Today I heard that just in USA, there are 3 million kids who have food allergies, mostly from peanuts and/or dairy products. We know a couple where mom carries the emergency shots with her as her kid has peanut allergy. She was telling us that in case of her kid accidentally consuming peanut or peanut based products, she has only about 4 minutes to give her the shot before it could become too late.
This sounds scary but I salute the courage of all the moms and dads who live through that. In fact I salute all those brave little souls, the kids, who go through that tough phase of their life.
If you are one of those strong parents, or know someone personally – please share with us what lifestyle changes you adopt to help the child be safe.
This other friend has a kid with allergies from wheat, gluten, peanuts, eggs, some fruits...and so many other things! But they are so organized and positive. Their kid is a strong little thing as well! She never complains why she can't eat outside.
My nephew (nands son) has soy allergies... As well as being allergic to tomatoes..and has asthma..she carries an inhaler and pump with her that sorta looks like an oxygen mask cuz he is only 2 and cant work an inhaler so she attatches the inhaler to the oump, puts it over his mouth..... It took a while for us to get in the habit of readinganything food related to check out for traces of soy....so many times i would forget and put soy sauce when preparing food but thankfully would remember before he would consume thefood....
Happened quite a few times that even she overlooked the potential that soy could be in a food item and the kid would eat it.... Would break out in hives within a few seconds and his throat would swell up.... Then would come the foughing anf throwing up....
Otherthan this, shehas to keep her home carpet free and keep it dust free religiously else again, his asthma starts to act up....especially spring being a hard season.... The kis it seems is living off the inhaler and visiting the ER is as normal as goingfor a walk for them.
Its definately hard for the parent.... And makes u think how much u take ure good health for granted....imagine havng to read packages of food every single time u go shopping cuz u never know justwhenthey might have started adding that i grediant that could prove fatal for ure child....shopping with her takes a good amount of time.
My nephew grew up with all sorts of allergies. He was raised mostly by my own mother so I know the hard life these kids have. My nephew was extremely colic when he was a baby. He would cry for hours and we wouldn't know what was wrong with him. It was very painful for us. We were told that he can't tolerate regular milk. This is was just the begining. He was developed severe eczema. This is caused by every lil thing you can imagine... from dust to carpets dogs cats.
He developed allergies from fish and eggs too. My sister has a tough life now. She is at the doctor's office all the time. Thing with these kids is, its not easy to know what your kid is allergic too. Peanuts is easy to know I think but if you are allergic to so many other things, its just not easy to diagnose. You have to go thru so many tests and doctors' visits before they know what is causing allergies.
He cries at night and ask his mom to put cream on him because of his skin irritation. Its very very painful to see him like this. He can also develop asthma so my sister carries inhaler all the time with her. He is a very smart kid and I am sure he'll do good in life IA.
I have my own week and half son that I am trying to breastfeed as much as I can. That's something my sister didn't do. Doctors say that allergies can be reduced in breastfed kids. I've seen my nephew suffer a lot and although breastfeeding is a pain, I am determined and want my son to grow up healthy.
Gosh, it was hard enough to deal with this issue as a teacher. I can't imagine what it's like as a parent! In the past I had to deal with students with severe allergies, but since I was at a high school, the kids were old enough to be conscious of it on their own,a d it was not too much trouble for us. But in recent years we got so many more kids with really life threatening allergies. Separate and strictly monitored lunch tables needed to be designated, in case a crumb of something could affect them. Other kids had to restrict what they ate. We had to make our classrooms nut-free zones, pitfruit-free zones (allergies to peaches, nectarines, etc). My colleague who ate hummus like for every lunch had to change his routine completely due to one of his students having a chickpea/legume allergy. We were constantly washing hands, scrubbing computers, desks, etc. And still, when you're in an environment with so many people (especially kids) on a daily basis, you just can't be sure that everyone has remembered to or bothered to keep up with the expectations. And this was at a secondary school. I cannot imagine how preschools/elementary schools handle this issue.
