Category Archives: Kid Allergies

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by Paul Abra of Island Parent Radio. Paul is putting together a show about kids with allergies and how it affects the entire family. Also on the show Paul interviewed Dr. Janice Joneja an allergy nutrition specialist and author of Dealing with Food Allergies in Babies and Children If you have a kid with allergies, I can highly recommend this book.

I remember when The Boy was first diagnosed with his allergies a year ago (milk, soy, wheat, eggs and peanuts), my wife and I scrambled for information on how to deal with it. And the way you deal with allergies in an infant is by eliminating the allergens from your diet. This meant a massive rethink in the way we eat and, in fact, to the relationship we have with food. I don’t know that we necessarily eat healthier as a family because of the diagnosis, but I do know that we eat differently than we did before.

I sometimes refer to it as a conscious diet, and it sounds obvious – you pay attention to what you eat. You know what is going into your body and consciously decided what to put in. This wasn’t always the case before the diagnosis. Eating was sometimes a reflexive activity, something I didn’t always think about. But when you have a kid with allergies, you become very aware of what goes in to everyone’s body in your family, not just theirs.

And it wasn’t until we were faced with developing a conscious
relationship with our food did I realize how truly varied a diet can
be. It’s pretty easy to fall into a food rut and eat the same foods
over and over out of both habit and necessity. But having a kid with
allergies forces you to examine the full range of food available. And
when you start to look at what you can eat as opposed to what you
can’t, the problem turns into an opportunity as you begin to explore the full range of food available out there.

The interview airs Tuesday, May 6th at 7PM pacific on Village 900 radio.

It has been 6 months since The Boy was been diagnosed with allergies (nuts, wheat, soy, dairy and eggs). A few weeks ago we had a follow up appointment with the pediatrician. We were hoping that he would suggest another round of testing to see if he had outgrown any, but instead he suggested we stay the course and retest in the new year. Staying the course means continuing on the elimination diet of all potential allergens.

Living with allergies has changed everything in our house. The obvious is learning how to cook and eat well balanced meals without wheat, soy, eggs, dairy or nuts. Thankfully, 2 books recommended to us have helped immensely. The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook: Two Hundred Gourmet & Homestyle Recipes for the Food Allergic Family and Food Allergy Survival Guide: Surviving and Thriving With Food Allergies and Sensitivities. Without either, I’m sure our lifestyle would be even more hampered. But, thanks to some of the recipes in this book, my wife and The Boy are able to still enjoy home baking. Six months ago, if you would have said to us that we would be able to make and enjoy muffins, breads and cookies without wheat, eggs, or dairy we probably would have scoffed. But these cookbooks have some great alternatives that are delicious and satisfy the food restrictions.

But, as we are discovering, living with allergies is much more than just cooking differently. Since we do not know the extent of his allergies, we have to be hyper-vigilante when he is awake and on the move or else run the (albeit low) risk of anaphylaxis. We are constantly on guard, especially now that he is 10 months old, mobile and like a Hoover, sucking up every morsel of food he finds on the floor.

Like many people, so much of our social life revolves around food. Parties always involve food, and there is always this low level anxiety hanging over you as you constantly watch for a dropped a nut, piece of cracker or cheese onto the floor or just within arm reach.

Birthday cake has been eliminated.

And, with the start of daycare looming in another month or so, the thought that we won’t be there to watch and supervise while he is in close proximity to a dozen other kids is frightening. Fortunatly, the staff are excellent and highly trained in dealing with kids with allergies.

We’ve bought our first Epipen Jr. Let me tell you, nothing drives home the point that things are really different than seeing an example of how to administer an Epipen to a kid in full anaphylaxis.

I suppose it is like living with any condition (for lack of a better term). It is always there. It hangs over everything, and colours everyday decisions. Our hope is that he will outgrow them (as 80% of kids do) by his third birthday. But maybe not. Perhaps this is the new reality of our life. If so, it is going to be made much more difficult when he starts to realize that he isn’t eating birthday cake at the parties.