Poor kid. My DH is allergic to everything on that list except coconut. Also apples, carrots, chicken, salmon, and tuna. It did not make for an easy childhood.
I have a possible dumb question How do you know/find out your kid has all these allergies? Do they outgrow any of them?
My DH reacted to many of them when exposed as a child, then went to allergy testing to confirm and learned of others then as well. They vary in severity. He has an anaphylatic reaction to any kind of nut. The rest of the list causes varying levels of mouth swelling and breathing difficulty. He has mostly grown out of his allergy to chicken, but has not outgrown any of the others, though he can eat the fruits he is allergic to if they are throughly cooked since cooking changes the chemical structure.
Poor kid. I hope for his sake the parents of kids in this class are understanding and accepting of these limitations. Too often I hear of people who get up in arms that their kids' "right" to eat anything is infringed upon by these restrictions. I'm also continually shocked by how many people don't seem to understand the severity of food allergies. There are people who seriously equate nut allergies with seasonal allergies, and assume that a person with a nut allergy just sneezes or gets itchy eyes or something, when generally the reaction is at least severe breathing difficulty, and often anaphylaxis. I'm so happy to see the responses here are sympathetic, and no one (thus far) has accused the parents or kid of being a hypochondriac, overprotective, or any of the other accusations I hear thrown around in response to severe food allergies. As someone with lifelong peanut and fish allergies who as a kid was actually accused of making up my allergies for attention (by other adults, not my family!), I appreciate this.
In other news, allergies are really strange. I had an allergy panel done a couple years back to verify my allergies, since I had last been tested at age six. My only active food allergies (from my own experience) were peanuts and fish (but not shellfish). As a young child, I had also reacted to tomatoes, apples, peaches, cherries, and apricots (and other stone fruits), but have been able to eat those foods with no issues since about age eight.
This allergy panel, done at age 25, showed that I also had high-moderate allergies to multiple types of tree nuts that I eat regularly with no problems (almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts), and to stone fruits. I seriously feel nothing resembling an allergic reaction when I eat those foods. But according to the test, I should break out in hives and my airway should close up.
Poor kid. I hope for his sake the parents of kids in this class are understanding and accepting of these limitations. Too often I hear of people who get up in arms that their kids' "right" to eat anything is infringed upon by these restrictions. I'm also continually shocked by how many people don't seem to understand the severity of food allergies. There are people who seriously equate nut allergies with seasonal allergies, and assume that a person with a nut allergy just sneezes or gets itchy eyes or something, when generally the reaction is at least severe breathing difficulty, and often anaphylaxis.
God no! After reading the responses I'm thinking maybe we should not send apples, either, just in case. No way do I want to be the parent that caused someone's kid to go into anaphylactic shock.
Poor kid. I hope for his sake the parents of kids in this class are understanding and accepting of these limitations. Too often I hear of people who get up in arms that their kids' "right" to eat anything is infringed upon by these restrictions. I'm also continually shocked by how many people don't seem to understand the severity of food allergies. There are people who seriously equate nut allergies with seasonal allergies, and assume that a person with a nut allergy just sneezes or gets itchy eyes or something, when generally the reaction is at least severe breathing difficulty, and often anaphylaxis.
God no! After reading the responses I'm thinking maybe we should not send apples, either, just in case. No way do I want to be the parent that caused someone's kid to go into anaphylactic shock.
One of H's cousins posted a rant on Facebook about how unfair it was that she wasn't allowed to send her son's favorite lunch (PB&J sandwich) with him to school because of another kid's allergy... and she called the parents of the allergic kid "dramatic." It reallllly pissed me off.
I saw a similar reaction on Consumerist a couple years back when they posted a story about an airline that offered peanuts to passengers on a flight when one of the passengers had specifically been told that due to his very severe allergy, the flight would be nut-free. The comments on that article were full of adults whining about their "rights" to eat what they want no matter what, and that if someone's allergies are that bad maybe they shouldn't live. Seriously hateful stuff.
God no! After reading the responses I'm thinking maybe we should not send apples, either, just in case. No way do I want to be the parent that caused someone's kid to go into anaphylactic shock.
One of H's cousins posted a rant on Facebook about how unfair it was that she wasn't allowed to send her son's favorite lunch (PB&J sandwich) with him to school because of another kid's allergy... and she called the parents of the allergic kid "dramatic." It reallllly pissed me off.
