k12allergies

foodallergymoms

August 26, 2022

Lauren and Katie are two food allergy moms who entered the world of food allergies when their oldest children were each diagnosed with food allergies as babies. As new food allergy moms, they quickly felt lost and overwhelmed. Then when each of their youngest children were also diagnosed, they again felt devastated and alone.
After becoming fast friends, they teamed up to provide support, resources, and ideas for other families raising littles with food allergies through their blog, foodallergymom.com.

You can also follow them on social media, https://www.instagram.com/thefoodallergymoms/. There are some great tips provided on there!

Emily (@allergyandwe – 18+ years old)

August 24, 2022 / , , , , , , , , , ,

I was born with extreme eczema especially in the face. After getting breast milk I always reacted. My parents took me immediately to our doc and special allergist. They figured out during my first weeks and months that I have many allergies. I did overcome a lot while growing up. Now I’m still allergic to peanut, egg, soy, peas, lentils, beans and kiwi. I’m also lactose and histamine intolerant but I manage to have it on a normal basis in discussion with my natural practitioner.

My parents mostly reached out to the best docs and allergists in Germany. Since two years I go to a natural practitioner who works on a scientific basis and starts with the roots (gut health and immune system). I really do recommend looking for one working scientifically and visiting on a regular basis.

Superawesomecare

September 2, 2022

Super Awesome Care is an organization devoted to lessen food allergy parent’s load with medical experts and a community to call on wherever and whenever you need!

They have also created a fantastic digital food allergy card to make it easier to share it with anyone. You can learn more about creating a card on your iPhone here – https://www.superawesomecare.com/allergy-card.

Super Awesome Care is in pre-launch for the medical expert services, and you can join their mailing list for updates here, https://www.superawesomecare.com/access-code/request.

On top of all this, they have a great resources blog, which you can access here https://www.superawesomecare.com/blog. This resource can help any food allergy parent!

Lora (@thatnutfreegirl – 18+ years old)

August 21, 2022 / , , , ,

I had my first reaction at five years old. It was Christmas and I was sat cracking Brazil nuts with a metal nut cracker. I wasn’t eating any of them, just enjoying the mess I was making! At some point I rubbed my hand across my mouth and immediately felt my lips start to tingle. I took myself off to look in the mirror and called to my mum, “my lips are bumping up”. One call to the doctor and some antihistamines later, I was shaken, but back to normal. As I got older I started to suffer with food anxiety and avoided any foods that I hadn’t prepared myself. Having a life-threatening nut allergy from a young age made me fearful of any social or unfamiliar situation – I carried two epipens and a pack of antihistamine everywhere I went, avoided any situation where food would be served, and only ate things I had prepared myself. I started following people with similar allergies to mine, and used them as sources of ‘safe’ food finds. Recently I have had skin prick and blood tests to further diagnose which nuts I am allergic to. This has helped me to feel more confident in trying new things and I have recently started eating in restaurants which has been a huge (and scary) step!

Olivia (>1 year old)

August 21, 2022 / , , , , ,

Olivia was a really settled baby for the first 2 weeks of her life and then all of a sudden spent weeks screaming, wouldn’t be put down, had dry rash skin, reflux and lose mucus stools that often contained blood… I thought she was just a ‘fussy’ baby as id read it was unlikely for a breastfed baby to have a milk allergy… I’d got so used to it but I soon realized there was more to it, I took her straight to the doctors and she was put on nutramigen which did not help at all (being breastfed babies are usually put straight on an amino acid based milk as they are highly sensitive due to reacting through breast milk where it’s quite broken down) so we ended up on neocate LCP and she soon became a different baby in every way! Smiling, settled and happy! Her reflux also settled! We are now weaning and so far it’s going well… we had a reaction which we believe was due to fish but I’m yet to introduce it again to check for a second reaction and we have cut out soya now just as a precaution as she’s had bad nappies but we believe they are down to teething! We hope to start the milk ladder in the future. I did a lot of research on the internet… I found out a lot of information on the NHS website but mainly through Facebook support groups about CMPA! They have been a life saver seeing other real peoples experiences as well as being able to ask similar parents/caters questions!

