Reaction to tree nuts or just the texture?

[mom@homenow]

My (4 yr old) son has had problems with some food textures and as a toddler gagged often during meals, which became routine for us. When he was 2.5 one day he wanted to try a pistachio, I let him have one and told him to chew it up well, which I watched him do. Within minutes his face turned red and  he threw up- not unusual for him, we weren't too concerned. But 2 hrs later he was irritable and crying, he had bright red hives on his torso and he started having trouble breathing. Ended up in the ER as a "severe allergic reaction." Three months later we saw an allergist, had all the scratch tests and all foods came back negative including pistachio and all other nuts! (He does have some environmental allergies)

So we carry an epipen but stay away from nuts. We planned to wait til he was older to try again. Then last summer when he was 3.5 someone offered him a pecan sandie (!) when I wasn't watching & he started to eat it. After 4 bites or so (which he enjoyed) he turned bright red & threw up. I watched him closely and he never had any hives, then or later, just irritated throat for about 10 min (he kept clearing it like when you have mucus) He answered no when I asked if his mouth itched, tongue felt funny etc. Then he was fine. We have continued to avoid nuts for him.

So I'd like to know, could this be allergy even though the tests were negative? I've seen someone in anaphlaxis and they didn't vomit- just itched first. Do some people throw up from food allergies? Or from nut texture on their throat? Anyone heard of a reaction like this before? Thanks for reading this!

[myproblem]

Some people do throw up from food allergies. The tests are usually accurate, but new food allergies can develop very sudenly as well. I say just act as if he's allergic at least until he's about five. At that point he may be articulate enough, and aware of his body enough to tell you how he feels. He may just have a very sensitive throat, but the pistacio reaction sounds like a typical allergy. You could always have him retested in a couple of years.