacks are given in the classroom, so there is not the ability to have an allergy-friendly table like in the lunchroom. We typically would send him with some trail mix, dried fruit, chocolate almonds, and sometimes some of the mini cheese/cracker sandwiches. We try to minimize waste, so we would usually buy in bulk from Costco and send them with a mix of all of the above ingredients. But with the restriction of zero peanuts or tree nuts, we’re struggling to find a snack that is reasonable that isn’t just all carb and allows for some flexibility (we would change up the dried fruit and trail mix “mix” fairly regularly).

Has anyone dealt with both of these restrictions at the same time and found a good solution for a healthy snack that won’t just give a sugar high and have them crash before lunch? Preferably something that we can make in advance and pack snacks at the beginning of the week.

Hi everyone I’m a 21 year old female with sever food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and shell fish. Last month I used my Epi pen for the first time ever due to cross contamination at a restaurant. Everything had been fine since then I started cooking at home more however last night I was rushed to the ER due to anaphylaxis. I didn’t eat any of my allergens however I ate skittles candy which I usually eat fine, however I noticed I tingly feeling in my tongue however I thought it could just be a reaction from the sugar. That went away after about an hour so I ate a few more and within 5 minutes I went into anaphylaxis . Has anyone experienced this before? I also noticed a welt on my arm before the anaphylaxis after I removed a hair tie from my wrist so I thought it was maybe just from the hair tie being tight. I went to the ER and was discharged this morning. Any advice or similar experiences?

Genuine question for people who carry an EpiPen.

I used to think of it as just "stronger Benadryl" but realized recently they work completely differently (antihistamine vs epinephrine).

Has anyone had to explain to a friend, coworker, or even a teacher why Benadryl alone wouldn't cut it in an emergency? Curious how that conversation usually goes.