I have three very precious grandchildren who are allergic to nuts especially peanuts. One is so allergic that if you eat a product that contains peanuts and breath near him he may have an allergic reaction so severe that he has to be hospitalized.
I have sat by his hospital bedside on several occasions as he lay there in anaphylactic shock, his breath so shallow that you could not tell if he was breathing, knowing that while he appeared to be peacefully sleeping in fact he was fighting for his life.
I have kept my home nut free since his diagnosis 3 years ago, it is a challenge but in our case certainly worth the effort. I want to be able to have a safe haven for him to visit, they rarely visit other homes as the risk is just too great.
This week is National Food Allergy Awarness Week and the start a New Blog No Nuts For Me by Shawn (our son in law) about living with nut allergies. His first post talks about some of the steps they take to ensure a nut free environment for their three sons the restaurants they cannot enter and foods that have been know to cause deaths.
The following is from My Daughters Facebook pages and I have included it in it's entirety as she has some wonderful links that you may find very useful if you are dealing with food allergies.
"Could you do it? Could you be Allegen free for 24 hrs? This week is National Food Allergy Awareness Week. Anaphylaxis Canada is challenging everyone to take a 24hr period and be allergen free. Could you do it?
You would need to know where everything you put into your mouth came from. Was it made in Canada? Are the allergens listed on the label? Does it contain trace amount of allergens? Has it come into contact with any allergens and is cross-contaminated? Do you know and trust the person who made the food? Was it baked in a bakery? Did it come from the bulk section? Was it prepared in a grocery store?
Have you read the label 3 times? Once in the grocery store, once when you put the food away when you bring it home, and once when you are about to use it.
Could you do it?
Our family lives a completely peanut-free life. We have to. Our three children are allergic to peanuts, even trace amounts of peanuts. Our youngest is airborne allergic to peanuts. So if you have eaten a peanut/nut product and you are near him, he could react to you.
Being peanut/nut fee is a way of life. You can't cheat, like you might if you were on a diet. You can't "guess" that something is "safe". It is 3 precious lives we are dealing with. They are our children.
Could you do it? My personal challenge to each one of you is to try to become completely peanut free for 24 hrs. If you would like information on how to read labels for allergens or more information about food allergies please contact me or check out the links below!
If your interested you can check out our blog. We just started. It's called No Nuts for Me.
http://nonutsforme.blogspot.com/
Thanks! :)
Dear Registrant,
Anaphylaxis Canada is pleased to announce that May 4th - 8th, 2009 has been declared as "National Food Allergy Awareness Week" by the Parliament of Canada. A motion moved by MP Cheryl Gallant received all party support in the House of Commons on April 28, 2009. The motion is also a result of efforts by MP Gerard Kennedy. We thank all parties for their support of this declaration.
This is the first year that we have had this designation made in Canada. To commemorate this week we have a number of initiatives planned to help increase awareness of managing food allergies and educating the community on the issues faced by those at risk for anaphylaxis.
Highlights of the week:
Anaphylaxis Canada launch of new teen website: http://www.whyriskit.ca/
· Check out the first website of its kind in Canada dedicated to providing resources and tools for pre-teens, teens and young adults living with severe allergies.
· Official launch date: May 6th, 2009
Toronto Star special report on Allergies & Asthma
· Special feature to be published on May 7th, 2009
Today's Parent Award
· Anaphylaxis Canada is proud to have been selected by Today's Parent magazine for their "Reader with a Cause" award for the month of May. Thank you to Laurie Prentice, an Anaphylaxis Canada member, for nominating us for this award. Check out this months issue for more details.
Support Group Grants
· Anaphylaxis Canada is pleased to offer a grant to all our subscribing support groups to help fund local initiatives. For all current group leaders please contact us for more information on how to apply.
· To join a local support group in your area visit http://www.anaphylaxis.ca/content/programs/services_support.asp
How can you get involved?
