Kids and Allergies
First let me say, I am not an expert on allergies and especiallly not allergies in kids, in fact, I know very little about them, except to say I have lived with them in my family for years. I am allergic to certain medications, so are my children. My grandson who seemed to be pretty allergy free as a baby did get a reaction to one thing…peanut butter. The first time he was offered peanut butter was when he was about two years old, and very little was given thankfully. He immediately got a bit of hives/redness around his mouth area. My daughter mentioned it to his pediatrician who suggested not to try peanuts or peanut butter again for a year. He is now almost 3 1/2, and since that day was one time accidentally offered something that was made with peanut oil. The food barely touched his lips and again, a reaction. His mom and dad decided to have him tested and sure enough, the tests showed he is highly allergic to peanuts. On a scale to five, five being the worst, his score was between four and five. The allergist suggested he will need to be in a peanut free classroom/school when he is of school age.
I know enough about peanut allergies of this extent to know it is absolutely terrifying!! It’s not just any old allergy, it can kill him and in a very short time if not for using an epi-pen immediately if needed. Not being able to eat peanuts is a very small part of it…there is SO much more to it than that. First and utmost in my mind at least is the fear that somehow he will come in contact with something made with peanuts ie peanut butter, peanut oil, something made in a facility that has peanuts, and that he will go into anaphylactic shock. With some allergies you get a bit of hives, a rash, an itch. With a severe peanut allergy you can die if you don’t do something (epi-pen) immediately. You have to make sure that you have the epi-pen with you at all times, and that’s not always easy to do because first, you MUST NOT forget it no matter where you go, and also, you can’t just keep them in the glovebox of your car because extreme heat or cold will make it useless. Then there is always the fact that they could possibly misfire, which makes you want to always have at least two on hand in case. You pray you’ll never have the need to use it, and pray if you do that you’ll do it right, that it will work right, that you’ll have it handy. It’s a scary thing!
One of the first things my daughter did was a lot of research on which companies and which products were safe for my grandson. Not that he’s ever eaten very many sweets and treats anyway, but as a child he does love them, and so we searched online and found some companies that sell candy made in peanut free facilities. Still it’s been hard at times on him because people are always offering him treats he is not able to have. In a couple of days time the lady at the bank offered him a Reese peanut butter cup, the lady at the insurance agency next door brought him over a drumstick ice cream cone, and the next door neighbors brought him a beautifully decorated cupcake that was purchased from a bakery. He was not able to have any of them. The peanut butter cup and the drumstick ice cream cone are obvious as to why he couldn’t have them..peanut butter and peanuts. The cupcake although appearing to be quite innocent was made in a bakery of a local grocery store which is not in a peanut free facility ie they use peanuts in the bakery in many of the other items and some could have gotten mixed into this or touched it. The poor little guy was really good about the first two items, but being three, he wanted that cupcake bad! He cried and cried, begging his dad …”Can’t I have just ONE bite? Pleaseeeeeee?”. Luckily for him he has such good parents. His mommy made him a batch of brownies made with chocolate chips from a peanut free facility. But regardless of all this, the fact he can’t eat them is not what’s really important, again, it’s the fear…the fear that one day someone will offer him something and he will take it and eat it without mom and dad knowing. It’s a very scary situation! As a mom of two who raised her kids in a small hometown atmosphere and knew all the kids in town, I must say I have been guilty of offering kids peanut butter cookies and candies on occasion. I won’t do it anymore!
I hope that by writing this it will raise some awareness of how dangerous a peanut allergy can be. I hope that I can educate someone, anyone, to NOT be like I was. Please don’t offer children food unless you ask their parent first if it’s ok. Peanut allergies are on the rise, there are many, many more kids today with peanut allergies than years ago. Why is that? I have no clue why, but it is fact, and it is rising at an alarming rate.
My daughter and her husband always ask in restaurants if they use peanut oil in the various foods, just to be on the safe side. You always pray the person is correct in their answer to you. They have researched cookies and treats from various companies, read lables on packages religiously, and pretty much ban buying those items from companies that do not label their packages good enough for them to be “sure” the item is safe for him. They also purchased some buttons and a T-shirt for him to wear during those times when treats will abound and mom and dad may not be close at hand.
He will be going to preschool soon and his parents are not comfortable with it because of his allergy. They “think” they have however, found a preschool that is planning to become a peanut free facility in the near future because three toddlers who will be attending have a peanut allergy.
I have recently added some peanut allergy T-shirts and buttons to my shop at Peacock Cards in hopes it may help a child with a peanut allergy to stay a bit safer. You can find them by clicking on the links below:
