It's Food Allergy Awareness Week

[coffeefreak]

Here's some cool activities and coloring pages to help educate your kids.

http://www.faankids.org/

 

They have some simple experiments you can do with your kids to illustrate how hives work, and what Epinepherine does to help your child when they have a reaction. They also have a video of an allergen attacking a cell.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[Dana]

Thanks for posting.

 

I wish more people understood the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance (or a simple dislike).

[Spryte]

Thanks! We will be doing FAAN activities here.

 

I, too, wish more people understood the difference between an allergy and intolerance. It would certainly make it easier to keep our food allergic kids safer if more people understood that it is much more than a stomach ache or acne, and that we are not being "picky" but actually working to keep our kids breathing.

 

Thanks for posting this!

[BatmansWife]

Thanks for posting.

 

I wish more people understood the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance (or a simple dislike).

 

Thanks! We will be doing FAAN activities here.

 

I, too, wish more people understood the difference between an allergy and intolerance. It would certainly make it easier to keep our food allergic kids safer if more people understood that it is much more than a stomach ache or acne, and that we are not being "picky" but actually working to keep our kids breathing.

 

Thanks for posting this!

 

:iagree:

 

My son and youngest dd have severe food allergies (son = peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk. Daughter = peanuts). I hate hearing people say, "Oh yeah....I'm allergic to milk too. Whenever I drink it I get a stomach ache." Oookay...hello??? That's not an allergy, it's an intolerance! :cursing::banghead:

[rafiki]

.

[Ellesmere]

Thanks for posting.

 

I wish more people understood the difference between a food allergy and an intolerance (or a simple dislike).

:iagree:

It really makes it tough on people with true allergies when those who are picky or intolerant call themselves allergic.

 

And may I say that people with allergies that make unreasonable demands of the community really hurt proper awareness, too.

 

I didn't understand allergies 'til my family's life was changed by them. I really try to be patient with disbelieving people that need to hear about our anaphylaxis stories in order to imagine that we might possibly have a real medical issue on our hands. We used to struggle to understand, too.

[coffeefreak]

:iagree:

It really makes it tough on people with true allergies when those who are picky or intolerant call themselves allergic.

 

And may I say that people with allergies that make unreasonable demands of the community really hurt proper awareness, too.

 

I didn't understand allergies 'til my family's life was changed by them. I really try to be patient with disbelieving people that need to hear about our anaphylaxis stories in order to imagine that we might possibly have a real medical issue on our hands. We used to struggle to understand, too.

 

Absolutely!

Before my dd was diagnosed, I really resented the parents who demanded we not have food if their kids couldn't eat it because it would hurt their kid's feelings, not because of anaphylaxis. DD can be around soy, she just can't ingest it, but I don't think everyone should have to accommodate her. She needs to learn how to live with her limitations.

Blessings!

Dorinda

[BatmansWife]

Absolutely!

Before my dd was diagnosed, I really resented the parents who demanded we not have food if their kids couldn't eat it because it would hurt their kid's feelings, not because of anaphylaxis. DD can be around soy, she just can't ingest it, but I don't think everyone should have to accommodate her. She needs to learn how to live with her limitations.

Blessings!

Dorinda

 

:iagree:, to a certain extent. I guess for me it depends on if the people are a mere aquaintance or someone closer....like family, that should know better. I've seen my sister probably 4 times since my son was born. The one time, when my boy and hers were really young, we were at my moms house for the same weekend. Her boy is a very picky eater....mine has to be picky by necessity. So, what did she choose to feed her boy for lunch? PB & J. I got the rolling of the eyes when I told her after lunch to please wash her sons hands and wipe the pb off of his mouth. My bestest friend in the whole world :001_smile: often had friends over for get togethers, parties, showers, etc. Every.single.time she would have a bowl of peanuts sitting out for the guests to munch on before eating. And, 99% of the desserts had peanuts or nuts in them. I remember the one time my son had to be first in line to get some chips out of the bowl (before others grabbed some after eating the peanuts on the table)....he looked around and that was the only thing he could eat. :confused1: Luckily good old mom came to the rescue with a snack I brought for him, just in case. But...it's not the same for a little kid at a party. Sorry to ramble, I know we all could have some food allergy stories to share.

[Ellesmere]

[ t

[Ellesmere]

Promise, this post will be shorter. I need to go eat an allergen-free lunch. :D

One of many sites that I've learned from is Allergy Safe Communities. This in particular speaks to the responsibilities of both the parents and the community. The group emphasizes collaboration & reasonable expectations grounded in the reality that nothing can ever be guaranteed to be 100% allergen free, but we can all work to be safer and prepared for emergency treatment.

