Sharon’s Story

At the age of 3, my daughter, Annaleise, had what we thought was a severe asthma attack after she was given a couple of pistachios by an elderly friend. A year later, just before commencing preschool, we realised there was a problem when Annaleise had eaten a cashew left over from Christmas and complained that her mouth and throat were 'burning'. I then dosed her with Claratyne and visited our local doctor. Our doctor recommended we visit a paediatrician specialising in allergy testing in babies and children. It was then revealed that Annaleise was anaphylactic to peanuts, pistachio, cashew and hazelnuts.

 

As you can imagine, we were greatly surprised by these results and horrified that we had unwittingly given her foods that may have compromised her health. Until that point, we had not realised that vomiting was a sign of food allergy (I had put it down to a tummy bug or running around after eating). Until a year ago we had not seen outward signs of swelling, only vomiting and inability to breathe.

 

Everybody at our local preschool was very supportive. All staff were sent on Anaphylaxis training (it was not compulsory at that time) and it was a huge learning time for us all. The teachers were just as eager to share anything they had learnt as we were to learn and share anything new. It was through a preschool teacher that I learnt of Star Allergy Alerts and purchased the badges and stickers that she still has on her lunch bag.

 

Parents of other children, on the other hand, were not always as understanding. There were (and continue to be) a few who could not appreciate the risk we face, many still sent their children with peanut butter or Nutella sandwiches. We even had a child bring cashews as a snack one day!

 

We have now been in Primary School for 2 years (Annaleise will be 7 this year). We have been greatly impressed by the compassion, diligence and knowledge all staff at our school have demonstrated. It is a continual learning curve and new allergies can appear at anytime. (We have developed a number of new allergies over the years as well as the nut allergies worsening.) The numbers of children with nut allergies at our school have grown over the past year also.

 

However, we believe that education is the only path to ensure our daughter's safety. Not only do we educate Annaleise (and her sister and friends) as to what ingredients are in certain dishes, we have taught her to look at ingredients herself. And ALWAYS ASK if you are unsure of what is in some foods. Our house is a 'nut free zone', however, you cannot expect that everywhere. Many packaged foods are out in our house now since allergic reactions have increased after consuming 'May contain traces of ..' items. Life has become less stressful too, now that I cook/bake most of our snacks and meals myself.

 

We have also learnt not to 'just trust' anybody with the welfare of our daughter. Some of the worst misconceptions of allergies have actually come from family members. The over-use of the term allergy instead of food intolerance is a constant battle we face.

 

I am certain we have a lot of hurdles in our path, especially when teenage years are upon us. Although we have gotten 'used' to living with allergies we have not be become complacent, diligence is a must! Make the Epipen a member of your family, take it everywhere with you and through diligence may we never have occasion to use it.

 

Sharon

 

Samantha’s Story

Both of my beautiful daughters have severe food allergies.  Our oldest daughter was diagnosed at 4 when I was 8 months pregnant and she ate a macadamia nut.  She started vomiting, then choking, her lips swelled up and her body was instantly covered in a strange red rash that looked like sunburn.  She could breathe and I thought she had some nut stuck in her throat so rather pathetically drove her to the nearby Emergency Department.  She is anaphylactic to tree nuts and we have since found out sesame and poppy seeds. Six months later, our baby girl was 5 months old and had anaphylaxis to baby food that contained diary.  It took me months to get an Immunologist appointment and it was only through constantly calling every practitioner in Adelaide that one kind soul took pity on us and tested her.  She was allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, wheat, soy, beef, lamb and pork.  She then had an adverse reaction to 6 month vaccinations and developed massive lumps in her groin lymph nodes.  We ended up in Oncology with suspected cancer; she was operated on twice, on a central line IV with high dose antibiotics for 3 weeks and no eventual diagnosis.  This experience taught me how much worse things can get than food allergies when watching children with cancer.  I have never been so grateful as the day we walked out of that ward.  She is turning 4 this weekend and is now only allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, beef and lamb.  We have fortunately only had a couple of accidental exposures resulting in epi-pens and ambulances.

Managing the allergies day-to-day put a significant strain on my marriage.  My husband felt I was over-protective and did not share my vigilance over food exposure.  We could not go out to eat anywhere or buy takeaway and attending social functions was highly stressful with a toddler who did not understand allergies.  Sadly, my husband left the family last year, and I worry every weekend the girls are with him that something is going to happen.  He returned our youngest daughter one day and she was having an anaphylactic reaction that he had not noticed, after having given her fritz some three hours prior.  Fortunately, she is reaching an age where she is aware of her allergies and more careful with food.

