How You Can Help Those Living With Food Allergies?

All week we have been talking about food allergies. You have heard the deeply personal stories of  how food allergies impact the lives of those with this life threatening condition. Now what? What can you do to help improve the lives of 12 million Americans? Listed below are a few ways to help.

Raise Money For Food Allergy Research
The Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) organization host annual walks each year to raise money for food allergy research.  If you live in the Kansas City metro area, click here to register a team to walk September 14, 2013. If you live in another city, simply visit www.foodallergywalk.org.

Support  The School Access To Emergency Epinephrine Act
Contact you congressional representatives to support "The School Access To Emergency Epinephrine Act. Click here to see if your House Representative has signed.  Click here to see if your Senate Representative has signed the bill.  Creating legislature that will require all schools to stock general use epinephrine for emergencies will save lives.

Encourage Your Kids To Be A PAL: Protect A Life From Food Allergies

1. Never take food allergies lightly.
2. Don't share food with friends who have food allergies.
3. Wash hands after eating.
4. Ask what your friend is allergic to and help them avoid it.
5. If a friend that has food allergies becomes ill, get help immediately.

For more information about food allergies, please click here to visit the Food Allergy Research and Education Organization.

How Food Allergies Have Affected My Family By: Amy Schrumpf-Goode

Today's article was written by my friend and fellow food allergy parent, Amy Schrumpf-Goode. Read below how food allergies have impacted her family.

How food allergies have affected my family

Having a young child (17 months old) with multiple food allergies affects your whole world and pretty much everything you do, all day long.  My child is allergic to many foods that are household staples such as milk, wheat,  and eggs so I know he could easily come into contact with them at any time if our family isn't careful, and he for sure comes into contact with them at the zoo, park, library, grocery store, basically everywhere.  Since his allergens are everywhere I consider every moment we are not in a "safe zone" to be life threatening, because it may be.  Imagine having to carry and be ready to inject life saving medication to your child at any time during the 12 hours they are awake because the things that could kill them are all around them.  That's a very long time to stand vigil and doing so every day, every week, every year.  Now imagine entrusting this job to someone else at the daycare or school.  Pretty scary isn't it?  It's also scary that at some point, I will have to entrust my child to be able to handle this.  Most parents just have to make sure their child doesn't drink bleach or run out into the street.  I have to worry about my child doing all that and eating the wrong food.  

Entrusting my son's meal preparation to someone else is frightful and possibly deadly, so we have only eaten out with him once.  I'm not a great cook.  I used to rely heavily on seasoning packets, but most are tainted with allergens he can't have so I have had to quickly learn how to make items from scratch, and to make up recipes on the fly.  I shop at Whole Foods every week whereas before, I never stepped foot in the place.  Now I know most of the employees and it has become my lifesaver at finding safe foods that my child can eat and still maintain some normalcy so he's not eating something weird.

Most people don't realize what a food centric society we live in until you have a food allergic child.  My child can't have the free cookie at the grocery store.  Taking him to Costco is a nightmare as the "food pushers" stare at me with a confused look on their face when I decline whatever they are aggressively hawking and then have to follow it up with a "because he's allergic".  No means no!  He can't have the dessert and many times half the sides at family gatherings or holidays.  Every holiday is celebrated with candy and sweets so not only do I have to prepare ahead of time food for him, I have to find an alternative to the sweets so he still gets something from the Easter Bunny, and I don't have any idea what I'm going to do when he's school age.  He'll be receiving chocolate hearts for Valentine's day, and all kinds of stuff for Halloween.  I'll cross that bridge when I get there, but I want people to realize the battle isn't just keeping the allergens out of my sons mouth, it's about him feeling and being treated like he's no different from others.  So, even at this young age, I feel sorry for him and how different he may feel and I remember when I was a kid that being different sucks.

I think the psychological aspect of food allergies is immense, almost as immense as the severity and seriousness of the food allergy.  My son is too young to know he's "different" from many other kids.  I know better.  I know all the challenges we face now and what he may face in the future.  He doesn't know that eating the wrong thing could kill him, I don't know either.  There is so much unknown with food allergies which adds to the stress.  I am constantly on alert.  Add to it, the fact that because food allergies only affect about 8% of kids, 92% of parents have no idea what I'm dealing with or going through and seem to think that food allergies are only slightly worse than seasonal allergies.  The general public is so ill-informed about food allergies that it makes me have to work that much harder and be that much more vigilant and outspoken for my child.  I'm sure I come across as crazy, a helicopter mom, uptight, over reactive, and flat out mean to many people, including family members, but I have to because we're talking about my son's life.  Silly me, I want him to live!  

