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My 4 year old son has multiple food allergies, many are life threatening.  He is allergic to:  peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, oats, dairy, eggs, corn, apple and coconut and he is on a completely gluten free diet.    Just wondering if there are any other moms on this message board that have kids with life threatening food allergies.

Yes, I am with you! 6-year old son has allergies to peanut, tree nut and dairy. Was diagnosed at age 18 months. We had a nice discussion going on here about food allergies just before this site crashed a few months ago. And there is a great article in this months issues about kids and food allergies. What are your (or your family's) biggest challenges?

My son was also diagnosed at 18 months.    Everyday is a challenge, bc he is allergic to so many things he basically eats a whole foods diet, nothing processed and everything gluten free.  Oh, I would love for him to be able to eat pizza, candy, donuts, non-allergy free cookies, you know the things that every child eats. Even thought he is allergic to so many things I realize that it can be so much worse and I'm thankful that he only has food allergies, even to the extent that they are.   My biggest challenge is protecting him and keeping him safe.  A teddy gram or a goldfish cracker dropped by another child at the library or somewhere else can be so dangerous for my son and most moms just don't get it.  I just started an on-line support group for moms who have kids with food allergies, we are located on the Meetup site at www.allergies.meetup.com/46 , any mom who has a child with life threatening food allergies is welcome to join.   So far it's been a great place to chat with other moms who know the challenges involved in raising a child with food allergies, when you get a chance stop by and check it out. 

Yes, I have a 4 1/2 year old son that also has life threatening food allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, & shellfish.  This year I am co-chairing the 2008 FAAN Food Allergy Walk that will take place on Saturday, Sept 27th in Lincoln Park.  I would like to call out any volunteers to form our committees as soon as possible and are looking for Logistics, Publicity, Sponsorship, and Walker Recruitment Committee Members along with Volunteers on Walk Day. 

 

I have a 7 1/2 year old with many food allergies.  She was diagnosed at 5 months old.  I have been very active in my childrens' school in both the Parent Association and as a voice for the families of children with food allergies to improve safety for those children at school.  Next year I will be ramping down on my time spent at school and may be interested in helping with the Food Allergy Walk.  How could I find out more about your needs for committee members?

Hi there,

My 17 month old son was diagnosed with peanut and tree nut allergies, as well as eczema.  I was diagnosed with celiac disease just a few months before his reaction so we have been in full-on food research mode.  A few things that have helped are.....the MOCHA group.  I went to the meeting in Highland Park, but there are also meeting as Children's Memorial. http://www.mochallergies.org/  The had a nurse practitioner who has a ton of knowledge and experience and is talented at sharing it in a language you can understand! http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/ is a great online resource, worth paying the $25 for additional access to resources.  glutenfreegirl.com is a fantastic, non-clinical, non-support groupy, positive blog.  Her tastebuds have never disappointed me and her recipes have tips for non-cooks like myself. Rose's Wheatfree bakery in Evanston is gluten-free and peanut free and will work with other allergy issues.  It's a cafe and bakery.  i had a cheesburger-on a bun :)  that was great and plan on special ordering baked goods.  Finally, Whole Foods has been priceless. Trial and error for these issues has been quite pricey, but I just found out that you can ask the concierge and "try" any of their foods. 

The hardest part for me has been feeling high-maintenance.  If anyone has any tips for "gracefully" alerting friends and waitstaff about these issues, I'd love to hear them.  We've avoided eating out mainly because we're short on cash, so I haven't had much practice.  However, I know that needs to change because I want to teach my son how to manage these things, not avoid them.

Thanks!

My daughter is 8 years old and was diagnosed with life-threatening allergies to peanuts and tree nuts following a severe reaction 4 years ago.

I have had to really learn to advocate for my daughter, both at school and with regard to play dates,parties and any extracurricular activities she is involved with. In fact, I am the author of the article about food allergies that appeared in this month's issue (March) of Chicago Parent. Food allergies have been a constant struggle for my family and I encourage all of you to do what you're doing--reach out to other parents. Also, I have found it's important to go out and do things like go to restaurants, etc.

 One of the mother's who posted asked for tips on restaurants. FAAN (foodallergy.org) has a "Chef Card" template that you can give to your server. But the biggest thing is just to speak up. If you know you're going out in advance, make a phone call and ask them how they handle food allergies. We've had good experiences so far but we're picky about where we go.

 I have a blog: nut-freemom.blogspot.com and I welcome comments from parents with this same problem. We're not alone out there, even though some days it feels like it.

My daughter was diagnosed with a life threatening reaction to pecans at age 4.  I later had her skin tested and it showed that she is highly allergic to pecans, walnut, and almonds.  My daughter is now 13 years old and I have to say that I still have had two more scares with this allergy. The most recent was last year when she was given a project in school that had to do with baking.  Of course my daugther is very aware of her allergy but on the day that all her classmates had to bring their baked goods and try them out, my daughter was told that the carrot cake did not contain nuts.  Well, shortly after the school had to make a call to 911.  This was even after my daughter told her teacher that she cannot have anything with nuts.  The second scare was when I was eating walnuts (which I love) and she came a gave me a kiss on the cheek, two seconds later she was short of breath and her lips began to swell.  I have always hoped that she would outgrow this allergy but in reality it doesn't seem it will.  On a another note, my 4 year old son was also diagnosed with food allergies at 6 months (mostly dairy products) and eczema.  I can sympathize with everyone because I have been there and did everything possible to battle the allergies.  I am happy to say that he outgrew all of his food allergies at 3 1/2.  He still gets a little eczema here and there but nothing as bad as when he was younger.  It makes a world of difference when your child can eat what you eat.  Through all the tears and frustrations, I can only say do not lose hope.  I would love to be a part of the food allergy walk.  This is a great idea!

 

 

I found this great company whose premise is to provide quick easy healthy meals with blends and seasonings that are all-natural no preservatives, no dyes, no msg, no additives and are PEANUT FREE.  Being a registered nurse specializing pediatrics I knew in my heart that this was a great company to work for.  The founder of this company created these blends and seasonings because her children had food allergies & special needs.  My 3 young kids love the food & I feel comfortable knowing that they are eating healthier food.  Any parent who has children with allergies should know about this company.  View my website at www.cherylmanikis.mywildtree.com for contact and product info and for recipes.  This company is fairly new to the midwest.