So exactly how do these parents find out that their kid was allergic to a particular something? someone mentioned fruit above! :( was it just based on experience or are certain tests carried out?
Kid of one of my friend has ant allergy. He is friends with my kid (both are of same age) but poor kid can not play in parks, trees etc most of the time unless he is closly monitored by parents or close friends who know about the allergy and has remedial treatment on hand.
couple of times during last 3/4 years, they had to take him to emergency in life threatening condition.
So exactly how do these parents find out that their kid was allergic to a particular something? someone mentioned fruit above! :( was it just based on experience or are certain tests carried out?
This one friend of mine said she gave her toddler some juice of the fruit they later found out she was allergic to...when she touched the sippy cup containg the juice, she suddenly, within seconds, broke out in hives, then she couldn't breathe too well. They took her to the ER, luckily she had barely sipped the thing so she made it, if she had in fact consumed more than what she did, it would have been fatal. After this, the docs did further allergy testing and were able to single out the foods she needs to avoid.
As she grows older, the child will build resistance to some of the allergens and her reactions to some are more controlled. She may grow out of most of the threats.
Yesterday I read this news article where a shcool in florida is imposing strict rules in their classrooms because of one kid who has severe peanut allergy. Kids have to rinse their mouth before entering class room, no peanuts or peanut based product in school and desk needs to be wiped with antibacterial wipes everyday. Parents of the remaining kids are protesting against such strict rules and demanding that the parents of the kid with allergy should remove her from the school and go for home schooling. Their pov is that for one kid's sake, rest of the school kids should not be forced to change their lifestyle.
What if you are that parent of such kid? would you remove your kid from the school or make school impose strict rules as above that affects all the other kids of that school?
I think I would remove my kid and go with home schooling.
I wonder if parents protested when schools started calling for ramps in buildings for handicap access…?
What lifestyle change are they speaking of exactly? They can’t have certain foods? no peanut based snacks? and one girls’ experience in school should be ruined over that?
The video states that the kids are to rinse their mouths and wash their hands first upon entering the school then after lunch time. Allergies or not, isn’t that just good hygiene???
I feel sorry for the little girl who has to see so much anger over something she has no control over.
TLK, at our older one’s school, she too has one classmate with severe peanut allergies, so the drill is that whoever brings a peanut-related lunch item, gets to sit on a special table. After they are all done, they wash hands, and do wipe all desks with antibacterial wipes. They don’t do the rinsing their mouth part but pretty much all of the above.
Now, ask my daughter and she totally respects that because that boy with the allergies is their friend. They will do anything to protect him. I think it’s a beautiful act of teamwork!
Whether I would put my child in a public school if she had such allergies…well, I’m a paranoid parent, so maybe not !
Now, ask my daughter and she totally respects that because that boy with the allergies is their friend. They will do anything to protect him. I think it's a beautiful act of teamwork!
That is great! And I hope Im not being naive when I say I truly think most kids are like that, because they are pure hearted and not polluted by agendas and politics.
that's why it was so upsetting to see kids with protest signs, because most likely most of them don't care and are probably friends with the girl--its the parents who are being such bullies but disguising it under "rights" and politics...when they are just raising bullies themselves. It is ery sad.
I wonder if parents protested when schools started calling for ramps in buildings for handicap access....?
What lifestyle change are they speaking of exactly? They can't have certain foods? no peanut based snacks? and one girls' experience in school should be ruined over that?
The video states that the kids are to rinse their mouths and wash their hands first upon entering the school then after lunch time. Allergies or not, isn't that just good hygiene???
I feel sorry for the little girl who has to see so much anger over something she has no control over.
All they are being required to do is wash their hands and wipe their mouths...I dont see how this is trampling on parents' rights. If anything, I would be happy knowing the kids are cleaner, less germs, less chances of getting sick, etc.
!