Tarah Jakubiak
I was rushed to the hospital when I was an infant as I stopped breathing after consuming one of my allergens (dairy).
dairy
Payton (@The Allergy Strategy – 18+ years old)
When I was a baby, I was constantly sick anytime I would eat anything with dairy, but it was my first bite of mac and cheese that sent me into anaphylactic shock. After this, the doctors ran tests to diagnose my other, equally as severe, allergies to peanuts, eggs, fish, and shellfish. While I have not grown out of my allergies as we had hoped that I would, I would say we have overcome them mentally by changing our attitude towards my allergies. When I say “our” I mean to include my family, as I know I could not have had the full life that I have despite my food allergies without them. The road hasn’t been easy, but I have learned to see the blessing in the struggle. For one, not a day or a meal goes by that I am not grateful for the safe foods that I can eat. Secondly, my allergies have inspired me to reach out to the greater food allergy community, and have fueled my passion for helping others with severe food allergies which has inspired me to consider adding a Nutrition track as my second major, so I will be able to work as a registered dietitian specializing in helping children with severe food allergies. My greatest hope is to encourage anyone with food allergies to not let it hold them back mentally or make them feel any less than anyone else! Our differences shouldn’t be seen as a hindrance, but as a unique gift that we get to use for good if we decide to.
My allergies primarily involve avoidance of the foods, so no medication on a regular basis, however, I never leave the house without Benadryl, my inhaler, and my EpiPen. I have kept up with my allergist for skin testing and blood tests to keep tabs on the status of my allergies, so I have never had to search for information on my own based on my symptoms. I will say, though, that we are constantly researching new allergy finds and studies, and actually considered OIT, Oral Immunotherapy, as a possibility after a great deal of research a few years back! In general, FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) is a wonderful resource for food allergy news, but there are many more up and coming resource and informational platforms that I have recently discovered such as EpiCenter and the EpiCenter app by AssureTech.
theallergykids (1 year old)
Lactation consultant suggested CMPA, after cutting dairy the list of other allergens grew to soya, egg and peanut confirmed on skin prick test and food challenge. We are still awaiting our youngest to outgrow his allergies. My eldest had an allergic reaction to me eating cashew nuts and after A LOT of fighting with the GP we finally got allergy testing. This confirmed a tree nut allergy which we carry EpiPens for her now. She too is yet to outgrow her allergies but we are hopeful.
Both kids have piriton for first line reactions. We also carry EpiPens for my eldest in case of anaphylaxis. I contacted Allergy UK directly for information and helped get a diagnosis for my eldest and her butt allergy.
With my youngest cmpa through breast milk I had a close friend and I also read through all the information on the Dylan and me blog. Super helpful!
Amanda (18+ years old)
I was born with rashes, leaving my mom to suspect I suffered from food allergies since my first day. However, I was not properly diagnosed until I was 4 years old. My mom was taking me in and out of doctors who couldn’t figure out why the rashes were starting. Most just gave her creams to help them go away but that never helps. It took until one doctor finally suggested an allergist and we learned I was allergic to dairy, shellfish, and red meat. I never grew out of my allergies. They expanded instead. Today, I am allergic to dairy, soy, corn, gluten, shellfish, nightshades, and coconut.
We kept up with the trends of FARE. Recently, we discovered Spokin to help us find new food allergy brands.
A’s story (5 years old)
I suspected he had allergies. When he stopped eating dairy/egg/nut products I noticed a considerable difference in his eczema. He was not offered an allergy test, I was advised to give him allergens through my weaning journey – one spoonful of dairy and we were in hospital – another taste of cooked egg and we were in hospital. His doctors diagnosed his allergies based on his reaction to the food introduced during weaning. He used an adrenaline pen, Jext, piriton, and an asthma pump inhaler.
Jenna Tso (18+ years old)
When I was first born, I was given formula in the hospital that I reacted to because it had dairy in it. At the time, food allergies were poorly understood and rarely diagnosed. My mom had to go to multiple doctors to get my allergies tested and a doctor said I was diagnosed with a milk allergy. She also had to go on an elimination diet to see what it was in her breast milk that was making me react severely. I have never outgrown or overcome my dairy allergy, it is still anaphylactic and actually has gotten worse with age.
I use EpiPens, Albuterol Inhaler, daily Zyrtec, Benadryl as needed, and daily Flonase. I have asthma, food allergies, and other allergies to dust and animals so these help me keep that in check.
Ham (1 year old)
I knew from birth since he was born with a weird rash all over his face and body. I knew that allergies would play a part in these skin issues since I myself have skin issues related to foods and so does my other daughter. Months go by and we start experiencing worsening eczema and vomiting… although my breast milk was 100% dairy free, he was still having severe reactions after drinking breast milk so I decided to find a formula option that might help him. I switched to a soy formula so I could allow dairy to completely leave his body which cleared up the vomiting issues we were having but the eczema still persisted especially around his eyes, arms and legs. At 4 months we were able to get a scratch test done which proved a dairy allergy and a severe egg allergy as well. I was cooking and consuming eggs daily in our home and he was exposed to them via breast milk and through skin contact. That day we became a complete egg free home and much of his eczema started healing. From then on we have been on the allergy journey slowly introducing foods one at a time mostly with negative results but luckily we have a handful of good safe foods. We fight allergies and eczema daily in our home and continue on our journey figuring out what this little one can and cannot be around. Currently he is allergic to eggs, dairy, peas, dogs, clover, bananas, and other fruits and veggies that we suspect could be a form of oral allergy syndrome. We hope our journey can help spread knowledge and awareness about how people living with allergies face life everyday from birth and beyond.We use topical steroids, Benadryl when needed, and an EpiPen prescription.
@foodallergyinspiration – 5 years old
My little girl has been allergic since birth. She had a hard time gaining weight and would react to anything I ate when I would nurse her. She had eczema all over and stomach issues. Finally around 4 months we got referred to allergy. We found she had a dairy allergy so I eliminated dairy from my diet and finally found her a formula she could tolerate. As we introduced new foods we would notice she would react to them. Before she was a year old we had her tested and confirmed allergies to eggs, soy, peaches, carrots, celery, peas, avocado, bananas, watermelon, and peanut. As time went on the list grew to include coconut, sunflower, figs, nuts, and beef. Most of these items were because of reactions she would have when eating them and then skin and/or blood testing to confirm she was allergic. Over time she has been able tolerate carrots, celery, watermelon, banana, and soy! We are hoping to get even more items off the list!
We carry an EpiPen everywhere we go, as well as Benadryl, a syringe, and hydrocortisone ointment. We also use Zyrtec and steroid creams as needed. She used to get hives and itchy hands all the time but that has gotten better as she’s gotten older. Someone gave us a subscription to Allergic Living magazine and that was very helpful! We also used a lot of info from FARE and Kids with Food Allergies. Recently, we joined instagram and there is a whole community of allergy families with lots of info and tips to share!