Food Allergy False Positives, Maybe, But I Don't Think So.

Just the other day, I was flipping through the television channels when I came across a news snippet about kids and food allergies. For a brief moment they talked about how kids can have false positives and not even be allergic to half of the things that the tests are saying they are allergic to. They were trying to warn parents to be careful with some of these test because half of them don't come out right.

Well, I beg to differ. I have a daughter who has been tested a couple of times and I can say for a fact that she IS allergic to the items listed on her results. I have seen her react to some of the nuts or seeds or even beans. It is not a fun thing to go through when you see your child's facial expression change from happy to sullen. It is scarey to think that can this be the moment when I am going to have to use the epi pen. Now, I don't mean to harp on anybody, but some of these people who are going on the news and saying that "kids and food allergies" aren't real, really piss me off. They don't have to talk to people before their child eats something. They don't have to sit and worry if their child is going to be okay when they are at school. If they had to, I bet they would sing a different tune.

I remember being on the internet and looking at some other people's posts to see what they had to say about food allergies and you would be surprised how many people I found who thought food allergies was just in the brain and not real. Once again, shocking, but true. It really amazes me how this is becoming a topic of discussion. At least, a little bigger than it should be.

Now I have heard of people who have had a bad reaction to food and then went for testing and it came back negative. But I have never heard of anyone who tested positive for a food allergy and then was able to eat it. I know they have different levels of food tolerance and maybe that is what they are talking about. And if it is, they need to say so instead of saying food allergies aren't real. Maybe it is just me, but I know I have enough Twitter/Blog friends to know that food allergies are REAL and not just something that is made up in one's head. Because I am not the only one, who has to worry about themselves or their child and food.

Proper Use of an EpiPen

I know most of you probably already know how to properly use an epipen, but for those of you who are new to this, this article is for you.

I use to have a ton of fear when I first saw this plastic tube with a needle on the end. I thought, ‘I have to jam this in my daughter’s leg?’ I did everything possible to avoid the use of one (and still do). But my goal was to become comfortable with it, just incase I needed to use it. So here goes…
First and foremost, whoever has your child needs to know where to find it. Then need to know whether the epipen is in their backpack, around their waist or somewhere high out of their reach. Once that is noted, then it is time to learn how to use it.

First: You take it out of its box. I carry it in the box it came in because it keeps my daughter from opening it up. She is highly curious.

Second: Remove the green or yellow cap off the top. Once you have done that, then you can slide the epipen out of its casing.

Third: Remove the grey safety cap off the back of the pen.

Fourth: Get a tight grip on the pen and firmly jab the black tip part into your outer thigh. Listen for it to click and hold it in place for 10 seconds.

Fifth: Once you have done that, call 911.

If you still aren’t feeling very comfortable with the idea of jamming this into your child’s leg, you can take the expired epipen and practice on a fruit, so that you have some sort of experience with it. For extra precaution, you can print the directions on the back of a plastic allergy information card. That way, when you hand the person the allergy card, you can show then the directions on the back of the card on how to use the epipen.

Unexplainable Hives

I decided to make some oatmeal raisin cookies for my family's luncheon on Saturday. I figured if I made them from scratch my daughter would be able to eat them also. So I pulled out all the ingredients for them and proceeded to create them. Once I was done, I put them in the oven and cooked them. After they cooled off, I gave one to my daughter to try. As usual, she was hesitant to try it. I think she has been told no so many times that when it comes to trying allergy free foods, she thinks problems will still occur.

For some strange reason she went downstairs to eat it. It was a good thing she did because she yelled out that her throat felt funny. I was able to give her something to drink and her throat felt better. I am beginning to believe that her food allergies aren't as life threatening as some other people's children. She doesn't seem to go through all the major symptoms that some other children go through. Don't get me wrong, I still treat them as though they are. You never know when it could change.

After I gave her something to drink, I thought that everything was fine. She went back to playing and it was as though she never had the cookie. I then put her in the tub to give her a bath. While she was in there she told me her legs were itching. I told her, her skin was probably dry. She use to have eczema when she was a baby, so her skin tends to be a little drier. When I took her out and started to put Vaseline on her, I noticed scratch marks on her legs. I asked her what had happened and she said after her throat started to hurt, her legs started to itch. She had little bumps all over her thighs. I told her to try and not scratch as it would put marks on her legs.

Later on in the middle of the night she woke up to tell me her legs were itching her really bad. I turned the light on and examined her legs. She had actual hives on them. I had to look for the topical benadryl to put on her. She stated that it didn't help, but she was able to go back to sleep.

