Hope for a Peanut Free School

Are you like me? Are there nights where you dream of reading endless ingredient lists? Do worry incessantly about keeping your child ALIVE at school? Do you feel like you may be putting your child’s life in risk when you eat out? Do you feel overwhelmed by the daily struggle that is living with a severe food allergy? This is me, now.

Recently another teacher was late to a meeting. She walked in visibly upset, and announced that her 1 year-old was diagnosed with a peanut allergy. My heart caved into my stomach because I new that life for her as she new it would forever be changed. She would never again have the freedom to order freely from a menu at a restaurant. She would never be able to make a quick trip to the grocery store, because now she would have to read every label on every product she was going to bring into her home. If she was like me, she would be losing her sense of freedom.

I quickly jotted down a list of ingredients for her to watch for… Examine food labels for these nut and peanut-based ingredients:
Arachis
Bouillon
Emulsified ingredients
Food Additive 322
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Lecithin (soy lecithin is OK)
Mandolenas
Natural and Artificial Flavors (natural flavors is OK, artificial flavors is OK, but beware when they are listed together)

These ingredients are listed on food labels and can contain peanuts, and peanuts may not actually be listed on the label. The more I research the scarier this becomes.

My little one was diagnosed at 2 years-old, she was with my sister who was babysitting while I was at work. When I arrived she was covered in red, puffy, swollen hives from her little neck to her ankles. She kept telling my sister that she was thirsty (which I later learned is a symptom of anaphylaxis- throat rapidly closing). I gave her Benadryl and rushed her to the ER. She was given more antihistamine and a shot. The hives came back in waves for 3 days. My sister told me she had eaten a bite of a girl-scout peanut butter cookie. She didn’t like it, so she didn’t eat more, thank God.

We were referred to an allergist who did testing and found she has a severe peanut allergy. She is also allergic to tree-nuts, tomatoes, grass, weeds, and trees, but those are not severe. Which I learned makes a BIG difference.

When I first started sharing my story I felt that others were downplaying my situation. Everyone new someone that had some sort of food allergy or food intolerance. What has helped me gain empathy is bringing awareness to what truly constitutes a food allergy. It is an immune disorder in which the body believes that a particular type of food is harmful, and reacts by releasing massive amounts of chemicals and histamines. Reactions can be potentially fatal. During a reaction a child’s throat can swell shut, their blood pressure can drop, and they can die all within minutes of coming into contact with the tiniest amount of the allergen.

My little one is now 4. She will be starting kindergarten Fall ‘09. This has brought on a whole new set of challenges. I will chronicle my plight.