What scares you? A discarded ice-cream pot at the park, a sticky-fingered toddler at soft play, or a slice of cake offered by a well-meaning relative? These things are all terrifying to me, because they could kill my children.
That may sound melodramatic, but it is my family's reality. My two young children both have life-threatening food allergies that include milk, egg and nuts. They react on contact and eating the tiniest amount can cause a severe reaction. When my son was 15 months old, he took a sip from another child's milk bottle. His airways began closing up and within minutes he was struggling to breathe. Luckily, we had already been prescribed an Epipen and we were able to save his life by injecting him in the leg with adrenaline.
In the last decade, cases of food allergies have doubled and 6% children have a proven food allergy. Many children, like mine, start showing signs very early. My son was a very unhappy baby: he cried all the time, didn't sleep and had terrible eczema. These are all common symptoms of food allergies in young babies. Unfortunately, it can take a long time to get the support and diagnosis that so many parents desperately need. There are not enough allergists in the country and there is limited understanding among GPs. Even when my daughter was born and was showing the same pattern, I still had to fight for a proper diagnosis and it took seven months and a severe reaction to be referred for testing.
On a day-to-day basis my children are happy, healthy and lead lives like any other pre-schoolers. They love puddle-jumping, chocolate cake and Peppa Pig. However, everything we do comes with a little more planning and consideration.
We don't leave home without their Epipens, inhalers and antihistamines. They both have care plans in place and we liaise closely with their nursery and childminder to keep them safe. Every social activity, from parties and meals out to visiting friends' houses, involves an added level of research and worry. We try to continue life as normally as possible; we're off on holiday this week. Of course, this has issues of its own – getting the right insurance, translating their allergens and care plans, packing enough food supplies, and flying safely.
We've had all the common responses – "No-one had allergies in my day" (they did, but most were undiagnosed, or deaths were treated as asthmatic). "You're being overprotective. A little bit won't hurt them" (yes, it will). "It's because of c-sections/bottlefeeding/being too clean" (my children were born naturally, breastfed and we live on a farm). The fact is, no-one really knows what causes food allergies or why they are on the rise. People on both sides of our family suffer from allergies, asthma and eczema, so I'm fairly certain ours are genetic. The reality is, however they were caused, we have to live with them.
It is anxiety-inducing, overwhelming and terrifying to live with the thought that your child could die from something as simple as a sip of milk. But a little understanding goes a long way. We have amazing friends and family who go out of their way to cater for my children, a nursery that makes all their activities safe for my son and a food allergy community that has offered much-needed support. My son starts school in September, which will bring a whole new set of challenges. As he gets older, we are trying to teach him to understand and manage his condition. While we will always take our own precautions, allergies are relentless and reactions can happen in seconds. There are many simple things people can do to make life safer for those with allergies. Washing hands after eating, wiping surfaces, keeping food separate to play and always asking before sharing food all make a big difference.
We are hopeful that our children may outgrow some of their allergies and that in the future there may be more accessible treatments available. For now though, we will keep trying to make people allergy aware, we will keep campaigning for better understanding from healthcare professionals and we will keep battling to keep our children safe and included so they can face the world fully with food allergies.
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Guest post: Living with allergies - "It's terrifying to think your child could die from a sip of milk"
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MumsnetGuestPosts · 10/01/2017 12:59
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user1484133884 ·
11/01/2017 11:39
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