Living With Food Allergies/Warning Labels

[lunalovegoddess]

Thanks for the article Luna. Some days I get pretty down about Lily's allergies. It just gets so old and I would love to take a break from it. Today I am feeling pretty good.

We head down to WDW in 3 days. We have the dinning plan. I would love to have more for dessert then soy ice cream. Last time she saw the Dr she said I could increase the amount of milk and eggs in my diet some since she nursed so rarely and some should get flitered out in my diet. She has been doing pretty well with minor amounts so far.

We are very luckey Lily's allergies are not life threating. Even though, it still gets old. Especailly when she is crying for food others can eat and she can't.

Sometiems "Constant Vigilance!" can sure wear you down. I guess we are rather like moody, bringing our own food and drinks everywhere.

Amen to that!

Bree used to wear a pack with acceptable snacks and her epi-pen and Benadryl in it when we would visit the theme parks, just in case. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to keep it with her anytime she is out of my sight. People sometimes look at me and think I am being domineering or a control freak about it, like "Why can't she have just a little piece of cake?" They still don't understand that even a little trace of allergen can be devastating for some children with allergies.
My mom, in fact, whom I lived with until she was 3 yrs old, and saw things firsthand, just yesterday says to me on the phone that I should have given Bryanna Benadryl to take beforehand.
I had to explain to her that you cannot medicate your child so that they can eat something they are allergic to; it's not like taking Claritin so that you don't react to the pollen. She will still have an allergic reaction to the cake. It just masks the symptoms... which depending upon the severity of your child's allergy, is a dangerous thing.

Example: peanut allergy is known to be life-threatening in most cases. Say that I gave a peanut-allergic child some Reese's Pieces, after having administered Benadryl. The Benadryl may alleviate some of the visible symptoms, but will it prevent the child's airway from closing up? If the adults around the child do not see that he/she is in distress, the results are disastrous. My child was only two feet away from me at the time, and I saw the redness around her lips. Benadryl is only meant to buy her some time to get to the epi-pen or a hospital if necessary. I gave her the Benadryl as soon as possible, but when we arrived home, we found out that her epi-pen had just expired.
It's simply not a good idea to pre-treat symptoms and knowingly give your child something they are allergic to and hope for the best. You just cannot take a chance that today might be the day when the medication doesn't work enough.

 

[lunalovegoddess]

Student Helps Change State Law - 10/15/05

by Debra Wood

When a Celebration third-grader realized that other children with severe allergies were unable to carry lifesaving medication in school, she and her mom set out to change the law. They convinced the Florida Legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush to pass and sign legislation that will enhance the safety of about 100,000 Florida schoolchildren with life-threatening allergies.

“It made me feel good and awesome that it got passed,” said Kelsey Ryan, 9. “It’s important. A lot of people die because they don’t have an EpiPen near them. It’s locked up. I had one near me, but most kids are different.”

Kelsey Ryan of Celebration convinces Florida lawmakers to change the law and allow children with severe allergies to carry their EpiPens in school.

Kelsey is severely allergic to peanuts. An EpiPen allows a quick injection of epinephrine to combat the body’s allergic response. Minutes matter, because death can occur quickly. The longer the delay in administering the drug, the greater the risk a child will not survive. In the United States, about 100 people die each year from food-related allergy attacks.

“When I realized my daughter was going to be separated from her EpiPen, and it would go to a clinic, I got involved and started asking questions,” said Blair Ryan, Kelsey’s mom.

Kelsey began displaying peanut-allergy symptoms when she was 2 years old. Blair would give Kelsey an antihistamine to treat the red blotches and hives after she ate certain ice creams. One day, she ate a chocolate Easter bunny filled with peanut butter, vomited and could not breathe.
Blair rushed her to a nearby hospital and received the diagnosis — a peanut allergy.

“Kelsey was given a second chance,” Blair said. “Kelsey ended up in the emergency room, and now we live with it.”

The Ryans learned how to avoid peanuts and carefully read labels.