Friends and their children have been wonderful and so very careful with the girls, as have their school.  There seems to be a growing awareness of food allergies, coupled with a growing prevalence.  Hopefully, research will show the reasons for this and treatments will follow in the future.

Samantha Young

Catherine’s Story

Our son was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy when he was 13 months old.  A terrible way to discover this: I gave him peanut butter on toast and within seconds his lips had swollen, he had hives all over his face and had developed breathing difficulties.  A skin prick test with a well known allergist 4 days later confirmed the allergy.

Life has changed a lot since then. An Epi Pen is our constant companion. I read labels religiously and have wherever possible excluded nut products from the house.  The 'contains traces of nuts' subject is a whole other ball game and one we juggle on a day to day basis.  Calls to companies and inquisitorial questions are the norm to determine 'risk' and satisfy maternal desire to protect my son as much as possible.

Recently moved my son to one full day of long day care (he's been doing Family Day Care for ages and with the support of our Family Day Care mum, it's been incident free thus far).  After discussing my son's allergy with staff well before he commenced care, raiding the cook's pantry, identifying suitable and non suitable food on the long day care menu, on the first day, I kissed my son goodbye and held my breath for most of the day.  This has been a huge leap of faith.  The day care centre has been blown away by my commitment to share knowledge and assist them by identifying food in their pantry that is – to the best of my knowledge and research – suitable for my son.  They were even more impressed that I sent my son along on his first day wearing a 'no nuts' t-shirt and instructions that I was happy for him to sit apart from the other children during meal times. 

He's not being 'segregated' – I'm being cautious until such time as he is able to articulate his needs himself (he's just turned two).

He most definitely is being labelled in the best possible way, again, until such time that he can speak for himself.  Visual reminders are essential if your child is not in your care for any period of time.

Sure, spontaneity is a thing of the past, although, thankfully (I never thought I'd say this!) we have a recently opened McDonalds nearby which means we can have the occasional take away with minimal stress.

Ours is an ongoing story, a constant learning curve and daily challenge.  It's certainly not without its frustrations and irritations! Luckily, our household motto is 'there is nothing constant but change' (thanks Heraclitus!). My role in all of this is to tell anyone and everyone who will listen about our son's allergy and educate to the best of my ability those involved in his care.  Some people are happy to hear and help, others take time to come on board. 

I'm a member of Anaphylaxis Australia Inc and I purchase Star Allergy Alert products to assist us.  Sure, we've had (and will continue to have) occasions where interactions with others in the public sphere (eg: hospitals) have lead to despair and disbelief at the lack of knowledge and understanding of what we live with, but by and large, the response from most people is overwhelmingly positive.  I find most are relieved when you provide them with the knowledge and information they need to understand and help where they can.

It's about building capacity: my son's, our family's and the community's.

Catherine Watts

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Peanut Allergy Research

There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about researchers announcing a "peanut allergy cure"... While this sounds like wonderful news, definitely do not undertake any trials at home and be sure to speak to your Allergist for more information. If you haven't heard about the breakthrough, here's a link to one of the reports.

Star Allergy Alerts - Allergy Awareness Products for Children

Does your child have an allergy?
Star Allergy Alerts are a bright fun range of allergy awareness products for children!
Our range includes Badges, Stickers, Bracelets, Wristbands, T-shirts, Epipen Pouches, Posters and more...
Please take some time to visit our website and browse our ever-growing range of allergy awareness products! http://starallergyalerts.com.au/

Happy Shopping!

Be sure to check out these new products!
Our NEW Silicon Wristbands ($6 each or 2 for $10)
Choose from two alert designs:- Anaphylaxis Alert and Food Allergy Alert.
Now available in three sizes... Small (Ages 2-4) Medium (Ages 5+) and NEW Large size for Teens/Adults.
(PS Don't forget to tell your Child Care, Kindy and School about them!!)

"I'm Not Nuts" : Living with Food Allergies DVD
Now available at Star Allergy Alerts!
This interesting and informative documentary filmed by renowned U.S. filmmaker Kevin Lindenmuth. He talks to medical professionals, families and children, and shows the various coping challenges and strategies; medical, emotional and social are addressed, as are the positive insights people have gained from learning to effectively live with food allergies on a daily basis.