Anyones child out there have food allergies? Mine is allergice to peanuts and tree nuts, if life was not hard enough! Just thought we could chat if you do...

By Karen~moderator on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 07:35 am:

Trina has LOTS of experience with nut allergies!

By Trina~moderator on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 09:36 am:

Karen is correct! Both my kids have severe nut allergies. It's very overwhelming and frustrating at first but becomes a way of life. Our home is safe and nut free but we have to be very wary at school, at other people's houses and out in public. Both kids wear Medic Alert bracelets from MedicAlert.org and require easy access to an epi-pen at all times. We've taught our kids not to eat anything unless they are absolutely, positively SURE it's OK for them. The risk is just too great. My DS was 3.5 when we learned he was allergic to nuts the hard way. He went into anaphylactic shock and I called 911. Very scary experience! With DD we were so paranoid that we avoided all nuts with her just to be safe. Good thing because we had her tested last year and discovered she has nut allergies as well. I have gotten to know their teachers and the school nurse very well. EDUCATION is key! I also educate all their friend's parents. I pack all their snacks and lunches and always keep a safe treat in their backpacks in case they're not able to eat treats at school. A good resource is FoodAllergy.org. I belong to their e-mail list, which sends out alerts of foods that contain undeclared allergens.

Sure, I'd love to chat with you about food allergies!

By Gramma on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 09:59 am:

Hi, I'm new. Just signed up this morning. I reached you by doing a search on 'allergies, sick, congestion.' I'm getting desperate and not for my 2 daughters or granddaughter - it's for me. I am sick again! I've tried talking to physicians, etc. Forget that! Can anyone confirm that you can actually get infections, croup, asthma, tightness in chest, terrible cold and finally a sinus infection from allergy? I get this 4x a yr. and now it's the 5th. So tired of it. I'm exhausted all the time, but the doctor can't find anything wrong with me. I'm healthy, happy and I've decided that I may be allergic to wheat or gluten or something that I eat every day. The only time that I have felt fabulous is when I went on the Atkins diet for 3 weeks. Is that it? Any suggestions or experiences are appreciated. Thanx, Gramma Sara

By Trina~moderator on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 10:28 am:

Welcome, Gramma! Allergies and asthma often go hand in hand. I highly recommend going to see an Allergy/Asthma specialist. Regular doctors aren't up on this stuff. My DS was diagnosed with asthma last year, after a severe attack that landed him in the hospital, and since learning his triggers, starting him on an asthma action/maintenance plan and taking precautions he has been healthy. Our regular doctor never mentioned the possibility of asthma or the connection with allergies.

By Gramma on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 07:07 pm:

Hi, Thanx Trina. Since I don't have health insurance I think I'll forego the specialist. But, today, I've started the Atkins Diet in a moderate way. After re-reading what I wrote I made a decision. I'm starting to feel better already and it's not even 24 hours. I ate chicken, hard boiled egg, and a slice of hard cheese. Trying to drink lots of water and stay away from coffee. We'll see. Gramma Sara

By Feona on Friday, January 2, 2004 - 07:14 pm:

My husband is the same way with the wheat.

By Missy3 on Saturday, January 3, 2004 - 09:37 am:

Trina-

I am an avid FAAN freak!!! So is my daughter who is 7. It is a hard life, but one that can be lived.

I was thinking about having an education night at my dd school. Her peditritian already said he would come. My dd goes to private school so no nurse, but they are right next door to a fire dept! I was just going to educated, those who show, on a reaction, since it does not just happen at lunch it could take 72 hours for a reaction to occur.

I found out the hard way as well, but she was 11 mths old, and I was looking for a new lunch food for her giving her pb&j. I feel highly educated on the subject and need to let people who are around her most of the day what to look for.

She too wears a MA necklace since she lost 2 braclets! She is very responsible and builds very strong yet apprehensive children when around strangers.

email bigmisy@aol.com

By Trina~moderator on Saturday, January 3, 2004 - 11:33 am:

Missy, do you have any of the videos FAAN sells? I have two, and they're very helpful when it comes to educating people around us.

It Only Takes One Bite Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis
I lend this one out to adults.

Alexander, The Elephant Who Couldn't Eat Peanuts
I've been successful at getting teachers to show this to my DK's classes at the beginning of each year.

It's not legal in my state (CT) for staff members to administer an epi-pen unless they've been trained by a state approved person. Thankfully our school nurse is approved to train staff members. I give her all our expired epi-pens to use during training workshops. The training epi-pens aren't quite the same as the real things! The nurse has the teachers get the feel of them by injecting them into large oranges. Hey, it works!

There is a little girl in DD's class (Kindergarten) who also is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. At first I was thrilled to learn this, but it has turned out to not be a good thing. The girl's mother is not nearly as cautious as we are and it's rubbing off on my DD. ARGH!

DS (7) has always been very responsible about his nut allergy. But then again, he vividly remembers the ambulance ride and epi-pen injection. Does NOT want to experience that again. LOL!

My e-mail is in my profile.