Can't agree enough with the ideas about ignorance!  It's crazy how risky eating can be with a food allergy! 

And we can't expect a child to be trusted on their own to select foods as being safe for them or not.  My son wasdiagnosed with food allergies beginning at age 18 mos.  He is very aware of the dangers, but it is also a confusing matter!  Even we adults are learning all the time! 

For example, he has been diagnosed with an allergy to tree nuts -- primarily cashews and Brazil nuts -- in addition to other foods but has never tested allergic to peanuts.  Nonetheless, he could suffer an allergic reaction to peanuts, because they are often processed in the same place as tree nuts.  So our child never eats products with peanuts or peanut butter.  But this is a confusing matter, even for we adults, as his doctor told us that he does not have to avoid food cooked in peanut oil.  Friends of ours have a child with a peanut allergy diagnosis, and they have stopped eating at most restaurants because of the prevalence of cooking with peanut oil!  I can't help but wonder if one day he will also have a problem with peanut oil if the peanuts were contaminated with tree nuts.  ???

Another confusing development:  Our child has environmental allergens -- allergic reactions to irritants like tree pollen or weeds, so at different seasons of the year, his food can bother him more if it was grown in a field which would expose the peels to these things.  Our son has to balance understanding the difference between a "true food allergy" (which he has not only to tree nuts but also to melons) with the reactions he has to foods that he is not allergic to.   He has had experiences of itchiness and hives/splotches to foods like apples, peaches, mangos.  Our doctor said that these experiences are typical and warned that he could have them eating many fruits and vegetables.  Our doctor shared that he will probably not have the same problems when eating these foods throughout all seasons, and that they are less likely to irritate him when they have been cooked or at least peeled. Anyway, our child is becoming hesitant to eat a lot of fresh fruits & worries whether he can eat some things which have these ingredients in them when they are cooked.  Today he ate banana-mango yogurt (a family favorite which we hadn't purchased for several months) & was halfway through his snack when he got anxious b/c he remembered the reaction he had to fresh mangos.  Phew!  I recently met a mother whose son is a few years older than ours.  She said that our community did not have any pediatric allergy specialists when her child was diagnosed at age 2.  We now have at least 3 doctors in the area who specialize in allergies in addition to asthma in children.  I believe that their body of knowledge is changing all the time, and I am glad to have an expert close at hand to help us try to figure out all the details of this life-threatening condition!

An informative article. Thanks for the whole information you've provided.

Thank you for writing an article that is up front and tells it like it is.

I like your work! Good job.

Lisa xx

you are so write there some people are just dumb and some just dont care

Thank you for raising this awareness.  My daughter is allergic to peanuts and her face and mouth swells up badly when exposed to a small amount of peanut.  When we enrolled her at a new preschool, we discussed the allergy with the staff as they serve peanut butter with snacks for the children.  One day she ate some peanut butter and had a heavy reaction.  Our doctor told us that this reaction can get worse each time she is exposed.  She was only 3 at the time and the school told us 'well, she should know not to eat it".  She was 3!!!  How can you expect a 3 year old to make the right choices?

I think that parents should put more pressure on schools to get them to not allow peanuts and peanut products at school.  What will it take for schools to listen?  A child dying?

I totally agree with everything said above! My husband also has peanut allergies. I say allergies because he reacts differently to different peanuts! For example, he can eat a peanut and it just gives him asthma - he eats a cashew and he will be dead in about 15 minutes!

We had our nieces wedding last weekend and they brought out bread and a trio of dips for entree. Tim had been out for ages trying to get Chloe to sleep - there was too much going on, and she was being stubborn! I ate mine and left his for him. Eventually he came in and asked if I had tasted any nuts in the dips, which I answered no! So away he went eating! Within seconds of eating one, his throat started to go all gravelly and he knew something was wrong! He asked again, and I said I was sure nothing had peanuts or anything in them. We were then told that the green dip was pesto - made out of pine nuts!!!!! There was no warning at all on the menu that the dips contained any kind of nut! Usually Tim will always ask, but he wasn't in the room when they handed the food out! Luckily pine nuts didn't give him anaphylaxis, but it was touch and go for quite a while! He was very sick still, and unfortunately we didn't get to see the end of our nieces wedding!

