Question:
JUST FOUND OUT THAT MY 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER HAS A PEANUT ALLERGY, WE
LIVE NEAR ABERDEEN IN SCOTLAND AND ASK IF ANY ONE KNOWS OF A SUPPORT
GROUP IN OUR AREA OR CAN HELP ME AS I AM A NOVICE AS YET STILL FINDING
MY FEET AS TO WHAT I CAN GIVE HER AND WHAT I CAN DO TO HELP HER, IF
ANY ONE AS ANY ADVISE PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
Answer:
There is also an online international group, Parents of Food Allergic
Kids (POFAK). You can find it at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/POFAK
Try:
Action Against Allergy
PO Box 278
Twickenham TW1 4QQ
0181 892 4949 (0181 is an old London code, I forget what it is now) As another parent, I feel for you. Try www.peanutallergy.com for both
information and support- probably overwhelming at first, but a must for this
allergy in particular. Several members are in the UK (williamsmummy and
Gwen Thornberry come to mind)- you could also ask on the discussion boards.
Also consider www.foodallergy.org for mainstream information only (much
applies to US only, however). Peanut allergy is particularly difficult
since it is so upredictable- both from one exposure to the next and from one
individual to the next. Peanut protein causes more anaphylaxis deaths each
year than any other single substance. Nope. Penicillin, insulin and bee stings are all more common causes
of death (and I think egg, particularly as used in vaccines, is about
level with peanut). My 9 yr old daughter and 5 year old son both have anaphylactic allergies to
peanuts, I would like to make several recommendations:
1) insure that you take your time when doing the grocery shopping READ the
ingredients EVERY time DO NOT take for granted that if a product was peanut
free once that it is still peanut free the next time you purchase it. food
manufactures will change lines and hence cross contamination is possible.
2) never take for granted that if friends or family say a home made food is
peanut free that it is without questioning them. often people (although
having good intentions) will not take into consideration that some of the
ingredients the put in their foods are made up of products containing
peanut proteins (for example a label may read contains vegetable proteins
this in fact may be peanuts etc)
3) I suggest that if your child participates in birthday party's that you
bake the cake and make your child their own bag of treats. some candies such
as jelly beans may seem innocent however have a high potential for
containing peanut proteins.
4) beware of all restaurants. many reactions happen in restaurants due to
some of the above reasons and cross contamination.
5) if your child goes out for Halloween for candies I suggest that you not
let him/her eat anything without you validating it first.
6) VERY IMPORTANT: unless changed in the last week or so the only real
emergency action that should be taken when a child goes into anaphylactic
shock or is showing the symptoms is an epinephrine shot. This will only in
many cases off set the condition. It is essential that you insure that you
get medical treatment immediately... many deaths have been a result of not
taking the epinephrine in time.
7) in conjunction with the above it becomes very important that your child
along with everyone who is responsible for her (teachers, guardians, etc)
become familiar with how to identify anaphylactic shock as well as the
emergency response to it.
8) your child should always carry an epipen ( I suggest two as a redundant
measure)
9) if the school she goes to is not peanut free I suggest that you lobby it
to become peanut free or change schools. We had to lobby ours and after
about 6 months of intense education they made policy that no child was
allowed to bring in peanut foods into the school.
10) as all before me advised there is allot of information on the WEB
regarding this allergy I suggest that you spend some time researching the
sites.
Common sense and commitment will get you guys through this. It is for all
intensive purposes life long (although recently we have seen children loose
their peanut allergy it is still the exception)
If I seem a bit extreme I am not apologizing peanut allergies are insidious
the mere smell of peanut protein can trigger a reaction (although rare).
This allergy can kill my children and I will do everything in my power to
educate and protect my children form it. I do not and will never take this
lightly.
It's hard to carry an epi pen for a child or man or without a purse. You
can buy carriers from several sources in hard plastic but we found a belt
pack for a GPS at the sporting goods store that will hold two pens with no
problem and slides on the belt. Has a zip top.
