Allergies – A Learning Curve
When children with life-threatening allergies start daycare, preschool or school, there can be a steep learning curve for all involved. Mums, Therese and Tarin, tell their stories.
Like many four year olds, Therese's daughter Chloe, and Tarin's son, Mitchell, are excited to be starting preschool this February. But these families will face special challenges, due to Chloe and Mitchell having life-threatening allergies. Families who have children diagnosed with such severe allergies undergo a steep learning curve in learning how to manage their child's condition.
When it comes time for daycare, preschool or school, there is often a learning curve for teachers and other families - as it is a shared strategy in keeping a safe environment for the affected child.
Mums, Therese and Tarin, tell their stories.Find support from other parents undergoing the allergy learning curve, in the Allergy and Food Intolerances forum.
Therese:
Our family consists of me (Therese), Greg, and our two delightful girls. Jessie is six and Chloe is four. Chloe has many food and environmental allergies. She is anaphylactic to dairy and nuts and allergic to soy, wheat, eggs, tomatoes, and fish. She is intolerant to almost all other foods as well. Her diet consists of pears, rice, a little bit of celery and her prescription formula.
When did you first discover that your child has allergies?
I knew from quite an early age that Chloe had some allergy issues. She started refluxing almost as soon as I began breastfeeding. I soon discovered that when I ate dairy she became incredibly unsettled. So I cut dairy out of my diet.
She still refluxed, and over time, medication did not help with the reflux. She didn't sleep, and was always unsettled. I had a history of allergies so we were referred to a gastroenterologist and paediatric allergist.
When Chloe was 10 months old she had her first lot of allergy testing, which confirmed that she had an array of allergies. She was put on a special elemental formula, and remains on that today.
Back in the beginning of our allergy journey, I hadn't really thought of the future in regards to Chloe's allergies. Since then there have been moments when I am overwhelmed by it all.
We had thought that by age four she would be eating more foods and that her allergies may have lessened in severity. That doesn't look like happening any time soon.
What is life like on a day-to-day basis when you have a child with severe allergies?
Our day-to-day life is different than most other people's lives in some ways. We need to consider what food will be at certain places before we go there.
Food is everywhere and so there are no casual visits to anywhere any more. Even playgrounds can be dangerous as there are often children eating ice creams - and for Chloe being touched by dairy is enough to give her a bad reaction.
We live with an element of fear now. We have to keep a much closer eye on her than we did with Jessie at the same age.
Things like restaurant visits are a thing of the past. We carry adrenalin and an antihistamine with us at all times. Even with this we have been advised to be no more than 20 minutes from a hospital.
Life for us involves being very proactive about keeping her safe at all times. But then she is also a typical four year old as well - and she loves books, dogs and terrorising her older sister. Even though she has special needs, she still does the same things as other children her age - we just have a bit of a different way of getting there. So her life is still very normal.
What special practices has your child's new preschool had to adopt to accommodate your child?
Chloe is starting preschool this year. She is going to a community-based preschool where we live, and they are being very proactive in helping making her time there safe. They are implementing new hand washing procedures to help with accidental exposure.
The preschool has a nut-free policy already, which the parents have taken on board. Chloe will be sitting at a table only ever used by her. She will have either a teacher or aide with her at all times during meal times.
On the days Chloe is there they won't do craft activities that involve food. They will also be very open with the other children about Chloe's allergies. They are really prepared to do a lot to make Chloe safe and we are so grateful to them for being so fantastic about this.
What have been the different reactions from family, friends and others in regards to your child's allergies?
We have been mostly very lucky. Most of our friends and family are more than happy to keep Chloe safe and won't eat any nuts before we see them, and are happy to change their food habits.
We have lost friends who have seen it as all too hard, but we have also gained friends - and the friends we now have will be life long friends. Some people find it hard to believe I think... and those are the friendships that have fallen along the wayside.
Essential Baby has been an incredible support to me throughout our allergy journey. Back when Chloe was initially diagnosed, there was another mum with a baby who had allergies, and we talked a lot about our feelings and our girls' allergies. Knowing there was someone who knew what we were going through was fantastic.
I have made great friends from EB who have children with allergies and intolerances. These friendships have been of great support both to me and to Chloe - she now has friends that have limited diets as well. EB has truly helped in terms of support for me on a day-to-day basis.