I saw a similar reaction on Consumerist a couple years back when they posted a story about an airline that offered peanuts to passengers on a flight when one of the passengers had specifically been told that due to his very severe allergy, the flight would be nut-free. The comments on that article were full of adults whining about their "rights" to eat what they want no matter what, and that if someone's allergies are that bad maybe they shouldn't live. Seriously hateful stuff.
FWIW, my allergies to fruit and apples were only to eating them. I don't have any problem being around them or touching them.
My DH is the same way. He can touch stone fruits, cuts them up for our kids, etc.--he just can't eat them. Peanuts and treenuts are the only thing that he can't even touch without reacting.
Odd thought here: I knew a kid who had Autism, and he would ONLY eat PB&J sandwiches for lunch or he had a meltdown. What if he was in the same class with the kid with allergies? Who's rights would win out?
Odd thought here: I knew a kid who had Autism, and he would ONLY eat PB&J sandwiches for lunch or he had a meltdown. What if he was in the same class with the kid with allergies? Who's rights would win out?
Um, the kid who could die from accidentally ingesting something containing peanuts.
In reality, they couldn't actually be in the same class. It wouldn't be fair to either child.
Odd thought here: I knew a kid who had Autism, and he would ONLY eat PB&J sandwiches for lunch or he had a meltdown. What if he was in the same class with the kid with allergies? Who's rights would win out?
I would say kid with allergies. You can work with autistic kids on their food habits.
I had these: plum, prune, nectarine, cherry, apricot, and peach, plus apples, but they were related to environmental allergies (pollen in the skin of fruit makes my throat close up).
Thankfully it wasn't too severe, just REALLY annoying, and went away with allergy shots.
I'm pretty sure any allergies can be grown into and out of.
I have a fruit allergy related to pollen too. Allergy shots didn't help me. It's mostly fresh fruit. I eat a cherry and will have a reaction, but I have eaten a slice of cherry pie without a reaction.
Odd thought here: I knew a kid who had Autism, and he would ONLY eat PB&J sandwiches for lunch or he had a meltdown. What if he was in the same class with the kid with allergies? Who's rights would win out?
Um, the kid who could die from accidentally ingesting something containing peanuts.
In reality, they couldn't actually be in the same class. It wouldn't be fair to either child.
Yes. In reality, you get those kids in different classes. But if that were not an option for some reason, then a life-threatening allergy has to win out.
Odd thought here: I knew a kid who had Autism, and he would ONLY eat PB&J sandwiches for lunch or he had a meltdown. What if he was in the same class with the kid with allergies? Who's rights would win out?
I think they'd have them eat in different rooms maybe? At least separate tables. The kids with allergies eat at a designated table in the cafeteria as it is, so the surface isn't exposed to anything, and they're monitored to further insure safety. And all kids in the classroom have to wash their hands after lunch so there's no contamination.
Like I said I think this poor kid has severe allergies
I get what you're saying about his severe allergies, but pass this by a parent of a child with autism after fighting for years to get him mainstreamed, and I see two parents that are both putting their child's needs first and not willing to compromise.
cjeanette: have you ever spent a great deal of time around a kid with autism? Sure, you can try to work with him on food choice, but you have to pick and choose your battles.
I get what you're saying about his severe allergies, but pass this by a parent of a child with autism after fighting for years to get him mainstreamed, and I see two parents that are both putting their child's needs first and not willing to compromise.
cjeanette: have you ever spent a great deal of time around a kid with autism? Sure, you can try to work with him on food choice, but you have to pick and choose your battles.
Right, but in the scenario you present, one of the kids could actually die. I'm not trying to sound heartless--my younger brother is on the autism spectrum, and I'm sensitive to those difficulties--but if it were totally necessary, the child with autism could skip lunch. Of course, in reality I don't think any school would let that happen, but I would hope that would be the emergency resolution vs. the alternative of exposing the other child to a serious allergen.
I have a possible dumb question How do you know/find out your kid has all these allergies? Do they outgrow any of them?
My nephew developed a rash after having a cupcake on his first birthday. His face turned red and blotchy. My made an appointment with his pedi about it and then was sent for allergy testing. He has a list of things to avoid. A lot of people do outgrow allergies, you could probably be retested later to see if you are still allergic.
cjeanette: have you ever spent a great deal of time around a kid with autism? Sure, you can try to work with him on food choice, but you have to pick and choose your battles.
I have. More than one child. I didn't say it was easy but you compare it to severe allergies? I would be shocked if the allergies didn't win out. I totally get the pick and choose battles.