Peanut allergies are on the rise, especially among young children. It is a type of food allergy resulting from a hypersensitivity to the peanut, which in turn adversely affects the immune system. Symptoms include: eczema, hives, asthma, anaphylactic shock, and swelling of the throat and digestive tracts.
Research reported in the April 1999 JACI (Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology) estimated that 1% of the population, or close to 3 million Americans, is allergic to peanuts or tree nuts.
It is scary if your child has been diagnosed with this deadly allergy. Remember you are not alone.
Here are some some tips to help you:
- Ask your doctor. There is a lot of information available through the medical industry.
- Do some research on your own as well. Don't rely on just one source for information. Read books, look on the net, speak to others who are in the same situation.
- Join support groups. This is a great way to find support and gain knowledge.
- Educate your child, other family members and your child’s caregivers. Speaking with others and helping them to understand the issue. Your child should also know what to he or she can and can not eat. Education helps people to be less fearful.
- Read all labels thoroughly. Know what all the ingredients mean. ’Hydrolyzed vegetable protein’ or ’groundnuts’ may include any type of nut. Avoid prepackaged foods, the more natural your food sources the less likely you are to encounter nuts by accident.
- Many schools have a ‘no nut’ policy, make sure yours does too. Ask for support at your day care or babysitters as well.
- Have the school institute a 'no-sharing' food policy. If no one swaps lunches, your child will not feel singled out and safe from hidden nut products.
- Practice with Epi-pens - show your child, and others to use it quickly and effectively. Keep a spare pen at home, at the day care, even at your parents or other homes you frequent.
- Ensure your child wears a Medic Alert bracelet or necklace to identify their allergy.
- Avoid bulk foods to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
- Engage your child in making their lunch. Have them help out in the kitchen for other meals. Be innovative, there is a wide variety of foods, get your child excited about what they can eat, rather than what they can not.
Consider this:
When did the peanut butter sandwich become a killer? According to Dr. Scott Sicherer, a pediatrician at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, “On one side of the immune system is allergies, and the other infections. When one side is fighting bacterial infections, the other makes allergies quiet. With vaccinations there’s less polio and diphtheria. Some studies suggest when the immune system isn’t fighting all these bacteria and viruses, the allergy side is causing more trouble.” It seems allergies are most common where childhood diseases have been eradicated.
Does this infer that the more vaccines used to eliminate one set of problems may create another? Something to think about.