We worry about Chloe and her allergies! We will keep her from peanuts for as long as we can, but when she gets to school it may be harder to do that. Our best option that I can see is too get her allergy tested to see if she is allergic to them or not!

It's an awful allergy to have, because peanuts are such a common food! Even if I lift the lid to something with cashews, tim starts to react! You have to be soooo very careful!

The advice above is fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to share it with everyone.

Education is the key to everything. Thanks

This is so true, my daughter has this type of peanut allergy ( but it's not only to peanut it's also to other nuts and also kiwi fruit) I always tell people what type of allergy it is and make sure they understand what will happen as it would be no laughing manner. Thank you fo putting this out there

It is so good to see that someone is explaining properly how serious and deadly peanut allergy can be. Thank you for writing this.

 This is excellent staighte talking advice and I feel with this serious subject there is no other to be.

Thanks for sharing.

you tell it like it is, my oldest son has Cashew nut Allergies (reactions) he's fine with peanut butter or Nutella but I make him avoid all other nuts on the off chance. He has had the prick test but could well be due for another updated one so will be doing that soon. He is fortunate that his reactions have not included peanuts or hazelnuts though I have heard of a girl who developed that later in life even though it was not her original Allergy it can get worse and change to other nuts etc so be on the look out. If my son ever starts reacting to hazelnuts and/or peanuts he'll be going off those too. As for his school any form of peanuts is banned from the school as smells of it can even set some peoples reactions off and several of the staff though i do not think all but the office staff are trained with an epi pen and it is policy to call an ambulance not that , that would help if the treatment isn't fast enough anyway I'm babbling on. I deffinately hope there can be more awareness of this condition and yes it is serious i agree.

As a teacher here in the US, the teachers at my school had to be trained on how to use th epen.  We has several students that may have needed it and we all had to know how to use it.  Thank haven we never did. 

Thank you, a brilliant article.

Wow this was really interseting and this is why maybe i have only given my 2 year old the tiniest bit of PB, i think i may just be scared of what might happen.

Thank you for this very interseting peice of Information.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with any food allergies (to date... omg, please stay that way!) but i've been avoiding giving my daughter shell fish thus far.

My sister gets hives and her hands swell up if she touches shrimp or other shell fish. I thought this was the extent of her allergy, and so did everyone else, so she'd never been tested, or carried an epipen... she just avoided touching shrimps. Thru random doctor visits and converstations, I learned that she probably has an anaphylaxictic allergy to shrimp, it just hasn't manifested itself in full force yet! The next time she touches a shrimp, or accidentally eats something with shrimp in it, she could have a full reaction and that be it! She carries an epipen now.

I guess what I'm trying to say is ANY reaction to ANYthing should be checked out be an allergist.... it might just be a rash the first time, but the next time it could be much much worse.

 Fantastic advice! My best friends daughter who is almost 9 is also anaphylactic to nuts. My daughter and her are also best friends. I know how hard my friend works to educate people. My daughter is now also very aware of the dangers and checks packets for peanuts, etc. It is soooo important that people realise how serious this is. It's amazing that you still come across parents who complain because they can't send peanut butter sandwiches to school for their kids, because it's their favourite or it's all they will eat!! They just don't get that another child may DIE because their child had to have peanut butter! Well done on spreading this very important message.

Karen

THANK YOU!!  from a parent of a child without food allergies.  My son is 7 and just started back to school and has an allergey-free classroom which does not allow peanut or egg products (etc).

