Epipen

Katie (@Katiehollcreative – 9 years old)

March 22, 2023 / , , , , , , , ,

Our first experience with food allergies was when our oldest, now nine, had her first reaction at 6 months old at daycare. There were certainly symptoms she experienced prior that could have alerted us to food allergies, such as eczema and excessive spitting up after eating, but it was initially always diagnosed as reflux until she had formula mixed with her oatmeal. That’s when we had her tested and found out she was allergic to milk, egg, peanut, and tree nuts. Fast forward, all three of our children have multiple food allergies, some anaphylactic. Between the three, we manage milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, and shrimp. We’ve done some oral challenges and have been able to cross some off, but each has epipens and also our oldest two have asthma.

We didn’t get a lot of information from our allergist apart from “avoid these foods” so it was a big learning curve navigating this new lifestyle. I found lots of useful information on the Food Allergy Research and Education’s (FARE) site and after a few years, found some great Facebook groups to connect and learn from others in the community. Other useful sites were FAACT and Allergic Living. I also wrote a children’s book about multiple food allergies to help educate and bring more awareness to the community in general.

Harper (@anaphylactic_kid – 3 years old)

January 26, 2023 / , , , , , , ,

From the moment we started introducing foods to Harper at 6 months old we had problems itchy hives rashes etc. She is our only child so we didn’t know what it was. Even thought it must be normal for babies when they eat certain foods. We got to see an allergist who tested her for eggs and sent us home with Epipens, recommended watching YouTube videos to learn how to use them. 2 years (and lots of hospital visitors for testing, anaphylaxis and check ups) go by and having hot rock bottom after witnessing a very serious anaphylactic shock that nearly took my beloved baby from us. We joined Instagram as a way to connect with others like us and find support… boy did we find support love friends and the answer to our prayers @socalfoodallergy provide a treatment for food allergies like Harper’s and she’s now half way through treatment and should be at complete food freedom by the time she starts school. None of this would have been possible without the amazing people who found us via Instagram. Forever grateful that we get to share our journey with you all.

I reached out to a Facebook moms group who informed me it wasn’t normal and to book to see my GP. I attended zoom meeting ups with other moms of kids with allergies and that’s were I first heard about @socalfoodallergy later on @natashasfoundation contacted me to feature our story on their page. And another mum who was doing to TIP program reached out to me to tel me about this life changing treatment. Our lives have changed so much and the best is yet to come.

Emma & Emmett (@VanessaCutting – 16 years old)

October 14, 2022 / , , , , , ,

My daughter was a little less than a year maybe 9 months old and started breaking out in these horrible rashes. I took her to the pediatrician but they blamed it on me taking her flying at such a young age (but my family lived in Fl and I lived in Baltimore so I wasn’t not going to visit them it didn’t make sense), the pediatrician then blamed it on the fact that I didn’t breast feed my daughter and that is why she had a rash. So needless to say I switched Dr ‘s and instantly they had us allergy test. My son I had a feeling since birth but he was a NICU baby so he was a little more on the complicated side but none the less I had him tested as soon as he came home from the hospital. Call it a Mother’s Gut feeling I just knew. But yet again another Dr this time they said he has cystic fibrosis but i knew it was food allergies. My son would projectile vomit and diarrhea constantly.

No websites used, I did not but in 2006 there wasn’t much info out there. I mean I had to have a DR’s note and notarized to carry an epi-pen on a plane. They were not common. And in 2010 there was some info out but not a lot and I did a lot of research on mom blogs since Pinterest was just coming out. But besides that this journey has been trail and error and me never giving up for my kids sake and for their food allergies.

 Omar (15 years old)

October 5, 2022 / , , , ,

Diagnosed with Milk protein allergy as an infant at age 4 months. Diagnosed with tree nut allergies after anaphylaxis at age 2.

My son can tolerate small amounts of dairy but doesn’t eat it often. He’s outgrown some nut allergies but not all.

Used Epi-pen for emergencies only.

Diagnosed before there was information available.

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!

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.