Food Allergies and Anaphylactic Reactions in Children

There are 1.5 million adults and children in America with peanut, tree nut, seafood and various other food allergies. This is a life threatening allergic reaction that involves the shutting down of the organs such as the heart within minutes of ingesting, tasting, licking or even touching the food that they are allergic to. All parents should be aware of the foods that they introduce to their baby and children. Parents should be very aware of behavior change, rashes, hives and other symptoms of food sensitivity and food allergies.

My son began manifesting food allergies at just under one years old. It didn't take us long to realize that his reactions were beyond hives they effected his breathing as well. If he was even in the vicinity of others eating walnuts the back of his neck would be covered in hives. We gave him a tiny piece of peanut butter cracker at about ten months old and an odd rash covered his body and the whites of his eyes turned red. At another time he accidentally ingested walnuts and immediately began vomiting and his lips swelled. A friend encouraged us to get him checked out by an allergist and explained to us that it could endanger his life. We had never heard of such a thing.

We took my son to a children's allergist and they did a skin test on his back. It revealed that he was extremely allergic to many foods. He tested allergic to all tree nuts as well as peanuts, Lima beans, etc. The doctor explained to us that certain allergies can cause an anaphylactic reaction and that typical allergens that cause anaphylaxis reactions are nuts, peanuts and seafoods. Because of the skin test results and our personal experiences of him reacting to these foods the doctor prescribed an epi pen. An epi pen is a pen type medical needle that injects medication in to the thigh of the person who is reacting to a food. The medicine will stop an anaphylaxis reaction however you must still get the person immediately to the hospital after injecting them with the medication as it will slow down the anaphylaxis reaction but the individual may still be in danger.

An anaphylatic reaction includes the shutting down of the organs in the body. The tongue and lips swell and the air passage way closes and cuts off the flow of oxygen. It can include cardiac arrest. Persons that are this severely allergic to foods must be very aware of what they are eating at all times.

We needed to check boxes for ingredients and read warnings about factory contamination with tree nuts or peanuts and take heed to avoid those foods as well. Our son grew out of the severity of his allergies. We went through many scares. We are thankful that he has grown out of the severity of the allergies however, he must still avoid nuts and peanuts as well as other foods that he tested sensitive to as well.

I have also come to realize that his reactions to allergens reduced greatly but his body still responded adversely. For example, as time went by we allowed him to have items that could have traces of nuts in them but later realized that his behavior and his mood and personality experienced side effects. So if you are noticing that your child has extreme moods and or experiences symptoms such as ADHD or ODD check to see if they are experiencing allergies. There are great allergist out there that can help you better understand your child's body and how best to feed him or her. We totally removed fast foods and other items from my sons diet and saw his personality and moods become steadfast and stable. We experienced a calming and the side effects of anger subsided. Foods can be a medicine to the body but certain foods can also act as a poison, eater beware.