Sloane Miller - Allergic Girl Family Guide to Food Allergies

Contents

Copyright 2011, 2012 by Allergic Girl Resources, Inc. All rights reserved.

Material excerpted from Allergic Girl. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Introduction

When I was a child, staying with my grandparents was a treat. My grandmother made me pancakes in the shape of bunnies and Mickey Mouse. My grandfather taught me how to play the drums. Both were accomplished artists, and they taught me how to paint. I stayed with them on weekends and during school holidays, always looking forward to my next visit. However, when I was two years old, it was at my grandparents house that I ate a handful of mixed tree nuts for the first time. I had a swift, severe, and terrifying allergic reaction. Luckily, my pediatrician was nearby and was able to give me the necessary medication.

As a food-allergy advocate, author, and life coach, I know my food-allergy story is not unusual. Children often experience a food allergy for the first time, or experience a severe reaction, while in the care of grandparents. In a recent report in Pediatrics , the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 8 percent of children under the age of eighteen in the United Statesalmost six millionhave at least one food allergy.

But anyone, regardless of age, can be allergic to anything at any time. Im allergic to tree nuts, salmon, eggplant, and melon. I also have environmental allergies, asthma, and eczema.

Eight foods, known as the Top Eightdairy, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, peanuts, and tree nutscause 90 percent of food-allergic reactions. Symptoms of a food-allergic reaction may include itchy mouth, tongue, and lips; hives; and respiratory or gastrointestinal (GI) distress. Anaphylaxis, the most severe reaction, is a rapid and potentially fatal onset of symptoms involving such areas as the skin, the GI tract, and the cardiovascular or respiratory system.

As of right now, there is no cure for food allergies. The only treatment is avoidance of the known allergen. If someone is exposed to a known allergen, allergists prescribe an autoinjector of Epinephrine as the first line of defense.

There is one other necessary and unique prescription: the love and support of family members. Experiencing a food allergy and being diagnosed as food allergic can be scary, overwhelming, and isolating. For children, parents and grandparents are an essential component of their support system. In my case, my grandparents became staunch supporters of my food-allergy needs. This e-chapter from Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies gives you the tools to support your family members as they learn to manage a food-allergy diagnosis and to increase their trust that you can help them navigate the world safely, effectively, and joyously with food allergies.

Nothing to Prove

When you love them they drive you crazy because they know they can.

Rose Castorini , Moonstruck

That doesnt look right.

Youre right. What are those brown bits?

I have no idea, but I dont think I should eat it. Would you taste it for me?

After scooping up a small spoonful of ice cream and tasting the brown bits, my mother said, Theyre hazelnuts! Lets get the server.

We were at a caf in the heart of Little Italy in New York City. I was thirteen years old. The caf is a classic; its been there since the late 1890s. The owners make their own breads, cakes, and cookies in the bakery next door. When you leave and walk to the right, the odor of fresh yeast wafts and wheat flour plumes. Its heavenly. Inside, the caf has retained its vintage pressed tin ceilings, ice cream parlor chairs, marble tabletops, and a picture window overlooking the foot traffic.

My mother and I visited this caf regularly for decaffeinated cappuccinos and nut-free cookies. On this night I had altered the usual routine and ordered vanilla ice cream instead. When it arrived, my food-allergic instinct said that I shouldnt eat it. I was self-trained to always look at everything I ate; I rarely just popped something into my mouth. (I did that once in my life and learned my lesson.) My mom offered to taste it for me. When I was little, my mother offered to taste things to reassure me that nothing was wrong and that the food was safe to eat. It wasnt until I was older that she said, I cant really distinguish the ingredients in your dish. As a teen, I still asked her from time to time to taste something (and even now, as a thirty-something year old).

My mother and her taste testing definitely helped with a few narrow escapes. She was with me for scores of food-allergic reactions, some scary and some necessitating a hospital visit, some in restaurants and some at friends houses. On this night, because I had ordered vanilla ice cream with nothing on it and it came with conspicuous flecks that shouldnt be in vanilla, tasting definitely seemed in order.

The server confirmed that there were hazelnuts in the vanilla ice cream and said, without a hint of irony, Thats how we always make it. My mother became irate, as any parent would. If your vanilla ice cream contains nuts, then that should be listed on the menu. My child is allergic, and if she had eaten this, she would have gotten severely ill. The server simply shrugged and asked if wed like something else. We were too upset to eat, however, and I was feeling generally unsafe, so we left. We would go back for decaffeinated cappuccinos and nut-free cookies, but I would never order ice cream again.