Food Allergy Stories

I hope this new page attracts some of my kids (patients) who I have followed over the years for food allergy issues. I have invited them to tell their food allergy stories. I think that sharing of experiences helps others who are just starting out in this world of food allergy.

This is the first entry.

Yes I too have a food allergy. It is to a fruit, watermelon.

My food allergen.

My food allergen.

When I eat watermelon, I lose my voice for about an hour. This condition was called oral anaphylaxis in the past and is now known as the oral allergy syndrome. It is certainly unique enough for me to avoid. However, it does find its way into fruit salads.

Tell me your story.

Fred Leickly

Using an Epi-pen for a reaction to food- the debriefing (January 25, 2010)
Today in clinic we saw a young lady who needed to use her Epi-pen (injectable epinephrine) for a food reaction. This event occurred earlier in January. She was doing great at the time of today’s visit.
When an Epi-pen is used, the patient needs to go immediately to the emergency department (ED). In many respects, the emergent treatment ( the use of the Epi-pen) buys time to get the child to a medical facility for evaluation.
It is the usual and customary recommendation of our allergy practice to bring the family back for a debriefing after such an event. We can all learn from the experience and we can use the opportunity to troubleshoot in hopes of the episode never repeating itself. So we went over what happened, how they responded, what was done in the ED, and what needs to be done to make sure it does not happen again.
I am very proud of this family, they did everything correctly. They were nervous/anxious about the episode, however they got through all that, did what needed to be done and everything worked out.
As you know, Riley is a teaching hospital. I almost always have a resident with me. Today the resident took the interval history from this young lady and her family. After he presented, we went in the the examination room together to go over what happened with the child.  I am sure he learned from this experience and he will incorporate it in his pediatric practice in the future.
We discovered a few things that needed to be corrected. We went over the exposure and made some recommendations and re-emphasized that certain styles of cooking in restaurants that may pose an exposure risk. We also went over the proper application of the Epi-pen.
The debriefing session is very helpful for health care providers to learn about food allergy and I hope that it is helpful for the families to be reassured regarding how they handled the event and to talk about how to be more preventative.
FEL 1-25-2010

Sam’s Story

(Picture from teachertho @ http://media.photobucket.com/image/peanuts/teachertho/Letgo3-U1/i-peanuts.jpg?o=2)

My name is Sam.  I am 8 years old.  I am allergic to peanuts, milk and peas.  I hate being allergic to peanuts the most because I could die if I touch them or eat them.  My Mom and Dad used to make me eat peas.  I would always throw up. One day they checked on the computer and found I was allergic to them.  I don’t mind be allergic to peas.

I hate having allergies because I can’t try that many new foods.  I usually don’t think about my allergies until I am at school and someone has a birthday and brings in something to share with the class that I can’t eat. I am usually ok because we make sure I have something else to eat.  There is another student allergic to milk and that helps because I am not the only one with allergies in my class.

Allergies are hard to live with but, I do ok.  I just have to be a little bit more careful.

Thanks Sam! Being careful is very important. Your family has taught you well. So there is a food you don’t mind having a sensitivity for. I felt that way about lima beans.

 

A Question from Andrew’s Mom

My son is a patient of yours and I enjoy reading your blog.

With a milk allergic 8 year old, I am always looking for
good calcium supplements. Tums would be an option..
However, I remember reading somewhere ( and I cannot find the article again, of course!) that it is not good for food allergic children to eat anti acids.
Might have been in context with probiotiocs/GI flora…
Your thoughts on this?
Thanks, (Andrew’s mom)

Greetings Eva,
Thanks for the question. I punted this to one of my ‘go to’ dietary people. Laura tells me that Tums for kids- 2 per day in the age range 2-4 and 3 Tums per day in those who are 5 and older. This is the less costly way to supplement calcium. She also tells me that there are milk-free calcium supplements. She gave the Vitamin Shoppe’s Nature’s Plus Animal Parade Calcium tab and Hero Nutritional’s Yummi Bears Calcium. She did warn that they are price.
It is a theory that a certain acid level is needed in the gastrointestinal tract to help digest large molecules of food and that the use of antacids in the very young may allow large protein molecules to be absorbed through a developing gi tract. I do not think this has been proven. You would have to see a surge in new food allergy symptoms/sensitization after the Tums were started. That has not been my experience.
In hopes that this helps,
Warmest regards and thanks for sharing your question. As a disclaimer, I have no financial relationship with the Vitamin Shoppe or these products other than purchasing products from them

FEL

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