Be an Allergy Ambassador in your community. Here's how:
· Log on to the Anaphylaxis Learning Centre at http://www.anaphylaxis.ca/ to view our new educational webcast series. Share the link with others in your community who may be interested in learning more about managing severe allergies (i.e. teachers, caregivers, family & friends).
· Be prepared:
-- Learn how to use an epinephrine auto-injector properly. Teach others as well. Go to http://www.epipen.ca/ or http://www.twinject.ca/ for more information.
-- Wear MedicAlert identification. For more details visit http://www.medicalert.ca/
· Nominate your school or daycare facility for their work on keeping children safe. Tell us how they have made a difference in your community. Click here to submit your story: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=p5vTeMh73fFMe48UqfygXw_3d_3d
· Issue a challenge! Ask your family and friends to 'live in your shoes' for a day. Assign them an 'allergy' to live with for 24hrs. To download allergy brochures go to http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/fa-aa/index_e.html
· Work with your school or daycare to ensure they have their anaphylaxis policies in place and are up to date.
· Become a member of Anaphylaxis Canada today! Visit http://www.anaphylaxis.ca/ to see how and what benefits you can receive through your membership.
· Spread the word and help educate others on the importance of managing anaphylaxis in your community. Click here to order brochures, posters or bookmarks free of charge: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=r3JBRJlih97wT_2fOVdnArMg_3d_3d
However you choose to promote Food Allergy Awareness Week, get involved and make a difference in your community!
Anaphylaxis Canada"
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Kathy, it is tough. When my son was younger, he was going to daycare with several children who had severe allergies, and we had to live nut free for years, because as you say, even breathing on someone after eating peanut butter at home, could be dangerous.
It took a few days to get used to it, but it can be done. We learned how to read labels, and I avoided buying anything at all that could have been exposed to nuts.
When children had birthdays that we wanted everyone to celebrate, we had birthday cakes made in a nut-free environment.
It's also easy to learn to use the epi pen - you may need to save someone's life one day.
Hi Sylvie - It certainly has affected our lives in many ways. While we do not expect others to live nut free it certainly helps if they are considerate and understanding when we question them about food preparation or the source of the food when we visit or they bring food to share at a potluck dinner or other event .
Hi Kathy,
It must be very hard on you and your family all having to deal with 3 children who have nut allergies. Thanks for sharing the information on food allergies - it's true, so many of us don't realise the seriousness of it. It's good to note though that many pre-schools and kindergartens are now banning all nuts.
David - It certainly is a step in the right direction ... For those with alergies as bad as my grandchildren that might not be enough if you were to have a product containing peanuts or for example opened a jar of peanut butter and then spoke to or touched the one you could trigger a reaction with devestating results
Kathy, I know how careful you have to be, a good friend of mine is highly allergic to peanuts. There is no eating out because of the danger and they put nuts into so many things I'd never have imagined. It's very difficult but amazing what you can do when you have to.
Carole - it's unfortunate but the checking never ends food that is safe today may not be safe tomorrow as we found out with a cake mix for one of the boys birthdays. It was our daughters constant vigilance that spotted the change in what had previously been a safe mix becoming a threat to their health.
Kathy,
I can't even imagine how hard it must be to be raising children with severe nut allergies.
My sons, brothers and myself have dairy allergies and end up with severe headaches, hives, intestinal problems, sinus problems and sometimes pneumonia as a result of dairy additives, however none of the reactions are life threatening.
I'm also allergic to gluten, so I know somewhat how vigilant those with food allergies, or allergic children have to be. It's very difficult in the world we live in today.
Your daughter's FB page looks extremely informative and helpful....thanks so much for posting it!
Jo
Hi Jo - Allergies especially food allergies can be very difficult to deal with, especially if those around you just do not get it or appreciate the gravity of an allergic reaction. I know it was difficult for us to understand until the boys were diagnosed. Now we deal with it as a matter of course and wonder why we did not really get it before.
They are doing a post a day for the week (allergy awareness) and will continue to add as time permits. She has become a local resource for other parents who have children with nut allergies. She even went shopping with one mom to help her learn some of the things to watch for when food shopping.