Kelsey is so allergic, even taking a sip of her mom’s Sprite, after Blair ate an oatmeal cookie, with no indication that it contained peanuts, set off a reaction in the child.

“Kelsey has to grow up as a teenager not sharing her drinks or kissing boys after they have been to the Dairy Queen,” Blair said. “It’s such an imposing allergy.”

At Girl Scout meetings, Blair asks parents to only bring peanut-free snacks. She tries to educate other parents not to send peanut-butter sandwiches to school.

Blair convinced officials at Celebration School to allow teachers to pass Kelsey’s EpiPen from one to another throughout the day, so it would always be in the same room with her daughter. Most schools keep EpiPens locked in the nurse’s cabinet or an administrative office.

Celebration School also conducted educational sessions that taught employees how to use an EpiPen and what signs and symptoms to watch for. Ten children at the school have food allergies. Blair also taught school bus drivers how to use the EpiPen.

“We are one of the best-aware schools in the state,” Blair said. “I have trouble sleeping at night, thinking it should be in every school.”

Kelsey and her mom teamed up with the American Lung Association to try to improve other youngsters’ odds. They drove to Tallahassee and met with legislators. Kelsey testified before six committees and showed the senators and representatives, and even Gob. Jeb Bush, how to use an EpiPen.

“I think they see allergies differently now than they did before,” Blair said. “The governor decided it was a good enough bill to make it a law, and we went back up for the ceremonial signing.”

Kelsey Ryan, 9, shows Gov. Jeb Bush how to use an EpiPen.

The new legislation, the Kelsey Ryan Act (HB-279), allows all Florida school children to keep their EpiPen with them in class. It takes affect January 2006.

Not content with her Florida success, Kelsey and her mom traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, Sen. Bill Nelson, and other legislators to push the same legislation on a national level. They will head back to Washington, D.C, this month as part of a lobbying effort by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network to raise national lawmakers’ understanding about food allergies, the value of funding more food-allergy research, and the need for children to keep their EpiPens nearby.

“Hopefully the kids coming together can make a difference and get them involved,” Blair said. “It’s their civic duty.”

 

[lunalovegoddess]

Food Allergy Awareness Week

(FAAW) (May 14 - 20, 2006), sponsored by The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is observed the second week of May. "New Tools, New Laws, New Hope" is the 2006 theme. This theme emphasizes the breakthroughs regarding food allergy and anaphylaxis. "Last year, big steps were made for the 11 million people with food allergies in this country," stated Anne Muñoz-Furlong, founder and CEO of FAAN in a news release. "A new bill was introduced to help manage food allergies in schools, and the new labeling law took affect on January 1st this year. This gives the families who struggle daily to help their food-allergic children live normal lives hope that the future could bring a cure. Much work still needs to be done in order to educate others on the life-threatening reactions of food allergies, and we look forward to this year's Food Allergy Awareness Week to have another great year of advocacy, education, insightful research, and raising awareness."





The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network’s (FAAN) Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure

On Sept. 10th, 2006 The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis website is holding a Walk for Food Allergy Awareness in the Boston area. I would like to go there with my daughter and participate in the walk. IF anyone would be interested in helping us raise money for allergy research towards treatment and a cure, please contact me at brendaleeellis724@hotmail.com
I am currently gathering information about this event, since there has not been a walk planned for Florida; next year I would like to contact Orange County about planning a walk for the Orlando area.

For more information: http://www.foodallergy.org/FAAW/faaw2006.html
http://www.foodallergy.org/Support/Walk/walk.html
http://www.foodallergy.org/Support/jeans.html

 

[maelstrom]

The only food that I'm allergic to (that I know of) is plantains. I don't know why my allergist tested me for plantains among the dust, pollen, and ragweed tests, but whatever. My ex-boyfriend is Puerto Rican and has a very PR family. They kept trying to feed me plantains. I don't think they believed me when I told them I was allergic. My current boyfriend is half-PR but I haven't met that side of his family but hopefully when I do, they aren't trying to feed me death food.

