When I think of food allergies I think of peanuts, blue cheese, and milk. They can feel mythical to people when they don’t have to deal with them as an everyday thing. I know of kids who are highly allergic to peanuts that need to have an EpiPen. I am allergic to blue cheese and I am lactose intolerant. If I mistakenly eat blue cheese, my throat will swell up and I will break out in hives. I’ve only eaten it mistakenly once when I was at a buffet. The Blue Cheese dressing was mistakenly labeled as Ranch.

New Food Allergy

My food allergy is very manageable. I can recognize moldy cheese, I always let a restaurant know I can not eat it, and I avoid buffet Ranch dressing if there is blue cheese present. I switched from milk to Lactaid and keep my ice cream eating to two scoops every now and then. No one else in my family had food allergies. Until now.

Being Logical About Food Allergies

A.K.A. Trying Not To Worry

A few weeks Emmett’s allergy tests came in and I was shocked he had so many food allergies. Admittedly I felt panicked at first. I called his doctor’s office 3 times. Just in case they didn’t get my message, or the note at the front desk went missing, or to see if a nurse could talk to me in case the doctor never got a chance to call me back…. Yes. I am a natural worry wart. I mean, what if I fed him something for lunch or dinner that he shouldn’t be eating? Then I stopped to think about the past almost 7 years and realized he hasn’t had any severe reactions to food. After that, I did what I love to do when I have questions. I researched.

One article claimed the test he took has a lot of false positives. You can’t believe everything you read on the internet. I don’t think his doctor would waste the time on the test if that were the case so I don’t think that is an accurate assumption. I ignored that and kept searching. Next, I started reading about food allergies with mild reactions similar to what I have if I drink milk or eat too much ice cream. The reason we got the allergy test is because Emmett kept getting a rash on the back of his hands. I thought maybe it was the soap he has been using or severe eczema. The allergy test was supposed to find some environmental allergen that could be causing it. I never thought it could be food related. Now I know.

The doctor called me back that evening and explained what all those numbers and classes of allergy mean. I am relieved to know that his food allergies are less severe. I still need to change what he is eating. That means I need to change the things I buy at the grocery store, the way I order food at restaurants, and I’m going to make sure we have some allergy cards on hand wherever we go.

Now that my son has lots of food allergies on his file (even low reaction ones), the allergies of others seem much more real everyday things. It’s a bit overwhelming but I know I will get the hang of it all soon. Emmett and I having been making an apple, cinnamon, and brown sugar oatmeal recipe for breakfast and he loves it. We are making a list of different ones to try and experiment with allergy free substitutes for him.

Do Your Kids Have Food Allergies?

Share how you handle your child’s food allergies. Talk about allergy cards. Post your favorite allergy free recipe books. List tips for eating out at restaurants. Whatever ideas or suggestions you have for parents of kids with food allergies would be great!