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For the last few years, the number of Americans going on gluten-free diets has increased. It make sense: Doctors are diagnosing more people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
But a strange thing is happening: People who don’t have either condition are cutting gluten out of their diet in an effort to lose weight and cleanse their system. And that could lead to health problems—and even weight gain. Read More
For the last eight months, my wife and I have been focusing on managing our son’s multiple food allergies from day to day. We haven’t thought much about the future: Feeding him when he’s allergic to wheat, eggs, corn, soy, peanuts, and chicken is time-consuming enough.
But in this season of hope, we’re finally starting to look at what life in the buffet line might be like for Graeme in a few years. Read More
Trying to help your severely allergic child enjoy the good things in life without risking his life can be challenging. Unless you’re blessed enough to live in a big city with bakers who produce gluten- and allergen-free breads and sweets, you have only two options: Learn to bake or order your goodies online.
My wife and I have been doing a bit of both since our son was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. We’re using a combination of local and online grocers to buy not only finished products, but also ingredients (like rice flour and xanthan gum). Here are a few online allergen-free food sellers we’ve tried. Read More
When my wife and I tell people that our son, Graeme, is allergic to wheat, most of them assume he has a gluten intolerance or celiac disease. When I explain that he actually has a wheat allergy, which is different, they usually look confused.
I don’t blame them. Until my son developed severe food allergies, I had no idea there was a difference between an allergy and a food intolerance. But the distinction is important. An allergy is an autoimmune reaction to a foreign substance such as certain proteins found in peanuts. That reaction can cause: Read More
With two children under 5 years of age, our family gets invited to a lot of birthday parties. Since the beginning of school, we have been to at least one celebration every other week. The themes are similar and so are the treats—cakes and ice cream laden with allergens our son Graeme can’t have.
Typically, we come prepared with allergen-free cookies and crackers. Since it’s our child who has the food allergies, we feel the burden is on us—not the hosts—to provide treats Graeme can eat. Besides, in the Deep South, organizing an autumn birthday party already requires significant accommodation between football games and naps. Read More
In our house, there are two kinds of allergies. There are our son Graeme’s multiple food allergies and there are our daughter Elise’s recently developed sympathetic allergies.
Over the last six months, we’ve learned a lot about how to manage Graeme’s condition; I’ve even learned how to bake without essential ingredients such as wheat, eggs, and corn starch.
But Elise’s problems are more esoteric. For example, she’s recently announced allergies to aliens, beavers, and throw-up—mainly other people’s vomit, but she’s pretty certain she’s allergic to her own as well. She also frequently complains about phantom headaches, tummy aches, and pain in her elbow. Being 4 years old, it’s hard for her to keep track of which elbow hurts. Read More
A few years ago, a scary story made international news: A 15-year-old girl had apparently died from an allergic reaction after being kissed by her peanut-butter-loving boyfriend. Amid headlines (such as Girl Dies in Peanut-Butter Kiss), a Canadian allergy group began planning a big awareness campaign, and the millions of people with severe food allergies added intimacy to the long list of things they worried about.
But a funny thing happened on the way to a full-fledged smooching panic. The Quebec-based coroner who investigated the girl’s death reported the cause was not anaphylaxis related to her boyfriend’s peanut-butter-laced kiss. In fact, the teen had died from an unrelated asthma attack.
Still, it raised the question: When you have a food allergy, can a show of affection turn into the kiss of death? Read More
In the last six months—ever since my youngest child was diagnosed with a sensitivity to wheat, peanuts, eggs, corn, soy, and chicken—children’s food allergies have been a constant topic of conversation whenever my wife and I get together with other parents. And everyone says the same thing: “There seems to be more kids with food allergies than there were when we growing up!”
As it turns out, there actually are more kids with food allergies nowadays, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which released a report last week confirming that the number of young people with a food allergy has increased 18% in the last 10 years alone. The CDC estimates that three million kids have a food or digestive allergy.
However, no one really knows why allergies are on the rise. Even the CDC did not speculate about the cause of the upswing. But there are a number of plausible and implausible theories for this burgeoning allergy epidemic. Read More
It’s hard to believe our allergy-afflicted toddler is about to turn 2. In a week or so, we’ll celebrate his birthday, but I can’t help to think about last year’s party, which should have clued us in to his multiple food allergies six months before we ever went to the allergist.