And about the article above about the girl getting the laws changed so kids could have their epi-pens with them: awesome! When I was in elementary school, we weren't allowed to have our inhalers with us; they kept them locked up in the nurses office. I remember one time in second grade when my friend Vincent needed his inhaler, and he had to raise his hand, wait for the teacher to call on him, ask to go to the nurse, be given permission, walk all the way up there, etc. He could have died!! By the time I got to high school, I was allowed to get a paper signed my by doctor saying that I needed to carry an inhaler with me at all times and then I was allowed to have it. Jeez! These are life-saving tools, people! I carry my inhaler with me *always* and I've instructed my boyfriend on what to do if I have an asthma attack (if I can't talk to you and I look like death, take me to the hospital!!!). Luckily I've never had an attack like that. I just get "too tight" in my chest (that was my terminology when I was really little and they didn't yet know that I had asthma) and I take my inhaler and it calms down. But since I'm with my boyfriend the majority of the time now, I just had to warn him. He's seen me through a couple of times that would've been way scary if I didn't have my inhaler. <3

 

[maleficant]

Hi Everyone

Firstly This is an Amazing thread. Its really interesting and great for me to read and find that there are people out there jsut like me who suffer with the same problems!

All of the information you guys have left have been really useful.
I am allergic to:-
Shellfish
NUTS (ALL OF THEM INC PEANUTS)
Kiwi Fruit
Latex
Eggs
Soya

I find it really hard having a nut allergy. I do believe though that Disney is the best place in the world to cater for allergies, I have had no problems whatsoever from any of the chefs!

My allergies were discovered when I was about 2yrs old because I firstly deveopled Exzema (sp?) and then Asthma once the exzema cleared and then the food allergies and the asthma stayed.

I first found out I was allergic to nuts because I ate a chocolate with a nut in.
My Gran once gave me kiwi fruit and my face ballooned
Shellfish makes me violently sick
and pure egg (I can eat egg in any food except on its own) also makes me sick.
I would consider my main allergy to be nuts. Like some of you guys on here I am constantly checking ingredients and carry an epipen. I can relate to the worry people with peanut or nut allergies go to when they eat over a friends house or in a restaurant.

Over the last 8yrs my allergies have got worse and I have been told that my latex allergy wil get worse and worse as time goes on. I was 18 when I discovered I was allergic to latex. I had allergy tests done from a blood test and they tested me for latex because it cross links with kiwi fruit.

My house is completely nut free, however some people just dont understand and they eat nuts around you and I know it may sound like paranoia but if this happens around me I will watch everything they touch so I dont touch it after them and will make sure they dont touch me unless they have washed their hands.
I know it may sound crazy but I just have to be careful.
On thing that does bother me though is when people do say "How do you live your life being allergic to all these things?"
I think I manage pretty well and I dont think I am missing out on anything, its just a matter of having to get used to it.

I have not actually used my epipen yet and hope I never have to, but I always carry my inhaler and epipen with me at all times. Also I try and keep a bottle of water handy incase of an attack where my throat swells just to try and relieve the reaction.

 

[lunalovegoddess]

I have to be so careful around my daughter. I have reduced the amount of dairy in my diet; aside from sprinkling cheese on pizza or tacos, I mainly drink soymilk and eat frozen soy desserts. Her little brother has decided to support her by switching to soymilk as well. When we do have cheese, I have to let her know that she cannot hug me until I have washed my hands and face. I will not kiss her cheek until I've brushed my teeth. There are so many little things that you must keep on top of with allergies.
In August, I'm planning to have a sleepover here for her birthday. I have a few options that will work well. One is to have the girls make their own pizzas, another is to order her a personal pizza from Pizza Hut. They have an online menu that you can select options such as "no cheese" or "little sauce". I will make it plain to the other girls that the one rule is that they must brush their teeth and wash up when they are done eating. Instead of candy, the party favors will be little vials of nail polish, lip gloss, etc.
(I just have to clean this house so thoroughly before inviting them. )

 

[lunalovegoddess]

http://www.foodyoucaneat.com/food/index.php

please refer to this link for further updates on Food Allergy Alerts...