I can't figure out why that happened. It is always hard to tell when it is not directly related to food. There shouldn't have been anything that would have set her off in the cookie. The only thing that I can think of is either the nutmeg or the cinnamon. I don't think she is allergic to either of them, but those were the only seasonings in them that she doesn't usually have. I don't know, maybe she is truly allergic to one of them or maybe she is just having a pseudo allergic reaction to them. Only time will tell.

From Food Allergies to Asthma

I just had a conversation with my daughter's allergist. We were going over how her RAST numbers have gone down and what to look forward to in the future. We decided (more or less me) that we would wait two more years before putting my daughter through a food challenge. I just think it would be better if her numbers were closer to zero.

According to her allergist (I can't speak for all the others), there is a certain trend they follow. This would be kids that she has dealt with that have had lower RAST numbers vs. higher ones. As excited as I was to hear that there was a trend in the numbers going down I become dismayed at what followed. See, my daughter not only has food allergies, she also has outdoor and pet allergies. I never thought that her outdoor allergies could become an issue like her food allergies, but apparently they can. She explained that most of the kids that she has whose RAST numbers fall (food wise), start having to deal with allergens in the nose which leads to asthma. The sad thing is that her outdoor allergen numbers went up quite a bit. This is due to the fact that we are going into spring/summer. So, this year, or over the next two years (before her next test session) I have to watch for her coughing or wheezing while she is running. If that starts up, it is back to the allergist again.

Having to make sure I have her epipens and benadryl with me at all times is something that I have become accustomed to. But now having to think that I may have to include an inhaler with them is very disheartening for me. To think that she may have to carry her epipens and an inhaler to school..... I just pray it doesn't get to that point, especially for a kid who is HIGHLY active and loves being outdoors.

Copyright © 2010 Allergykidmom. All rights reserved

Food Allergy Conflict

This weekend has been a good one. We haven't had any issues with food, which is good.

Within the next two weeks my daughter's school is going to have a pizza day for lunch. She is not allowed to eat cafeteria food (per school request), which has her feeling left out sometimes. I am going to go up to the school again and see if they will let her participate in pizza day. Technically, I am against her eating food that I haven't prepared, but I think this could be an exception. So starting today, I will have to go to the office and make my way through the chains to find out if it will be okay.

Another thing I have decided to do is call all the local schools in my area and see if they are set up to deal with kids with food allergies. I will also ask (if they are) what protocols do they follow. Then I will put an article in my local paper so that more parents can be informed as to which schools to send their children to.

The only way for our kids to be food safe at school is for us parents, to take the initiative and make it that way.

Copyright © 2010 Allergykidmom. All rights reserved

Parsley ~ An Actual Food Allergy

There are so many different types of foods that children or adults can be allergic to. Sometimes I am not sure if my daughter is just not feeling well or if she is really having an allergic reaction. Most of the times her reactions to certain foods is pretty much clear cut, but then there are those times when she just vomits (pardon my words) hours later and has no other reaction with it. Those are times when I am left wondering if it is truly something to be avoided or not.

A while ago we had a big dinner at my parent's house. Everything was "food safe", so my daughter could eat until her heart was content. At least that is what I thought. A new item that was presented was red potatoes with parsely and olive oil. Now looking at that, you wouldn't think that it would affect someone in any way whatsoever. But later that night, she got up out of her bed and told me she felt sick. She then went into the bathroom and plopped herself in front of the toilet. I have been blessed to have a young child who can tell me she is going to be sick and still make it to the bathroom before throwing up. As gross as this may sound, I have been in the habit of checking her vomit to see what has made her sick. This time it was red potatoes and parsely. Wow, who would have thought that would be the thing to make her sick!

Today I decided to look on the internet and see if someone could really be allergic to parsely. Can you believe it, you can. I have always kept her from it after that one incident, but that is just because I tend to get paranoid when she has any type of reaction to food. On Wikipedia I found out that parsley is part of the Birch family. Some of the other foods in the Birch family are: almonds, apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, carrots, celery, cherries, chicory, coriander, fennel, fig, hazelnuts, kiwifruit, nectarines, parsley, parsnips, peaches, pears, peppers, plums, potatoes, prunes, soy, strawberries, wheat, and potentially walnuts. After seeing this I thought that I should have done research on it sooner. She happens to be allergic to almonds, hazelnuts, wheat, and walnuts. It is hard to say what to avoid and what not to avoid. She can eat apples, bananas, carrots, celery, cherries, soy, strawberries and wheat (her number for this is so low she is not affected by it) without a problem. Unfortunately, it is going to have to be a guessing game for me for the rest of her life.