[SonshineLearner]

It's weird, the first school I sent my child to... the teacher thought it was too much for the kids to wash their hands after lunch... in case they had peanut butter on their hands.. (when my daughter was little) This last week, my daughter's school was freaking because they didn't have it recorded that she's allergic to peanut butter.... Such an extreme... :) BUT, I'm happy that they now just...well.. care!! ;) My daughter is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, lots of shellfish... :( Luckily she's only had a couple of reactions... and none needed her epi pen...

[Senorita Tuna Fish]

Anaphylaxis isn't the only way that an allergy manifests itself. Some times a stomach is just the beginning of or part of an allergic reaction. Besides, an intolerance isn't fun to have either, it's not just an inconvenience. People are trying to look for ways to relate not trying to diminish your struggle!

[LittleIzumi]

Anaphylaxis isn't the only way that an allergy manifests itself. Some times a stomach is just the beginning of or part of an allergic reaction. Besides, an intolerance isn't fun to have either, it's not just an inconvenience. People are trying to look for ways to relate not trying to diminish your struggle!

:iagree:

Dd is allergic to dairy, but she has allergic esophagitis instead of a "traditional" allergy. She gets a stomachache, her esophagus swells (a bit, enough to hold open the sphincter from esophagus to stomach), she gets horrible reflux, and may vomit. This is from items containing dairy, like breads. If she had, say, cow's milk itself, she would be crying from pain & puking every drop back up without question.

[JennifersLost]

After being a fairly relaxed parent with a peanut allergy kid (we trained him to be aware and he carries an epi pen - didn't see the need for anyone else to change what they were doing) we just had our first run-in with my son having an anaphylactic reaction without being able to trace the cause to something he ingested.

 

We know that someone ate a peanut product near him. He doesn't remember touching her at all, but she sat next to him while consuming a bar with peanuts in it. His throat was swelling up by the time I got him to the hospital (yes - we should have used the epi pen right away as soon as he got hives and the hospital people yelled at us so now we know). THe doctor told us this might be a case of airborne allergens and let's just say I'm entirely freaked out.

 

I think most of us don't want to take extreme precautions because "no one" was allergic to peanuts when we were kids and we don't understand why so many kids suddenly are - so we downplay the seriousness.

 

Shortly after my son was diagnosed with a nut allergy, I read a post somewhere that attributed peanut allergies to overbearing mothers. If mothers would just back off, their kids would overcome their allergies. Obviously that post was written by an idiot (it wasn't here), but it has haunted me. It feeds into every fear I have as a mother - that I have somehow done something wrong that caused the problem and am making it worse by being protective.

 

We can't make the world completely safe, we need to train our allergic kids to watch out for themselves and to carry their epi-pens. But it would help for people to remember that epi-pens don't always work - and that each anaphylactic episode can make the next one worse, quicker to happen and more violent. You don't want to use the epi-pen afterwards - you want to prevent the attack from happening in the first place. That's why we rely on strangers to go out of their way to take precautions.

 

Can you imagine if my son had died because his friend ate a peanut bar near him? Can you imagine how she would feel knowing she inadvertently had killed him?

 

I don't know what the answer is myself. I love nuts myself and I don't want to hurt the livelihoods of those who grow them or the enjoyment of others who want to eat them....but how crazy that something so innocuous has become so dangerous to kids in this generation.

 

When we went in to the hospital the doctor said there were kids coming in all the time (teenagers) who were having anaphylactic reactions to nuts. He couldn't believe how often it was happening. And he said they were getting very bad, very serious reactions that were freaking everyone out in the ER - they just don't know why it's so prevalent now.

[Slartibartfast]

Anaphylaxis isn't the only way that an allergy manifests itself. Some times a stomach is just the beginning of or part of an allergic reaction. Besides, an intolerance isn't fun to have either, it's not just an inconvenience. People are trying to look for ways to relate not trying to diminish your struggle!

 

 

I do disagree that intolerances are the same. If I was just intolerant to milk there would be a lot more options. If I go to the fake cheese area at a store I will be lucky if there is a single one that is appropriate for allergies. Mixing the two creates confusion, misinformation and can be harmful.

 

No one cares about diminishing experiences. It is leading to incorrect information.