It's hard to get people to understand the seriousness of this problem.   I'm constantly asked what happens when my son ingests (insert allergen here).  The answer is "I don't know because reactions can change, and I don't want to find out".  Which I think makes people less trusting that my son has a serious medical condition since I can't say for sure he will go into anaphylactic shock.  Unfortunately, you can't explain all the nuances about food allergies to someone in 5 minutes, and frankly most people don't care enough to listen past 5 minutes anyway.  I wish people would trust me when I say it's serious.  I wonder too, if some people think because I have an epi-pen that I don't have to worry about anything bad happening, but the truth is many kids have epi-pens and still die.  And, on the flip side of that, why would I want to inject my son with epinephrine, call 911, have a who knows how long hospital stay, and put my child through all of that, if I don't have to?  I think because they know there's a "cure" in my purse, there's less worry.

Additionally, there are many other problems that come with being a food allergic child.  Many children have to deal with itchy, uncomfortable skin conditions such as eczema, asthma, weight issues, and gastroenterological issues.  So, I would like others to understand that I'm not just dealing with the food allergies but there may be other medical conditions I have to address, watch for, or wait for in the near or somewhat distant future.  So again, the unknown comes into play and as parent's we're just waiting to see if another medical condition to worry about is added to the list.  

Because food allergies are so unique, and food is everywhere, I cannot come up with a good analogy for other parents to understand what this feels like, and how difficult it is to parent a child with food allergies.  Everything is planned, I always have Benadryl, hand wipes, and epi-pens with me.  There are always "extra steps and things" I have to do that other parents don't, to keep my son safe.  I just really hope and pray that people cut us food allergy parents some slack, realize we're not crazy (they would do the exact same thing if they were in our shoes), and trust us to do what's best for our child.  It's really scary when your child has something that could kill them within in minutes and it's not something that can be easily kept away from them, as food is all around us.

 

At the park with Amy and Nicholas!

Throwback Tuesday: Our Food Allergy Story

 

In support of Food Allergy Awareness Week, I am re-posting our food allergy story. I share this in hopes that it will encourage, support, and bring awareness to the 12 million Americans living with food allergies.

 

How I Became A Food Allergy Mama

Catherine (Little Brownie) has food allergies. Multiple food allergies. I often feel sad, overwhelmed and confused. How did this happen? Did I do something wrong?

Being a first time mother, I did all of the research and followed my pediatrician's recommendations when it was time to introduce my girl to solid foods. I knew there was a risk for allergies due to a family history (my husbands sister has food allergies) and the fact that Catherine has eczema. During my pregnancy I ate a varied diet and vowed to breastfeed exclusively. I am proud to say that Catherine and I have been breastfeeding exclusively now for fourteen months, however this was not enough to keep the allergies at bay.

On Monday, December 3,2012,  I gave Catherine peanut butter for the first time. Within minutes, Catherine had red hives around her mouth and her lips began to swell.  I gave her 1/4 teaspoon of Children's Benadryl, called the pediatrician, and closely monitored her all day.

Two days later Catherine was tested for allergies. Not only did she test positive for peanuts, but Catherine also tested positive for eggs,milk,soy, and wheat.

I left the doctor's office in tears. Filled with fear. While I worked at the preschool, I remember seeing kids who had food allergies. I saw the struggle their families faced trying to keep them safe. I often felt sorry for them and was thankful no one in my family had to deal with food allergies. Now I had to deal with it. Following the doctors recommendation, I threw out most of the things in our house that contained egg,peanuts,wheat,milk,and soy and gave away the rest to friends. I quickly realized we were going to have to drastically change the way we eat. Traces of wheat, milk, and soy were in everything! Not to mention I could no longer indulge in one of my favorite passions,baking.

In the weeks since Catherin's diagnosis, I have become an expert in reading labels and what to look for if I think Catherine is having a reaction. Slowly but surely, I have began the transition to a gluten-free,dairy-free,egg-free, peanut-free and soy-free lifestyle.

I keep wondering if I did something wrong. Why is it that food allergies are so prevalent these days? Do you have food allergies or a child that does? If so, how do you cope?

Food Allergy Awareness Week Is Here!

Today marks the beginning of Food Allergy Awareness Week! This week of awareness was created in 1998 by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network to educate others about food allergies, a potentially life-threatening medical condition. This cause is near and dear to me because it directly affects my family and our daily life. In December of 2012, my daughter Catherine was diagnosed with multiple food allergies.

To celebrate, At Home With The Brownies will be discussing topics on food allergies all week. Follow the blog all week long to read personal stories from mothers of children with food allergies. I will also share  my tips for thriving with food allergies, healthy allergy-free recipes, and even what you can do to further food allergy research and to protect local children.