"Can It Really Be Life Long?"

Ya know... some questions that are asked of me, I don't mind fielding.  Not everyone knows about the severity allergies can play in the life of a person.  In fact, most people will actually ask me if I named Allegra after the allergy medicine. C'mon... Seriously people!!!

Most people, when they think of allegies, think of runny noses, lots of sneezing, watery eyes, and a whole lotta tissue.  More often than not, they do not realize that all too often, allergies can and are fatal.  According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, a recent nationwide survey revealed about 15o deaths per year are attributed to food allergies, and 4o result from insect stings, and that is not counting deaths from allergens such as latex. That may not seem like a lot compared to the number of people there are in our country, but in my opinion, that is 19o too many. 

As I was web surfing today, I came across an article that I had heard about from my Allergist.  It is about desensitizing people with peanut allergies, and one of the trials highlighted was done at National Jewish Hospital in Denver, CO., which is one of the leading hospitals in the allergy and gastrointestinal field.  In this article, it explains how peanut extract or a placebo were injected into the patients in this study to see if they could desensitize the afflicted to their allergen.  The study was never completed as it was haulted when a child died from laryngospasm, which is when food is swallowed, the protiens produce immediate swelling that spreads to the vocal cords. If the vocal cords swell shut, the person is unable to breathe and dies with terrifying rapidity.  Some patients in the study experienced anaphylactic shock, which is when food is swallowed, sometimes not even digest, and the person goes into shock and dies...sometime up to several hours later (biphasic reaction).

The article goes on to list another study, some facts about nut allergies, and the medical support and knowledge needed to aid in avoidance and to react during a reaction.  One key point in this article adresses a question that is all to often asked of me in regards to Andante's allergies.

"Children with life-threatening food allergies do not grow out of them...  Life-threatening allergies to tree nuts and peanuts must be considered lifelong conditions." ~Dr. Alan Greene, MD FAAP

Andante has life-threatening allergies to peanuts (tree nuts are not tested this young but total avoidance is recommended), lupine beans, milk, eggs, and yellow dyes.  And this is only what we know of, since he was only tested for the Top 8 food allergens.  Though a very informative and well written article, it does NOT adress the issue of odor and touch anaphylactic reactions, which afflict my son.

The article does go on to mention having a good Allergist and lots of support around you.  Thankfully, we are blessed with an amazing amount of support, understanding, and help from our family, our friends, our neighborhood, and our support group Terrific Kids With Food Allergies (shout out!).  Without them, it would be a very lonely and difficult road.  Thank you to all of you who are traveling on this journey with us.

Again, some questions that are asked of me, I don't mind fielding. Not everyone knows about the severity allergies can play in the life of a person.  Now, you have the knowledge to one of your questions.   I can only hope the next question you pose to me,  I can help you to understand the answer.


Seriously!

TinaMarie

If you would like to read the article in it's entirety, you can access it by clicking the links above when you see the word article, or you can access it by following this link:  Fatal Nut Allergy