Copyright © 2010 Allergykidmom. All rights reserved

Allergy Test Results

I received good news today from my daughter's allergist. Her test results came back with lower numbers. Now when I say lower, I mean way lower. To most of you this may not seem like a big deal, but for someone who has had to watch what their child ingests for the sake of their life, it's a big deal. I thanked her allergist over and over again. I'm sure she could see the smile on my face by the tone of my voice.

First, we talked about her cashew results. This one was the highest number the last time she was tested. The results showed that it went down from a 28 to a 6. She wanted the number to be a 5 or lower, but this was good news for me. See, I had to deal with her having a reaction to cashew butter and it wasn't easy. She fell asleep (her blood level dropped) and then threw up later. I was happy to hear that it was a 6 even though a 5 would have been better.

Next we talked about her peanut number. Originally, it was a 12 and dropped down to a 6 also. This is good news because peanuts seem to be in everything or cross-contaminated with everything. This shows that within the last 3 years, her numbers dropped in half. Just think what another 3 years could bring.

The last thing we discussed was regarding her having a food challenge. I can't say that I am all that keen on this idea. I would love for her numbers to be a lot lower. I still fear that something could go wrong even though she would take this test in a hospital.

When my daughter got out of school I told her the allergist called and gave me good news. I explained to her that her numbers were lower this time which means she is getting better. I told her she still isn't allowed to have the foods that are listed on her allergy bracelet, but one day she may be able to. With a smile on her face, she looked at me and said, "One day I may be able to take this bracelet off and not have to wear it?" I told her maybe. She jumped up and down with joy.

Even though her numbers are lower, I will still take the same precaution as before. The epipens and the benadryl will continue to go with us everywhere. The avoidance of bakeries, certain restaurants, and potlucks will still stand firm. But the thought that maybe, just maybe one day all of this will be in the past, is all I need for hope.
Copyright © 2010 Allergykidmom. All rights reserved

Food Allergy Appointment #2

How many people have had to sit and watch their child get their blood drawn over and over again? Well, because of my daughter's food allergies, from time to time I have to go through this process. To think that for the rest of her life she may have to succumb to this just to see if her RAST numbers have changed is daunting for me.

I first had her tested when she was around 3 or 4 years old. The results came out showing she had several nut, pet, and outdoor allergies. What her allergist didn't explain to me was that we had to come back every so many years to keep getting tested. I found this out through the many people I follow on Twitter (thank you fellow twitterers). They were discussing how they were taking their children back in to get tested. So I decided to set up an appointment and talk to my daughter's allergist.

After viewing her old test results, her allergiest came to the conclusion that her numbers weren't as high as I assumed they were. Her allergist then said that she may actually outgrow them. I previously read, once you have a peanut allergy, you have it for life. I thought this was how her life was going to be forever. Knowing that she could actually outgrow them makes me believe that she has a chance to have a "normal" life after all.

Now began our RAST number conversation. First and foremost, a RAST (radioallergosorbent test) test is a blood test that measures the level of allergen-specific IgE (immunoglobulin E) in your blood. She explained to me if your RAST numbers are very high (level 5 and above) then chances are you will not outgrow them. Or more importantly if you are an adult and get diagnosed with a peanut allergy, you will not outgrow it either. Seeing how her peanut RAST number is a 12.80 (level 3), her allergist wants to test her again and see if they have gone down. If her RAST number for peanut is 5.00 or below, her allergist would like to conduct a food challenge.

Right now I am just waiting for the blood test results to come back. And once they do, it will determine where we will go from here.

 

Copyright © 2010 Allergykidmom. All rights reserved

Why Can't Schools Care More?

I went to my daughter's school sometime ago to talk to the nurse about her safety there. Would you belive it, she was not in. The school nurse is only there one day out of the week. How am I to feel safe if the "school nurse" is only there one day out of the week?

This is a big irritation of mine. I would like to drop her off to school and feel as though she is in good hands. I can't feel that way knowing that the nurse can only attend to her one day out of the week. What if something were to happen on one of the days that she isn't there? Who would take care of her? Much to my chagrin, it would be one of the staff members in the office. Part of me doesn't agree with this. And the reason being is because I don't believe they have taken the class that the nurse needed to correctly administer the epipen to my child.