 

Of course allergies do not present in the same way but intolerances and allergies are not the same. Please do not treat them the same. That makes things harder. Of course intolerances are not easy, but we need to be factual.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Sis

[rafiki]

.

[Dana]

We can't make the world completely safe, we need to train our allergic kids to watch out for themselves and to carry their epi-pens. But it would help for people to remember that epi-pens don't always work - and that each anaphylactic episode can make the next one worse, quicker to happen and more violent. You don't want to use the epi-pen afterwards - you want to prevent the attack from happening in the first place. That's why we rely on strangers to go out of their way to take precautions.

 

Can you imagine if my son had died because his friend ate a peanut bar near him? Can you imagine how she would feel knowing she inadvertently had killed him?

 

 

Glad your son is okay.

 

We don't think our son has peanut allergies, but he is severely allergic to dairy and had an anaphylactic reaction to tree nuts (did do Epi - and practice with the trainer had really helped because I didn't inject it properly the first time).

 

My son's in a class right now that isn't supposed to have food. One of the other kids continues to bring in food. I spoke with her mother who took offense and threatened to send in nuts. Later she said that we couldn't keep him in a bubble. I'm still furious.

 

An intolerance will make you miserable but isn't going to kill you. The threat to send in nuts felt to me like saying I'll send in my child with a loaded gun. It may or may not go off, but the anxiety is huge.

 

Last night my son said if he could ask for anything it would be that his allergies would be gone. :crying:

 

I'm hoping that the studies that are being done will lead to treatments. Meanwhile, I'm considering college where he can live at home so he doesn't need to cook since I can't see how he could handle food. I also hope we figure out more plans and have more options as he grows.

[Senorita Tuna Fish]

I do disagree that intolerances are the same. If I was just intolerant to milk there would be a lot more options. If I go to the fake cheese area at a store I will be lucky if there is a single one that is appropriate for allergies. Mixing the two creates confusion, misinformation and can be harmful.

 

No one cares about diminishing experiences. It is leading to incorrect information.

 

Of course allergies do not present in the same way but intolerances and allergies are not the same. Please do not treat them the same. That makes things harder. Of course intolerances are not easy, but we need to be factual.

 

Wait a minute...I never said they were the same not once! What I said was people, in most cases, when they say things like I get a stomach ache when I drink milk etc, aren't trying to spread misinformation or do anything other than relate! I often times fell like just because my daughters allergies aren't life threatening that people quick to jump to the intolerance. Again I never dais they were the same or that we didn't need to be factual, just saying give people a break, just because this is something you and I have to deal with doesn't mean everyone does or is up to speed or understands or will understand even if the distinction is given. There are a whole lot of diseases and conditions out there that we don't have information about because it doesn't affect us. So because we draw similarities are we spreading misinformation? Listen you don't have to respond, but I felt I had to given that I was misunderstood!

[Ellesmere]

Anaphylaxis isn't the only way that an allergy manifests itself. Some times a stomach is just the beginning of or part of an allergic reaction. Besides, an intolerance isn't fun to have either, it's not just an inconvenience. People are trying to look for ways to relate not trying to diminish your struggle!

 

I appreciate your message. I don't think all people are trying to diminish our struggle and totally respect people who are trying to relate. It means a lot! :001_smile:

 

Can you see, though, how it hurts when people say they have intolerances (and not all people with intolerances do this) and impose the same, alienating food restrictions out of preference? Intolerances (which I've dealt with) are no fun, I know that. But I'd take my lactose intolerance over the allergies that put me in the ER any day. That doesn't mean intolerances aren't hard. But wouldn't I rather have my children allergy-free? Yep. If someone accidentally feeds them milk (and accidents happen no matter how careful we are), they will live -- uncomfortably. If it's accidental alllergen exposure ... I don't even like to go there, because I've been there already.

 

 

Also, I think anyone with allergies realizes that anaphylaxis isn't the only way allergy manifests. Did someone say that? We also know that it is rare to die from it and proper treatment is key. No need to be an alarmist, every need to be careful and prepared if you have severe allergies.

 

Stomach pain is one symptom of a milder allergy for me. Most allergies don't get as far as anaphylaxis.

 

There is no need to polarize. We all face struggles!

 

Shortly after my son was diagnosed with a nut allergy, I read a post somewhere that attributed peanut allergies to overbearing mothers. If mothers would just back off, their kids would overcome their allergies.

