Question:
My daughter seems to react to everything with Whey protein in it but yet can handle certain cheeses and yoghurts well. Please explain about Whey protein allergy. She also reacted to a tip of a teaspoon of peanut butter with itchy eyes and hives around her neck. Does this mean that she could possibly go into shock if exposed to peanuts again? How can I help her allergies? She is 18 months old.

Answer:
Your daughter's response to the peanut butter is very strongly suggestive of a peanut, or even a nut allergy. It is worth having this diagnosed properly by skin testing so that nuts can be avoided in the certain knowledge that she is allergic. If she is allergic to nuts, it may even be worth getting her a medic alert bracelet as nut allergens find their way into all sorts of unexpected places. It would be unusual to have a genuine whey allergy and not to respond to cheese or yoghurts although it is possible to construct hypothetical situations where this is possible. I would also suggest testing her for whey allergy at the time of the nut tests.