The school has limited snacks to fresh fruit, applesause cups, fruit cups, vegetables and yogurt, although there are no limitations at all for lunch as they have an allergy free table.  Which raises the question about cross contamination at recess.  My frustration was not that we couldn't send in products containing peanuts or eggs (etc), I completely agree with that decision.  My frustration was that no one in the school even attempted to help me understand why I couldn't send in other snacks that did not include peanuts or eggs.  It was simlpy that we couldn't send them in because of a risk to the child.  Schools should do what they do best and educate all of us.

I am not able to speak to one of the parents, because I don't know who the child is or their parents.  Your article has helped me understand the situation much better. 

Great article - my niece also has an anaphylactic reaction to nuts and eggs - and she reacts to traces of it on other people's skin, which a lot of people don't understand.  It is so hard to get people to understand - and sometimes I am horrified by the people who don't get it - teachers, child-care workers etc....  Thanks for spelling it out.

WOW brilliant advice i believe kids DO understand what death is i think children should be told the truth also . I dont know very much about anaphylaxis allergy but this is very informative .

Thanks for sharing

Emz x

very well writen...

I am 32 years old and had my first anaphylaxis 'attack' 3 years ago.... I have since had skin prick test, blood test etc... but they can't find out what it is i have an allergy to... My first 'attack' wasn't so life threating, but they get worst every one i have had.... I have be shiped of my paramedics after collapsing on my kitchen floor in front of my children.... I now get to carry one of those epi-pens. It is a very scary condition to have in your life....

My sister-in-law has a peanut allergy, and her daughter has an allergy to eggs.... they both have epi-pens and just the other day she was given cake at school and had a bad reaction to it.... so yes, education is the number one key to this issue....

Thanx you for your writen advice.... but remember all, it's not something that just affects children....

Take Care and good luck in your mission to help educate the world... you have my support...

Hugs Frogie... 

The same can be said for any child with an anaphulaxis allergy to any products.  While there are 'do gooders' running around thinking they know best, and not erring toward the cautious side when offering food etc to our kids.  I am surprised when people offer food to my child in their home, (who has no known allergies), without checking with me first. 

They have no idea whether he has allergies or not, and if he did, I think I would have make all his clothes with a massive label front and back stating so.  Deaths do happen, and often they occur when kids are in the care of others - professional or otherwise, it is scary, and it is dangerous - thanks for such a clear concise piece of advice.

Thanks for writing this article and bringing more attention to anaphylaxis allergy...i found this very informative and easy to read. I had a girlfriend who suffered with this condition and so many of her friends didn't take it serious. But when ever we went out she had to be so careful of what she ordered to eat.

Kindest Regards Janice

Hi

Well i am totally gob smacked as i knew peanut allergy was dangerous but not to this extent.

Thank you for doing this article so that we can be more aware and more understanding.  This is truly very scary not only for you but for us as parents as well.  Once again it is a silent killer of our children.  There is just so much out there now that is so dangerous to our kids.

The more you can tell us about it and the more you can make us aware by your articles on it the closer we will get to understanding life is not as clear cut as we see it.

But i do have to laugh at the warning on a packet of nuts.....May contain traces of nuts...well doh it is a packet of nuts...but i suppose not all humans are intelligent. 

Luv Deb

Fantastic advice Tammy, people can be so ignorant unless they have a child in the situation, very informative. Em

great article!

i have to admit that the above was fully expained and understood through child care information. They are strict when it comes to allergies of any sort...and now we have been informed that watermelon, rockmelon etc has to be whole when put into the shared fruit basket, and not cut in any way.  As parents we are not to feed them eggs or peanuts before we drop them off for the day.

Thanks for a GREAT and VERY VERY informative article on a truly important subject . . . .

Cheers Kellz

This is a great article! I never knew most of that, now that i am aware, i think i'll be gettng my son tested as soon as i can.

Thanks for sharing!

Cass xx

This would have to be one of the best outlined articles and advice on this i have ever read, and Good on you for telling that teacher how she should explain it to her students on the effects of this scary allergy...

xxx cazza