Another surprising thing is that the nurse had never taken the class before. There are other kids that attend the school that apparently have food allergies also, but she wasn't told to take the class until I started nosing around. Whether there are kids on the campus with food allergies or not, I believe she should be trained in this matter. Call me crazy, but you are a school nurse, right? I know most people are probably saying, 'Why take a class if it is not needed?' Well, so you will be well prepared when it comes about.

When I enrolled her into preschool it didn't matter as much because she didn't eat lunch there. She also had a wonderful teacher who asked me on the mornings of parties if certain foods were appropriate. And when she graduated to kindergarten it was okay because that teacher was awesome with her also. She would call me up at home and ask me if certain foods were okay. She would also keep frozen popsicles for her if parents showed up with cupcakes unannounced.

This brings us to her first grade teacher. Bless her heart, she is a beautiful woman. But I don't think she understands food allergies. The first day of class I explained to her that my daughter had food allergies. She looked very puzzled, so I decided to make up an example for her. She looked at me and said, 'If I have a mango at my desk, what should I do?' Well, if you want my honest opinion, put it back in your lunch. No matter what I said to her she just didn't get it.

Last week they had an impromptu party and had cookies that came from a bakery. It shocked me when my daughter told me that she had some cookies. Unfortunately my daughter is starting to want to eat what the other kids are eating and I am having to hound her a little more than I use to. So when she told me about the cookies I confronted the teacher. All she said was, 'Okay.' Can you believe that is all I got out of her. I didn't get a sorry or I will ask her the next time. I just got an 'okay'. And to make matters worse, she let my daughter take home some food that she was allergic to. Why would you do that? I know it was wrapped up in a napkin, but come on!

Oh, it gets even better. They will not allow her to eat cafeteria food either. They say that it doesn't state where the food is made and they don't want to take any chances. I even asked to look at the packaging so that I can determine if it is safe, but they will not allow it. In a way it is good. I don't really want her eating cafeteria food anyway. But sometimes I don't feel like making her a lunch and wouldn't mind her eating a cheese sandwich or a bean burrito from the school. And when it comes to kids sharing food at lunch, all they do is tell them not to share food because some kids have food allergies. As you can see, this school does not have food allergy free tables.

I'll be honest, I am not happy with my daughter's school or the administration members either. It is hard to drop your child off and wonder if you are going to get a phone call stating that they either gave them an epipen or called an ambulance and they are on their way to the nearest hospital.

Food Allergies and Birthday Parties

Kids with food allergies and birthday parties don’t always go hand in hand, in my opinion. Most parents who have children with no food allergies don’t worry when they plan the menu. They tend to think about what their child likes to eat and serves it. Nothing against it, it is totally understandable, but it does cause some problems for parents with kids who can’t eat everything.

 My daughter was recently invited to a birthday party. Luckily they served cheese pizza and not regular food. I have noticed, in the past, some parents would get a little offended when I asked them where their food came from and how it was prepared. I would have to explain that she has food allergies and I have to be careful what she eats. Some understood, yet others weren’t so understand. So I try to plan now and bring food for my daughter depending on what they are serving. Even if she has her own food, I still have to watch how the other kids are eating around her. She is still young and doesn’t know how to keep an eye out for flying food or shared napkins. Or as nasty as this may sound, kids who talk with food in their mouths and spit it across the table.

Now, when it comes to the birthday cake and ice cream….. I have to say, I really feel for kids who are allergic to milk and eggs. That has to be hard to deal with. I can get around the ice cream sometimes with my daughter, but most of the time I avoid it. The cake, she can never have. Most bakeries have the warning on the boxes regarding nuts and tree nuts and even if it is homemade it could come from box cake mix, which we cannot do. I have asked my daughter if she wanted me to bring her a cupcake or slice of cake to eat when they sit down to have theirs, but she refuses. When she was younger it was easier to deal with, but as she gets older she seems to want to eat exactly what the other kids are eating.

 So, birthday parties for me aren’t always fun to attend. I spend most of my time looking to see if she is okay. Sometimes when kids carry food around or spill it near her, I have to make sure she doesn’t get any on her. I know I probably sound overbearing, but I have never had to use her epi pen and I plan on never having to use it. If that means watching her like I hawk, then that is what I will have to do.

 As I dropped my daughter off to school today a parent handed me an envelope. I opened it up. Guess what, another birthday party. Here we go again…..