Mom Shares Shocking Photos Of Her Daughter’s Allergic Reaction To A Cashew Nut

These days, there are nut allergy warnings on a lot of different foods. Although it might seem extensive, there is good reason for this – the damage that they can cause to someone with a nut allergy can be devastating. Depending on the severity on a person’s allergy, even a trace amount of nuts can be potentially fatal.

This is especially alarming in the case of young children who are allergic, as demonstrated by one mother’s shocking Facebook post recently.

The photos serve as a good reminder to the rest of us that allergies to foodstuffs should never be taken lightly.

Knowing what a risk food allergies could be, Julie Berghaus, 41, took her 3-year-old daughter Maren for an allergy test, when the little girl started to feel itchy and unwell. After she had eaten a tiny cashew segment – just one tenth of a cashew nut – little Maren became painfully itchy all over.

The supervising doctor quickly realized Maren was suffering from anaphylaxis, an extreme allergic reaction which can be fatal.

During anaphylaxis, the body can go into shock as an allergy sufferer’s airway tightens, making it hard for them to breathe. Scarily, it can take as little as a few seconds for the symptoms to take hold.

Thankfully, the family were under medical supervision when Maren went into anaphylaxis, meaning that the doctor was able to take action immediately to save the little girl.

Although the pictures are very disconcerting to look at, Berghaus says she chose to share a the pictures of her daughter with an oxygen mask strapped to her face so other parents would understand that allergies should be taken seriously.

Mom was amazed by how quickly the reaction took place:

“There was no drama. No nothing. No panic,” Berghaus told Today about the moments before her daughter’s attack. “She was playing on the iPad and scratching with the other hand.”

Thankfully, doctors gave Maren shot of epinephrine (the medicine used in an EpiPen) and a Zyrtec pill to counteract the reaction.

Still, the girl had painful hives spread over her body, and struggled to breathe before passing out. It took more shots and a steroid treatment before the reaction finally subsided.

“It only took about 10 minutes to get out of that dangerous zone,” Berghaus said. “It took about two hours to completely get the hives gone. She was fine. She was like nothing ever happened.”

I forget how tough these little kids can be! Still, the reaction was dramatic enough to frighten Berghaus, who herself works an operating room nurse.

The mom from Frisco, Texas, also told other parents how to react if they see an allergic reaction like this in public:

“Please if you are one of the people that cares for my child or spends time with her, be careful what you eat around her, what you give her, and DON’T be afraid to give [epinephrine]. She had zero side effects from the epi. It could save her life.”

Here’s a video on how to use an epipen. Give it a watch, it could mean you save someone’s life some day!

I’m so glad little Maren made a full recovery, and will now know to avoid cashews for the rest of her life. Well done to the medical staff on hand that day!

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