Food Allergies Info

Meal preparation for Food-Allergic Children

To be honest, the biggest worry I had about preparing food and treats for my food-allergic son was that “it just wouldn’t taste good.” Food that looked unappealing was also a major worry. I’m happy to tell you that , although it takes a major shift in the way you think about cooking and baking, you can make meals prepared under food-allergy restrictions look and taste delicious!

Have you ever made an iced, decorated birthday cake without using eggs, milk, butter, margarine, wheat flour, cornstarch or corn syrup? It took two years, dozens of ‘tries’, a few tears and a 4 hour cake decorating lesson before I came up with a cake that looked and tasted good. Fortunately, my son was too young to realize anything was different about his early birthday celebrations and thankfully, by the time he started school I’d learned how to prepare many meals and treats under his dietary restrictions. These days my son’s classmates love when his birthday arrives because they love the hand- decorated cupcakes and iced cookies that we bring to class.

In our home we started out with allergies to egg white and yolk, milk/dairy, wheat, corn, soy, oats, nuts, shellfish/iodine, nuts, potato, strawberry, kiwi, melon, beans, green peas, cat dander, dog dander, mold, ascorbic acid/vitamin C and latex. Years later several allergies have been outgrown and we have become homemade ‘french fry folk.’(we’re still allergic to nuts and many restaurants use peanut or soybean oil for frying).

The main thing to remember is that your child will love the food you prepare, because you made it for them. However, if your children are older there will be a period of time where taste buds and texture ‘sensors’ will need to adjust because rice, millet and other flours do taste a bit different and also have a different ‘mouth feel’ from wheat flour.

Additionally I replace eggs with applesauce and use canola oil instead of butter. In the near future, a few recipes will be posted for you to prepare and try and I hope you love the food as much as we do!

A Brief Overview of Food Allergy Management Children

Sandra Wilson Nacoste, RN, BSN, MA

In 2008 Branum and Lukacs reported that the incidence of food allergy, a potentially serious immune response to eating specific foods or food additives, increased 18% between 1997 and 2007 among children less than 18 years of age. Additionally, the Center for Diseases Control NCHS authors reported that between 2004 and 2006 there were about 9,500 pediatric hospital discharges per year with a diagnosis related to food allergy (p.3). Moreover, Wang and Sampson (2007) report that anaphylaxis, which is a collection of multiple organ symptoms that can lead to a fatal state of shock, occurs at a rate of 150 cases per year (p.1). These statistics highlight the facts that food allergies can be quite serious and are becoming more common.

Most of us know that food allergies can be life-threatening, but unfortunately Kalb, Springen and Raymond (2007) reported that approximately 33% of schools lacked an allergy-emergency plan and that many of the policies in place at the remaining 67% of schools lack essential components such as emergency contact numbers for students or student health histories on file (p.4). Conversations with Jacksonville pediatricians about local pediatric deaths related to food allergy reactions underscore the fact that many schools are unprepared to effectively handle a life-threatening allergic reaction. In one such regrettable case, a child was given the allergenic food item by a school employee.

Sicherer (1999) recommends that a child who has significant food allergies should be seen by a pediatrician, allergist and nutritionist (p. 421). In some cases, food allergies are accompanied by other conditions such as asthma or eczema, and in those cases the child should also be seen by a pulmonologist and pediatric dermatologist. These healthcare providers will take careful histories and test for food allergies using a variety of methods. According to Katz (2008), food allergy testing ranges from less-costly skin prick (scratch) tests to lengthy double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge testing (p. 19-20). Clearly, the food-allergic child is more likely to have multiple healthcare providers, making effective parental management of a food-allergic child’s health particularly crucial.

According to Sicherer (1999), the only proven treatment of properly diagnosed food allergies is the complete avoidance of the offending allergenic food or food additive (p. 423). The physician stresses that eliminating food allergens can be tricky because of multiple food terms and complicated food labeling. Parents should carefully read food labels while shopping and inquire about unclear food terms by calling the company phone numbers provided on labels. Additionally, most children are rarely under the care of one caretaker, and it stands to reason that the risk of food-allergen exposure increases as the number of child caretakers increases. Parents should ensure that they, and the other child caretakers, know how to spot signs and symptoms of allergic reactions in their child and that they are prepared to react appropriately if their child suffers an allergic reaction. Additionally, parents should ensure that their child’s school teacher, gym teacher and possibly school bus driver are educated about their child’s allergies and emergency protocol as well.

If a child has been prescribed an Epi-pen or other emergency medication, those medications should be quickly and readily available at all times. An Epi-pen that is kept in the school office may be administered too late to save a child that is having an allergic reaction. Additionally, if the child leaves the school grounds for a field-trip or any other activity, the medication should accompany the child’s caretaker.

The allergy management protocol outlined in this paper is quite general and is simply an overview. Naturally, each child is unique and as one would expect, their healthcare will be individualized to meet their particular needs. Every parent should consult their child’s healthcare provider for child-specific treatment and care plan recommendations.




References:

AAAAI Board of Directors. (1998). Anaphylaxis in schools and other child-care settings.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 102(2), 173-176. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science .

Branum, A., & Lukacs, S. (2008). Food Allergy Among U.S. Children: Trends in Prevalence and
Hospitalizations. [Electronic Version]. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NCHC Data Brief, 10, 1-7. Retrieved February 7, 2009, from www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databrief.htm

Kalb, C., Springen, K., Raymond, J., & Carmichael, M. (2007, November 5). Fear and Allergies
in the Lunchroom. Newsweek, 150, 42-44.

Katz, H. (2008). Food Allergy Update. Northeast Florida Medicine, 59(2), 18-22.
Sicherer, S. (1999). Manifestations of Food Allergy: Evaluation and Management. American
Family Physician, 59(2), 415-424. Retrieved February 7, 2009, from Webster University
Passports database (CINAHL with Full text AN: 1999015411).

Wang, J., & Sampson, H. (2007). State of the Art Review: Food anaphylaxis. Clinical and
Experimental Allergy, 37, 651-660. Retrieved February 7, 2009, from Webster
University Passports, Ebscohost database (Healthsource/Nursing Edition AN:
24814744).