FOOD ALLERGIES

1. FOOD ALLERGIES A Parent’s Perspective by Kimberley Madden-Snoad

2. Finding Out • 0-6 months: Breastfed but • Widespread eczema requiring moisturiser 5 x daily. • 6 months: serious reaction to baby museli containing milk powder • Specialist diagnosed milk and egg allergy; advised to delay introducing wheat until one year of age, and peanuts until three years.

3. More Allergies One to two years of age: • Reacted to kiwifruit, walnuts and peas • Mainly skin reactions (hives) but swollen tongue in one reaction indicated risk of anaphylaxis • Specialist prescribed an EpiPen. These cost $135 each and we need two at all times.

4. Ongoing Specialist Tests • Confirmed list of 5 food allergies: Cows Milk (Dairy), Eggs, Tree nuts, Kiwifruit and Peas. • Peanut allergy cleared through a food-challenge.* • Specialist check up at least once a year. *Hasn’t made food more accessible as most labels with ‘may contain traces of peanuts’ also contain traces of tree nuts and/or dairy.

5. Managing Food Allergies • Had to learn to bake at home as ‘allergy-friendly’ biscuits etc are expensive and hard to find; • Meals have to be prepared from scratch because most processed foods (e.g. pre-prepared sauces) either contain or warn of potential contamination of allergens. • Share recipes through Allergy New Zealand and our local support group. Probably eat healthier foods as a result!!

6. Shopping for Safe Food • Takes at least 20% more time than normal • Have to read every label every time: - allergens previously not listed on a product can suddenly appear on the label; - ingredients added to a product we have used safely in the past. Not checking the label every time could put my daughter at risk

7. Warning Statements • Many FA consumers believe ‘may contain’ warnings are more about food manufacturers avoiding legal liability; • We follow Allergy New Zealand’s advice to always heed warnings, even though it really limits our choices; • I never buy a product with ‘may contain’ but • I assume a product labelled ‘ made in a factory where..’ is less risk than ‘made on a line where…’ – but this may not be correct.

8. Contacting Manufacturers • E.g. All brands of pasta seem to have warning statements, so I have had to ring manufacturers for information to try and assess the risk; • Manufacturers not always helpful e.g. refusing to say whether a product was made on the same line as another product containing nuts.

9. Plain words • Have noticed that labels now tend to list allergens in their common English terms. This makes it much easier to read and understand labels. • However a Garlic Bread bought recently had ‘whey powder’ instead of dairy. This could have been a serious problem because it was a relative who bought it thinking it was safe for my daughter.

10. Family Diet • Whole family is excluded from eggs, tree nuts, peas and kiwifruit; • Dairy is allowed on basis of: - replaceable with soy products for my daughter e.g. yoghurt or ice-cream - strict hand-washing rules apply even to my 3½ year old. • In spite of strict precautions my daughter had two severe reactions last year probably from a trace of dairy. Both required going to A & E.

11. Eating out • My daughter needs to learn how to eat out safely • Very stressful because of the number of food allergies she has but is really unavoidable • Other parents say staff often don’t seem to understand the importance of providing accurate information

12. Current Challenges • School: i) Being able to avoid the allergens concerned and not have a reaction ii) Emergency response in case of a reaction. • Medical services: i) Need at least yearly check-ups with an Allergy Specialist ii) Cost of the EpiPen (on top of all the other expenses involved) • Long Term: Our specialist advises it is unlikely she will outgrow any of her allergies so she will probably have to cope with them for life unless a cure is found.