 

We can't make the world completely safe, we need to train our allergic kids to watch out for themselves and to carry their epi-pens. But it would help for people to remember that epi-pens don't always work - and that each anaphylactic episode can make the next one worse, quicker to happen and more violent. You don't want to use the epi-pen afterwards - you want to prevent the attack from happening in the first place. That's why we rely on strangers to go out of their way to take precautions.

 

 

 

Joel Stein wrote an article blaming parents for nut allergies. He wrote a stunning mea culpa for Time after an ER visit. Here's the link.

 

I agree with you. No such thing as 100% safety. We've had three scary experiences. We had no idea about the allergies the first two times. The last anaphylactic episode was to something unrelated to the the other food allergies that we knew about and let us know that a new one had manifested. It was in my own home, food that I made for myself.

 

We've asked for education and emergency preparation, not for eradicating peanuts from the world. (Well, peanut is actually a mild one for us, but you know what I mean!)

[Senorita Tuna Fish]

I appreciate your message. I don't think all people are trying to diminish our struggle and totally respect people who are trying to relate. It means a lot! :001_smile:

 

Can you see, though, how it hurts when people say they have intolerances (and not all people with intolerances do this) and impose the same, alienating food restrictions out of preference? Intolerances (which I've dealt with) are no fun, I know that. But I'd take my lactose intolerance over the allergies that put me in the ER any day. That doesn't mean intolerances aren't hard. But wouldn't I rather have my children allergy-free? Yep. If someone accidentally feeds them milk (and accidents happen no matter how careful we are), they will live -- uncomfortably. If it's accidental alllergen exposure ... I don't even like to go there, because I've been there already.

 

 

Also, I think anyone with allergies realizes that anaphylaxis isn't the only way allergy manifests. Did someone say that? We also know that it is rare to die from it and proper treatment is key. No need to be an alarmist, every need to be careful and prepared if you have severe allergies.

 

Stomach pain is one symptom of a milder allergy for me. Most allergies don't get as far as anaphylaxis.

 

There is no need to polarize. We all face struggles!

 

 

 

Joel Stein wrote an article blaming parents for nut allergies. He wrote a stunning mea culpa for Time after an ER visit. Here's the link.

 

I agree with you. No such thing as 100% safety. We've had three scary experiences. We had no idea about the allergies the first two times. The last anaphylactic episode was to something unrelated to the the other food allergies that we knew about and let us know that a new one had manifested. It was in my own home, food that I made for myself.

 

We've asked for education and emergency preparation, not for eradicating peanuts from the world. (Well, peanut is actually a mild one for us, but you know what I mean!)

 

Did you read my second post? I have a daughter that has food allergies several including one that involves anaphylaxis! I never said that the food allergies and intolerance were the same! I simply said that people are just trying to relate with you when they say things such as, " oh I know what you mean about allergies, every time i drink milk I get a stomach ache!" They are not in any way trying to diminish what your going through, and we should be gentle in explaining the difference or just take care that someone is trying to empathize with you. It does not in any way hurt my feelings when people don't understand what we go through! Why should they it's not what they have to deal with. I was not in any way trying to polarize in fact I was trying to offer a different perspective.

[SonshineLearner]

I had a mom in my daughter's elementary school, dismiss her need for extra attention because her son could be "self responsible" for not being around dairy... so my daughter (6 at the time) should be self responsible for handling.. "not being around peanuts". Seriously, it still ticks me off when I see her. We were too much trouble.... to just have the others be careful. (BTW in school, the Federal Law about disabilities reaches out towards allergic reactions as a "disability" from everything I've read...)

[coffeefreak]

 

Shortly after my son was diagnosed with a nut allergy, I read a post somewhere that attributed peanut allergies to overbearing mothers. If mothers would just back off, their kids would overcome their allergies. Obviously that post was written by an idiot (it wasn't here), but it has haunted me. It feeds into every fear I have as a mother - that I have somehow done something wrong that caused the problem and am making it worse by being protective.

.

 

Yup, I've gotten the "You're just a neurotic mother,"looks too. My favorite question is, "So, what happens if she eats it?" Like they can find a loop hole. As we can see from this thread, even the allergy Moms can miss the point that we all need to be respectful and supportive of the families who have kids with food allergies. My dd has never had an anaphylactic reaction to soy, but she is sick for 3 days while her system processes the soy and recovers. Then she struggles for several days after indicating the damage done internally by ingesting soy. The debate of what differentiates an intolerance and an allergy is still out there. She is diagnosed as allergic because she was failure to thrive from constant diarrhea, vomiting and stomach aches. I can't tell you how hard those first years were when she would complain of stomach aches every day and throw temper tantrums over nothing at all. They thought she had celiacs disease, but that wasn't it. I suspect, like celiacs, things like soy allergies and gluten "intolerances" will be classified as auto immune disorders eventually. As it stands, the only solution is avoidance and if someone tells me they can't eat or be around something, I respect that and don't question the diagnosis.

