Jack: Peanut Allergy

Original Symptoms & Diagnoses:
Peanut Allergy
Before:
When Jack was 19 months old, he had his first taste of peanut butter and quickly ended up in the hospital. Upon ingesting a small amount of peanut butter on a cracker, Jack’s face swelled, he broke out in large hives, and his eyes swelled shut. Jack was rushed to the hospital where he was given Benadryl, steroids and monitored closely.
After:
In the eyes of Suzi and John, this was nothing short of a miracle, given the severity of their son’s previous severe peanut allergy. Jack is now a healthy and allergy-free nine-year old. Jack and his family no longer worry about the life threatening possibility of peanut exposure. Now, Jack is able to be a normal care-free kid the way kids should be.

Peanut allergy in the form of anaphylaxis, the severe and life-threatening allergy to peanuts, is something that every parent dreads for their child. A child who experiences an anaphylactic reaction to a particular food may experience swelling, difficulty breathing, hives, sweating, heart rate changes, diarrhea, or other severe symptoms.

In some cases, exposure to even the smallest airborne particle of peanut can cause a child’s throat to swell, their blood pressure to drop and they can lose consciousness. If appropriate rescue measures are not taken shortly after exposure to the allergen, an anaphylactic reaction can be deadly.

Severe Allergy to Peanuts

Jack is one of those unfortunate kids who developed a severe allergy to peanuts. When Jack was 19 months old, he had his first taste of peanut butter and quickly ended up in the hospital. Upon ingesting a small amount of peanut butter on a cracker, Jack’s face swelled, he broke out in large hives, and his eyes swelled shut. Jack was rushed to the hospital where he was given Benadryl, steroids and monitored closely.

He healed from this severe allergic reaction, but his parents soon learned that many elaborate precautions would have to be taken to ensure that this sort of thing did not happen again. Jack’s parents, Suzi and John, went to extraordinary lengths to educate teachers, schools, caregivers and family members about the danger that peanuts posed to Jack. Suzi even considered home-schooling because she was concerned about the risk of exposure in a school setting.

According to Jack’s physicians, even exposure to an airborne particle of peanut could have deadly consequences for Jack. There were other exposures throughout Jack’s childhood. The mere act of opening a jar of peanut butter would make Jack itch, swell and turn red. Jack learned to always carry an epi-pen, an emergency shot of epinephrine that could save his life in the event of accidental exposure.

No Family History of Peanut Allergy

While Suzi and John did everything they could to protect Jack from accidental peanut exposure, they simultaneously began to look for answers as to why Jack developed this allergy in the first place. Jack’s family has no history of food allergies, no autoimmune disease, or other indications that his allergy might somehow be a function of genetics.

Allergists No Help

They took Jack to see many allergists throughout Ohio and Michigan looking for answers. It was here that they learned that Jack’s IgE (immunoglobulin E) levels for peanuts were off the charts. The allergists could validate that Jack did, indeed, have a severe peanut allergy, but they were not able to provide much comfort beyond this knowledge. The only answer they got from allergists was to “stay away from peanuts and carry an epi-pen.”

NAET

Unsatisfied with the answers offered by conventional medicine, Suzi took Jack to see a homeopath. Unsure as to whether or not the homeopathy was helpful in addressing Jack’s peanut allergy, Suzi also took him to see a naturopath, Dr. AnnAlisa Behling, who practices an allergy elimination technique called NAET, or Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique.

NAET is a treatment developed by a physician and acupuncturist, Dr. Devi Nambudripad, that helps relieve people of allergies and many other health issues. The technique is derived from principles of energy medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine, where certain acupressure points are manipulated in order to help the body release allergic and immune-based reactions.

Ultimately, NAET helps to balance and regulate the body’s immune responses. Jack worked with Dr. Behling for about a year to address the underlying immune dysregulation that manifested itself in a severe peanut allergy. By the end of the year, Jack could put a spoonful of peanut butter in his mouth with no problems whatsoever.

Peanut Allergy Healing

In the eyes of Suzi and John, this was nothing short of a miracle, given the severity of their son’s previous severe peanut allergy. In the course of Jack’s year-long NAET treatments, they also learned that Jack had other sensitivities (such as salt, yeast, and egg) that may have been affecting his health in more subtle ways.

Jack was treated for all of these sensitivities and is now a healthy and allergy-free nine-year old. Jack and his family no longer worry about the life threatening possibility of peanut exposure. Now, Jack is able to be a normal care-free kid the way kids should be.

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