Alexis (@alexisallergic – 18+ years old)

August 21, 2022 / ,

I never had a food allergy until I turned 24 and it happened out of the blue. One day I’m fine, the next I’m going into anaphylaxis over things that I ate literally everyday. It took 3 years to finally get a diagnosis of Hereditary Alpha Tryptasemia (MCAS) and another year to get a diagnosis of Churg Strauss Vasculitis, and over 10+ specialists. I still struggle daily because my allergies aren’t consistent and it’s hard to “stay strong”.

Allergucation

August 25, 2022

Allergucation!

Allergucation is dedicated to spreading awareness and an understanding of food allergies within the food and beverage industry. It is Allergucation’s strong belief that everyone deserves to enjoy dinner out from time to time. Unfortunately, due to food allergies, not everyone feels safe to do so. Through education and protocols, Allergucation strives to prepare restaurants with the tools needed to work with customers with allergies. Making dining out safe for everyone.
You can find out more at allergucation.com

Shae Averaimo (@shaeallergy_07 – 15 years old)

August 3, 2022 / , , , , ,

I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy when I was 6 months old. When I was a baby, I had skin rashes, vomited after I ate, lost weight, and cried a lot. My parents took me to my pediatrician and that is when I was diagnosed. I had my first anaphylactic reaction at 1 year old after eating a small piece of cheese. That is when I saw an allergist and started carrying an Epipen. I am now 15 years old and I did not outgrow my allergy. Unfortunately, it is still just as severe as it was when I was a baby. I have learned how to manage my allergy in all aspects of my life. I was diagnosed by my doctor so I did not use any websites to diagnose. My family and I frequently use information from FARE’s website. I also use the Spokin app.

@ollie.eats.food (1 year old)

October 5, 2022 / , , ,

We first realized Ollie had an allergy when he reacted to a new formula. Large white welts spread across his face wherever it had touched his skin. After a hospital trip, blood tests and skin prick tests, we found out he had Cows Milk Protein Allergy along with peanut and egg allergy. We avoid all of these foods and he’s thriving and happy. I found the Instagram allergy community so helpful and supportive. We follow lots of fellow parents/children who also suffer allergies. They’re always full of great tips and meal inspiration.

Lauren (18+ years old)

January 5, 2022 / , , ,

From when I was a baby I was able to eat all foods and was able to have everything. I had no issues with food until my late teens when it all started. In 2017/18 I noticed that I would become unwell soon after eating meals/snacks and first thought that it could have been a bug but then noticed it was happening more regularly and only after I had certain foods which had dairy in them. This then lead me to think that I could be dairy intolerant, so I spoke to the doctor and after a discussion with them I was referred to the dietitian. Before my appointment I had to keep a food diary to track what I was eating and what reaction I was having after it, when I went to my appointment we discussed my symptoms and after our discussion it was decided that I was to avoid dairy completely from my diet. Then a couple years later I began to start becoming unwell again after meals/snacks and thought like I did with the dairy, is it a bug? But no it turned out that I was becoming unwell with egg, then a few months later I was becoming unwell again and because I had already taken dairy and egg out of my diet, the only other allergen I had eaten was gluten/wheat! So I then spoke to the doctor and got another referral to the dietitians; I had to do another food diary, when I spoke to them I discussed about how I was becoming unwell after having egg and gluten/wheat and that it just seems to be one thing after another I am now not able to have. So they said that I should remove them completely from my diet and to start taking multivitamins daily to help make sure I am still getting the nutrients. I’ve also had allergic reactions to vegan cheese as well where my neck and lips become really itchy and my throat and tongue become tingly, so I avoid this too! I’m still currently avoiding all dairy, egg and gluten/wheat and all vegan cheeses. But sometime not in the near future I might reintroduced these one by one in small amounts. I used the NHS website a lot when figuring out symptoms, and google in general. I also got good leaflets from my couple of appointments from the dietitians as well.