Home Safe and Sound

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Tyler's surgery went fine. He was such a brave little boy!! The only food we encountered at the hospital were popsicles. He ate 3!

When questioned about allergies by medical staff, I stressed the severity of his peanut allergy. I even joked that I had Epi pens in my purse and we were in a hospital. I also questioned the anesthesiologist about allergies to anesthesia. With Tyler's allergy history, it crossed my mind at the last minute to ask about that. He told me some people are allergic. Thankfully it was a non-issue.

Now that the stress of surgery and peanut allergy issues are over, my husband and I have come down with a cold. I will return to my regular blogging on Monday. {Sniff Sniff}

Free Burger!

Have you checked out the allergen friendly Red Robin? They have a menu that lists everything in their restaurant that is safe for those with a peanut allergy. Plus, the food is great!!

(You can read a review I wrote the restaurant here.)

As if you don't need any more reasons to visit Red Robin, how does a free hamburger sound? Yep, sounds great to me, too!

Visit this link and you can sign up for their e-club. When you do, you will receive a coupon for a free burger. I don't know about you but FREE is one of my favorite words!!


****For those of you following Tyler's surgery, it will be at 9:15am EST today. I will try to post an update on him and my hospital experience while dealing with PA tomorrow.****

The "Go To" Girl??

Yesterday during church, a fellow mom motioned for me to come out into the hall. My heart skipped a beat because I thought something must have happened to Tyler. My face must have revealed my fear because as soon as I got out, she said, "Everything is fine."

I said, "Good, I thought it was an allergic reaction."

But, in fact, it was an allergic reaction. But it was her son, not mine.

She explained her child was having some sort of a reaction and she wanted to know if I had any Benadryl. Since I leave some with Tyler's Epi pens and I always have some in my purse, I told her I did. Since I didn't have my purse with me, I rushed to the nursery and grabbed Benadryl and Epi Pens.

When I saw her son his eyes were starting to swell shut and he had hives popping up all over his face. I quickly gave him 2 Benadryl packs (equal to 2 teaspoons - he weighs 90 lbs).

I asked the child if he was having trouble breathing or if his throat was sore. He said it was not. Still, I stayed with him and the others with him with Tyler's Epi Pens in hand in case the situation got worse.

Within 5 minutes of giving him the Benadryl, the hives started clearing up and his eyes started to look better.

In the end, no one has any idea what caused the reaction. He normally has mild allergies. He had not eaten anything recently. The two things we have possibly narrowed it down to is new cleaners the church is using (and has been for a couple of months) or some new inflatable globes the children were playing with.

Later in the day, I found it so interesting how I have gone from being a girl that has very, very mild airborne allergies and knew nothing of food allergies up until a few years ago to now being the person that is pulled out the church service when someone is having an allergic reaction.

I'm certainly no expert but I am known to be pretty allergy aware at our church. After all, I am the reason the church is now peanut free!

Its nice to know that Tyler's allergy has taught me enough to help others, both at church and the readers of this blog...

Mayoral Reaction

photo by wenjomatic

The mayor of Beech Grove, IN got more than he paid for at lunch on Wednesday. It seems the peanut particles in his salad made him very, very sick.

Joe Wright, the mayor, has a peanut allergy and consumed the house salad that had the peanut culprits. After he ate the salad, his dinner companion, Mike Shaver, said:

“We were talking, and I looked over at him, and his lower lip was swelling to the size of a Polish sausage,” Shaver said. “I guess my face gave it away because he said, ‘Yeah, I think I need to leave.’”

The mayor was taken to the hospital and got very sick after arriving. Thankfully the mayor is now fine and was expected to be back at work by late this week.

You can read the story here.

I found this story interesting because the restaurant says that the salad he ordered had peanuts listed as the first ingredient, yet he still ordered it. Based on the article, it sounds like he knew he had a peanut allergy. It just shows how vigilant the PA must be even when they are the mayor of a town!

