My son has an anaphylactic allergy to all dairy. He tests positive, but fairly low to peanut and has never been exposed and has many other allergens listed here. Below, I have shared two similar stories with two very different reactions, both about food allergies. It shows how my family reacts to allergens that we DO allow and that we do NOT allow in our home. Have you experienced something similar?
We allow dairy products in our home. My son lives around dairy every day. It wasn’t something to fear because he has been taught how to live around it. He respects it.
We do not allow peanut products in our home. Peanuts are not something that he sees every day and therefore he is not comfortable around it. He and I both have a tendency to fear it.
Yes. But I have taught him to wash up immediately after touching an allergen and after breaking out in hives. The reaction goes away on it’s own with no help from anti-histamines, even his most severe allergy.
Heck NO! In our house, there is no guarantee that the crumbs on the floor are allergy free. Not to mention…yuk!
NO again! Why? Because he lives in a home where everything is not safe, therefore he has to be completely aware, all of the time, of what he is putting in his body. Please notice…I said he needs to be aware…not fearful. And because he remembers what happened when he DID eat someone else’s food…read that story here. In no way am I saying to let your child run free eating whatever they want in hopes of them learning on their own. There MUST be strict rules and guidelines when allowing allergenic foods in the home.
Don’t you want a safe place for your son to never have to worry about allergies?
No, I feel it creates bad habits and is unrealistic. It does decrease the chance of him having a reaction AT HOME. But I don’t believe it’s beneficial for living in the real world.
Think of it this way… I can tell which of my son’s friends have to take their shoes off in their own homes. It’s an automatic habit; enter house, close door, take off shoes, go off and play. Those friends automatically do it when they enter my house too, even though we do not have that rule, because it’s a habit. Well, I want my son to automatically read labels and question everything that he puts into his mouth. The only way I feel that he will do that is to make it a habit and won’t become a habit unless he lives it at home every day.
Why do we allow dairy and not peanuts in our home?
Good question. Our son was only ten months old when he was diagnosed with seven food allergies. Our older son, who has no allergies, was five at the time of diagnosis and it seemed cruel to take so many foods out of his diet. Also, when I asked our allergist this very question he told me that when he has peanut allergic patients he asks the parents to take peanuts out of the home, but because of the amount of our son’s allergies and his age (he was ten months old) he didn’t feel that was necessary.
Don’t you think it’s cruel eating food in front of him that he’s allergic to?
No. That’s his life, his normal. If he were in a wheelchair, would I stop walking?? If he was deaf, would I wear earplugs? Of course not. Instead of expecting others to share his disability, I prefer to teach everyone to respect them.
Do you allow allergens in your home? Did your allergist or someone else suggest to rid your house of any and all allergens? Do you feel like I’m putting my son in danger by allowing foods that he is allergic to in our home? I want to hear from you! Comment below, comment on Facebook, send me an email easybreezyfoodallergies@gmail.com
Elizabeth
Food Allergy Bitch says
What a fun blog! I look forward to reading through it.
And no, I don't think you're putting your son in danger. Whether to keep allergens is a very personal decision that involves convenience, balancing the needs of other siblings and the severity of reactions. My son is anaphylactic to milk, yet we have always kept many milk-containing foods in the house because his sister benefits greatly from the dairy.
The down-side is that my husband screwed up one time and my son had an anaphylactic reaction that involved a hospital trip. That was unfortunate…but I still think the positives outweigh the negatives.
The Larsens says
In our house we are also peanut/nut avoiders amongst many other foods. My son has a pretty high allergy to most nuts and milk. We also keep these foods in our house. Nut products are kept up high on a shelf and are usually only consumed by my hubby and I after our son has went to sleep (butterfingers are just too hard for me to give up 😉 ) . Dairy is found very easily in our house. It's hard to make our daughters give it up also. So since our son was little we have taught him what he can and can't have, and he is very aware of it. Like your son, he would NEVER try something without knowing if it was ok for him to have. In most cases I feel pretty confident that he already knows if he can or can't have it. I agree with you that it's important for them to be aware not scared of the food around them.
I'm so excited that I have found your blog. I look forward to being able to follow it. It's so nice to know our family is not alone in this food allergy/EoE world! 🙂
Haley says
Our home is almost exactly like yours, we allow dairy but try and avoid peanuts in the home. My son is anaphylactic to dairy. He has only had mild reactions to peanuts but has not had them since he was just over a year old. He's 5.5 now.