Knowing About Children With Food Allergies

About 7% of people under 18 are children with food allergies. Most children outgrow their food allergies and intolerance by age 5, but 2% of adults have endured lifelong allergies to peanuts, wheat, milk or shellfish.

Some allergies will cause a mild skin rash, runny nose, diarrhea or nausea. In more serious cases, your child may have difficulty swallowing, talking or breathing and may throw up or pass out. It is essential that you educate yourself, your child and your child's caregivers on the seriousness of child food allergies.

As a parent of children with food allergies, it is also important that you educate the child about what a kid food allergy is, what the dangers are and about treatment for food allergy reactions.

For younger kids, it's helpful to read books on the subject, such as Ask Before I Eat, Allie the Allergic Elephant, Bugabees Friends with Food Allergies, The Peanut Butter Jam and The Terrific Tale of Teddy the Tummy.

If your child is a little bit older, then you might enjoy watching the 84-minute documentary film by Kevin J. Lindenmuth, titled, "I'm Not Nuts: Living with Food Allergies." Often if you attend local support groups, you will find a number of resources to help you when discussing food allergies with your child.

If having children with food allergies is a difficult diagnosis for your family, then visit the Food Allergy Initiative website (www.faiusa.org) to find support groups in your area.

For example, the Food Allergy Support of Sacramento in California is a parent-run group that focuses on networking, peer support and food free events for kids with food allergies to meet other kids like them. The Metro DC Food Allergy Support Group holds family social events, like Halloween parties and Christmas events.

The WNY Food Allergy Connection is a volunteer community resource that provides food allergy recipes, coping tips and peer meetings. The Parents of Allergic Kids Support Group in North Carolina holds bi-monthly parent meetings and child activities.

Philadelphia's Food and Environmental Allergy Support Team holds guest speaker discussions on allergies in schools or at restaurants, as well as product suggestions, allergy testing updates, psychological effects of allergies, new allergy medication options and alternative therapies.

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