 

Blessings!

Dorinda~ DD#2 is allergic to soy, oranges, watermelons, cantaloupe, pineapple and latex

[SonshineLearner]

Blessings!

Dorinda~ DD#2 is allergic to soy, oranges, watermelons, cantaloupe, pineapple and latex

 

Just a FYI to look at... people who are "allergic"... even just like me... (itchy mouth/throat) are more likely to become allergic to latex and should avoid it... Especially.. I think it's avocados and maybe bananas....?? I have itchiness allergies to raw nuts, tons of raw fruit, lots of raw veggies.....

 

So... if you are allergic (or your kids are) to fruit and veggies... think about avoiding latex.... it's a bad one to become allergic to...

 

:(

[Ellesmere]

Did you read my second post? ..." They are not in any way trying to diminish what your going through, and we should be gentle in explaining the difference or just take care that someone is trying to empathize with you. It does not in any way hurt my feelings when people don't understand what we go through! Why should they it's not what they have to deal with. I was not in any way trying to polarize in fact I was trying to offer a different perspective.

 

Hey, there! I think you know now from my visitor message, but I think you did your second post while I was typing mine, so I hadn't seen it yet.

 

But I do want you to know that even in my first point I understood your point (I said I appreciated it!), and I was not accusing you of diminishing or polarizing. I thought I made it clear I realized you weren't diminishing anything, sorry I wasn't clear about that.

 

I was trying to say that all of us (me included) need to beware of polarizing and understand that most people are either trying to relate or just don't get it, and that's ok. (I should have noted that I was done responding to your post) I especially said it b/c I saw some disagreement with your initial post and if anything I was trying to show I understood what you meant. :confused:

 

From your first post I thought you dealt with mild allergies, but that's why I asked for clarification. Hope we are ok now!!!

 

I definitely agree with being gentle. I think that's what I expressed when I initially said allergic parents need to be careful and not make unrealistic demands or we lose hope of getting the support most people are otherwise happy to offer until they encounter harsh or rude people. I also remind myself that I'm the one that deals with our combo of allergies every day. Even someone with severe allergies to just one thing asks me how manage to eat. In no way can I expect non-allergic people to understand or work around our allergies like we do. Because even I make mistakes with our diets.

 

Allergy skeptics, as Joel Stein, also need to be gentle too or they might find themselves in the ER, as he did, realizing he was now one of "them". ;)

[Senorita Tuna Fish]

Hey, there! I think you know now from my visitor message, but I think you did your second post while I was typing mine, so I hadn't seen it yet.

 

But I do want you to know that even in my first point I understood your point (I said I appreciated it!), and I was not accusing you of diminishing or polarizing. I thought I made it clear I realized you weren't diminishing anything, sorry I wasn't clear about that.

 

I was trying to say that all of us (me included) need to beware of polarizing and understand that most people are either trying to relate or just don't get it, and that's ok. (I should have noted that I was done responding to your post) I especially said it b/c I saw some disagreement with your initial post and if anything I was trying to show I understood what you meant. :confused:

 

From your first post I thought you dealt with mild allergies, but that's why I asked for clarification. Hope we are ok now!!!

 

I definitely agree with being gentle. I think that's what I expressed when I initially said allergic parents need to be careful and not make unrealistic demands or we lose hope of getting the support most people are otherwise happy to offer until they encounter harsh or rude people. I also remind myself that I'm the one that deals with our combo of allergies every day. Even someone with severe allergies to just one thing asks me how manage to eat. In no way can I expect non-allergic people to understand or work around our allergies like we do. Because even I make mistakes with our diets.

 

Allergy skeptics, as Joel Stein, also need to be gentle too or they might find themselves in the ER, as he did, realizing he was now one of "them". ;)

 

I think that these types of conversations are so hard to have on this kind of platform because we tend to misunderstand a lot, I know I do! No harm no foul on my part, and I hope I didn't offend as well.

I really do understand about the skeptics as we have encountered some. It's a difficult thing to take in possible being responsible for sending someone to the hospital inadvertantly and no one wants to take on the responsibility for that type of meticulous safety willingly! But, thank you for the message on my page and sorry about all the mix up!