A Healthy Recovery

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the idea of food and the hospital is a little scary when your child has a peanut allergy. Thankfully Tyler will be back in my care a couple hours after surgery. In an attempt to make this "fun" (as "fun" as surgery can be!), I let Tyler have a lot of say in the family's menu for the few days after surgery.

Since a peanut allergy prevents a child from eating a lot of processed foods, Tyler is accustomed to simple, healthy foods. (When we dealt with milk and egg allergies, our processed foods were even more limited!). So when I asked for Tyler's input on next weeks menu, here is what he requested:

*Salad
*Carrots
*Celery
*Apples
*Bananas
*Spaghetti (I make my sauce from scratch)
*Chocolate milk
*Water (gotta laugh at this one!!)

And just to prove he has does have a little taste for junk food, he also requested:

*Chicken nuggets (I buy Tyson or Banquet)
*Pizza (from a pizza place we trust called Jet's)

Believe it or not, I listed these in the order he requested them. (Plus, I suggested the pizza because I know he loves it!). He actually requested the healthy foods first!

I like to think he would have these requests were it not for food allergies. But, I think the limitations he has dealt with his entire life has helped him develop a taste for more natural and healthy foods.

Ask your average four year old that has never dealt with food allergies their favorites and I don't think the list would probably be the same.

Is there a benefit to a peanut allergy (as well as other food allergies)? I really think there is. When our kids are eating food in its purest forms (and not something that comes in a box with unpronounceable ingredients) being even more healthy is a direct result.

Am I thankful that Tyler has a peanut allergy? Uhh...no. But I am thankful that he he requests healthy foods. His food allergies have actually helped him become a healthier kid.

Hospital Food

It seems like a hospital is inevitable for the Peanut Allergy Kid this winter. While we avoided it in January, February is a different story. Tyler will be having outpatient surgery next Tuesday.

The whole concept of having a child in the hospital is frightening enough, but when your child has a peanut allergy, it takes on a different dimension.

A nurse called me Monday to get some medical history in preparation for Tyler's big day. When she asked about allergies, I told her about the PA we deal with. She seemed to think it was a little crazy that I would worry about something like that in an outpatient surgery situation. I told her my concern was any food he might be fed (such as ice cream) during recovery.
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She still didn't get it. I will be talking more with his nurses on the day of surgery.

With that said, I have been thinking since last month's near hospitalization what we would do if Tyler ever was hospitalized. Here are my thoughts.

*Clearly communicate your child's food allergy and the dangers it presents. Just like the nurse that called me on Monday, not all medical personnel fully understand the dangers that a peanut allergy presents. When I explained that his allergy had prompted a 911 call with an ambulance ride, I was taken a little more seriously.

*When possible, stay with your child at all times. After a tour of the h0pspital last weekend, I know Tyler will be with me until just moments before he is put under anesthesia. He will be in the first recovery room until he wakes. At that time we will reunited in the second recovery room. I will be asking nurses on Tuesday if there will be any food during the first recovery. My guess is there will not.

*Bring your own food. I will put a package of Tyler's favorite kind of graham crackers in my purse. They are the yummy kind with cinnamon on them. (They are Wal-Mart's Great Value brand and are safe). I will probably throw some fruit snacks in as well (Sam's Club brand). This is easy since he is only outpatient. If he were being admitted I would be in close contact with the doctor to see what he could eat. I would then come home and make those things and freeze them so they were ready when needed. For me, cafeterias (including a hospital's) are out of my comfort zone.

*Leave his medical alert bracelet on as long as possible. They told me he can have no jewelry on. That is fine. I will leave it on until they ask me to remove it. I want it to serve as a reminder to those who ask me to remove it!

I feel blessed that we are only doing outpatient. There would be a lot more PA Mom anxiety if he were in for more than a few hours.