Graeme had endured major eczema and minor breathing issues since birth, but the cause was unclear. Once he dove into his first birthday cake, it should have been obvious. Read More
It’s nearly flu season and my wife and I are in a quandary about how to protect our severely allergic son, Graeme. With a normal kid (older than 6 months), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the flu shot—with good reason. Each year more than 20,000 kids under 5 are hospitalized due to complications from the flu, according to the CDC.
And Graeme, who has asthma, falls into one of the highest risk groups for flu complications, such as bacterial pneumonia or increased asthma attacks.
But he’s also highly allergic to eggs, which means he isn’t supposed to get the shot. The flu vaccine is grown in fertilized chicken eggs and a tiny bit of egg protein can be left over in the final dose. If you’re severely allergic to eggs, you can suffer a bad reaction to the shot, which is why most allergists and the CDC do not recommend it for anyone with egg allergies. Which leaves us in a pickle.
Graeme’s doctors weren’t much help. His pediatrician said if Graeme didn’t have a reaction last year (he got the shot before he was diagnosed with his sundry allergies and didn’t react), he’d be fine this year. The allergist said no way; it’s too risky. So, I decided to call in more experts.
Not every child’s egg allergy is a problem when it comes to the flu vaccine, says Henry Bernstein, MD, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases.
When young children are exposed to eggs, “many of the things we see are less severe or local allergic manifestations,” says Dr. Bernstein. “Those are not contraindications to administering flu vaccine. [But] if somebody’s lips swell or they develop breathing difficulties, that’s much more problematic,” he says, indicating that their risk of having a bad reaction to the vaccine is higher. (Still, he recommends that anyone with concern over any severe egg allergy consult his allergist before getting the vaccine.)
When we scratch-tested Graeme for eggs, his allergist characterized his reaction as severe. So, do we leave him wide open to a flu bug or do we take the chance that he won’t have a dangerous reaction to the vaccine?
Both pediatricians and allergists are wrestling with this question right now. In past studies doctors have shown promise vaccinating children with severe egg allergies agains the flu. Earlier this year, for example, researchers presented the results of two small trials where allergic kids received the flu vaccine under the close supervision of allergists.
In one of the studies published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, doctors at the Montreal Children’s Hospital gave vaccinations to 115 children with egg allergies between 2000 and 2006. Most of the patients had asthma (like my son), and some received the vaccine several times during the period of the study.
None had serious allergic reactions. In some cases, doctors tested the vaccine on the skin of patients to see if a reaction would occur before giving them the vaccine. Some patients were also given the vaccine in multiple, smaller doses timed 30 minutes apart. (At least one children’s hospital has developed similar protocols to desensitize children with egg allergies and safely administer the flu vaccine, but the practice is not common.)
Though the work is promising, the researchers in Montreal say additional study is needed to determine if giving doses of the flu vaccine to kids with egg allergies is safe (despite the opinion of a researcher in the other small study).
Until that work is done, there are other ways to protect a child with egg allergies from the flu, says Tony Fiore, MD, an epidemiologist with the CDC and one of the architects of the flu vaccine.
“Try to cocoon your son by getting everyone around him immunized for the flu,” Dr. Fiore says. “That’s the way we deal with kids under 6 months who can’t get the flu vaccine and are at the highest risk for complications.”
Dr. Bernstein agrees. “If they go to a day care with six other kids, let’s hope the six other kids have gotten the flu vaccine,” he says. “One of the reasons we recommend immunizing young children is because they’re great transmitters of the flu to others who won’t do so well if they get the flu.”
We’ve already had a conversation with our day-care provider and the parents of kids who go there. Hopefully, they will get flu shots. Both my wife and I have already gotten ours. If everyone cooperates, and we limit Graeme’s exposure to other groups, his risk of contracting the flu from one of his handlers goes down substantially.
Everyday steps that help fight flu transmission, like washing hands, will also help Graeme, Dr. Bernstein advises. (Here are more tips on how to steer clear of the flu).
And if those efforts fail…
If Graeme does show signs of the flu, Dr. Fiore says antiviral drugs may help. “At first hint of respiratory illness, get your son tested for the flu,” Dr. Fiore says. “Then get antivirals if need be. For them to be effective, they have to be given in the first two days of illness. So it’s something you have to jump on.”
In rare cases, antivirals can also be given to high-risk kids and adults as a preventive measure, such as when a day care experiences an outbreak or during periods of high flu activity in a community, Dr. Fiore says.
We have our marching orders for this flu season. If things pan out in future flu seasons, there may be a safe way for Graeme to get the flu shot. And there’s a good chance he may grow out of his egg allergy, which would mean we could cross the flu vaccine off our enormous list of parenting concerns.
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