Therese
Tarin:
Hi, my name is Tarin. I am married to Craig and am a stay-at-home mum to Mitchell (4) and Noah (2). While being a parent is the most rewarding job in the world, it has also become especially challenging ever since Mitchell was diagnosed with a life-threatening nut allergy.
When did you first discover that your child has allergies?
When Mitchell was between twelve and eighteen months old, he started to develop the most horrible eczema. It was inflamed, weeping and very very sore. No cream seemed to be able control it. After numerous doctor visits, I saw a different doctor - who took one look at Mitchell's history of eczema and said she believed it was food related. She then wrote me a referral to an allergist.
I arrived at the allergist's clinic very under-prepared. I guess because Mitch had never had an extreme reaction, I wasn't overly concerned. A couple of hours later, my world changed. Mitch was diagnosed with allergies to egg, fish, grass, dust, and an extreme allergy to peanuts.
I was shocked and was then shown some videos full of information, and also given a course in administering an EpiPen. Luckily my mum was there with me - as I was too much in shock to be able to process much of the information.
What is life like on a day-to-day basis when you have a child with severe allergies?
Life then changed dramatically after Mitch's diagnosis of having such severe allergies. All our family menus changed. We now take our own food everywhere.
Mitchell has never eaten nuts, so has never had an anaphylactic reaction. It is believed that if he did, his airways would start to swell, constricting his breathing. He must carry an EpiPen at all times. He did have a reaction once from going to a house where they were eating peanuts. When we arrived, they quickly put the peanuts away and washed everything down - but within 10 minutes Mitchell's face had blown up to the size of a balloon and his eyes were nearly shut.
I quickly gave him antihistamine and started driving to the closest hospital, which was 30 minutes away. Another 15 minutes later and another dose of antihistamine, and he was fine. But it terrifies me - if that is the reaction from peanut essence in the air, what would he be like if he actually ate one?
Mitchell's allergies to dust and grass are not severe. They are controlled by antihistamine. They mainly flare in windy weather. It is a bit like hay fever. He has antihistamine most mornings to control this. Since cutting out his minor allergies - to egg, fish and controlling dust and grass - Mitchell's eczema is almost non-existent. He has occasional flare-ups, such as after being at a picnic in a park, but these can be controlled by steroid cream.
What special practices has your child's new preschool had to adopt to accommodate your child?
This year we see the challenge of kindergarten. (Note: in Victoria, kindergarten is the same as preschool in some other States)
Mitch is actually not going to our closest kinder as the food policies there were very lax and we won't expose him to that.
The kinder he is attending is a fruit-only kinder. The teachers had EpiPen training in November last year in anticipation of Mitch attending. I also have a meeting scheduled for the week before kinder starts to go through his medical pack with the teachers, at which time I'll be fully explaining his allergies and needs.
At the parent information meeting, it was stressed to all parents that there was going to be a child attending with severe allergies and that no food other than fruit would be accepted.
School next year will be a completely different story. We did have a preferred school until a lovely EB member informed me that this school still serves peanut butter in their canteen and did not have any food policies.
Mitch's face starts to swell in the presence of nuts so we are widening our search for a school. Today Mitch is four and a half and looking forward to kinder. He is well aware of his nut allergy and is always asking, "Mum does this have nuts in it?"
He will not eat any foods that I haven't supplied to him. What have been the different reactions from family, friends and others in regards to your child's allergies?
I am sorry to say that I have lost friends over it - people who decided we were too hard to have over for visits and playtimes. Extended family have had to adjust too. Mitch is left with very few people - just family and a few close friends.
I have regular discussion with other Essential Baby mums about allergy issues, and also through them I have joined an online support group. I read a recent topic in the EB discussion forums - where some parents believed that if children are that allergic they should be home schooled. I don't believe this. Although it is hard to put your trust in someone else - Mitch needs the environment of both kinder and school to prosper and reach his full potential. Yes he has a nut allergy but he should not be discriminated against because of it.
Tarin
=============================================================================================
Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of allergic reaction and is potentially life threatening. It must be treated as a medical emergency, requiring immediate treatment and urgent medical attention.
Anaphylaxis is a generalised allergic reaction, which often involves more than one body system (e.g. skin, respiratory, gastro-intestinal, cardiovascular). A severe allergic reaction usually occurs within 20 minutes of exposure to the trigger and can rapidly become life threatening.
=============================================================================================http://www.allergyfacts.org.au
