Kids Food Allergies Blog

Today was my daughter’s first day of camp.  I am not sure whose jitters were worse — hers or mine.

Okay.  Mine were worse.  Far worse.  I did not feel completely comfortable that they understood the variety of reactions that could occur and how to handle them.  But then we showed up.  The teacher and camp director reassured me they took food allergies seriously, showed me the letter they were sending home to ask parents not to send peanuts to school, and promised to wash kids hands after snack.  And I felt better.  At least for a few hours.

Then, I got a call from the county public health nurse who supervises my daughter’s camp and school.   She told me that my daughter’s forms were filled out all wrong.  They also rejected my FAAN food allergy action plan because it’s based on symptoms (if you see X reaction, administer medication Y) rather than hard and fast rules.  But that’s exactly the problem with food allergies.  Some things are cut and dry, but there’s a whole lot of murky in between.   Especially with her milder allergies, some of which she can even ingest in small quantities and not get sick.  When you are managing multiple allergies with a wide variety of potential reactions, it is hard to have one iron-clad rule of what to do in the case of an allergic reaction.

If you are too cautious in your plan, your child will get epipens unnecessarily.  If you are not cautious enough, the school will not administer an epipen even in the throws of anaphylaxis.

What’s a parent to do?

I was a huge fan of The Apprentice in the early seasons, but never got hooked on The Celebrity Apprentice. But over the past week, everywhere I go, people have been telling me about Trace Adkins — and how his story made them think of my daughter and other food allergic children, and the challenges that our families face on a daily basis. I just watched the Week 13 video clip 4 where he talks about his daughter and his charity The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). It brought me to tears. I thank you, Trace, for raising awareness on an issue that is so close to my heart. Even though you may not have won the contest — you have done a tremendous service for the families of the 3 million school age children that suffer with severe food allergies by highlighting the difference between mild allergies that cause itching and severe food allergies that can cause airways to close. I wish your daughter all the best. And thanks again for making people think. You will always be a winner to us.

Check out the Trace Adkins Blog. You’ll see Trace does valuable work on food allergy awareness. And here’s his MySpace page.

Food Allergy Awareness Week is May 11-17, 2008.

Get involved here.

It’s sponsored by The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

Here’s what Virginia Governor Tim Kaine said last year about Food Allergy Awareness Week:

WHEREAS, hundreds of Americans die each year as a result of food induced anaphylaxis, and these deaths generally occur when individuals unknowingly consume a food item containing or prepared with an ingredient to which they are allergic; and

WHEREAS, anaphylaxis is a sudden, severe allergic reaction simultaneously affecting several of the body’s major organs and, in highly allergic individuals, it can cause death in a matter of minutes; and

WHEREAS, researchers estimate that approximately 12 million Americans have food allergies, with children being the largest group affected, and symptoms of food allergies can include hives, vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory distress and swelling of the throat; and

WHEREAS, shellfish, fish, milk, eggs, nuts, peanuts, soy and wheat cause approximately ninety percent of food allergy reactions; and

WHEREAS, the majority of anaphylaxis cases occur in restaurants and in school cafeterias when customers are unfamiliar with the ingredients used in preparing a meal; and

WHEREAS,  it is important for people with food allergies to take precautions when dining out, such as asking servers and chefs about their meal’s contents and preparation in order to avoid a potentially fatal allergic reaction; and

WHEREAS,  there is no cure for potentially fatal food allergies and strict avoidance of the offending foods is the only way to avoid a reaction; and

WHEREAS,  the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about food allergies and anaphylaxis, a potentially life threatening allergic reaction;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Timothy M. Kaine, do hereby recognize May 13-19, 2007, as FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS WEEK in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.