Tomorrow I will be back to talk about some of the postive beneifts PA has brought that I have discovered during this whole process. (You know I am always looking out for the bright side of this allergy!!)

A Great Sale on Medical Alert Bracelets

One of the best things I have purchased is Tyler's medical alert bracelet. It not only reminds everyone around him about his allergy, it alerts those who are not familiar with food allergies to ask questions. It also gives me a lot of comfort knowing that, in a worst case scenario, paramedics would be aware of his allergy as well.

If you don't already have a medical alert bracelet or want a new one for your Peanut Allergy Kid, N-Style ID is having an awesome sale. Everything on their website is on sale! They have cute, kid-friendly bands that are very reasonably priced.

Check out their awesome sale for a life-saving bracelet PA Kids will love!!

A Little Update...

Have you wondered what happened to us? All the drama our family has had since the beginning of the year(thankfully not peanut allergy related, though!) has kept me busy. Just when I thought it was all over, I was wrong!

Friday we took the boys in for a recheck on their ears and left with the knowledge that Tyler needed surgery. It has nothing to do with his ears. I won't go into details because, if he reads this when he gets older, he will probably get embarrassed.

I met with the surgeon yesterday and it will be a simple procedure. Thankfully it will be outpatient. The big date will be February 24.

Now that I am getting used to the idea I will be back blogging regularly in the next day or two...

Multiple Food Allergies?

photo by La tartine gourmande

The New York Times published an interesting article this week on food allergies. I will admit my first reaction was feeling like those of us who have children with allergies were being under minded...again. But, I read the entire article and found it very interesting, particularly those of us who deal with multiple food allergies.

The article states...

Doctors say that misdiagnosed food allergies appear to be on the rise, and countless families are needlessly avoiding certain foods and spending hundreds of dollars on costly nonallergenic supplements. In extreme cases, misdiagnosed allergies have put children at risk for malnutrition.

And avoiding food in the mistaken fear of allergy may be making the overall problem worse — by making children more sensitive to certain foods when they finally do eat them.

I am not suggesting there is often a misdiagnosis of peanut allergies. Most of children with this diagnosis had a reaction...a violent reaction. That is proof positive that there is indeed an allergy. But, often food allergies come in pairs. Some children who are allergic to peanuts are also allergic to other legumes or even soy. This diagnosis was made from blood work alone, oftentimes after that nasty peanut reaction.

Even though these children have eaten these things without any apparent problems in the past, parents become so terrified of seeing any repeat reactions that they avoid anything that might possibly illicit any sort of reaction. Certainly understandable!!

The article goes on to state:

While the blood tests can help doctors identify potentially risky foods, they aren’t always reliable. A 2007 issue of The Annals of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology reported on research at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, finding that blood allergy tests could both under- and overestimate the body’s immune response. A 2003 report in Pediatrics said a positive result on a blood allergy test correlated with a real-world food allergy in fewer than half the cases.

I know from personal experience that blood tests can be wrong. We had the opposite problem this article states. Blood work showed no peanut allergy. His food challenge resulted in a visit to the ER. Not only did he have a peanut allergy, it was a very bad one!

The article concludes with this:

Just as an allergy indicates oversensitivity to certain foods, it may be that doctors and parents have become oversensitive to food allergies. In an essay in The British Medical Journal in December, Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a professor at Harvard Medical School, argues that an “overreaction” to allergy is leading to unnecessary testing and false positives. “If the kid has been doing fine, I would advise parents not to get allergy testing, because the results are more likely to be false positives than true positives,” Dr. Christakis said in an interview. “If they do think they need allergy testing, be extremely measured and go to reputable people.”

You can read the entire article here. If you are dealing with multiple food allergies, this article might (or might not!) give you something to thik about. I will admit when we dealt with milk and egg allergy, I just accepted it and prayed it would go away. It did and life is much easier now. If, however, these two did not go away, I might look into the fact a possible misdiagnosis or overreaction.

Food allergies go much further than just what you put in front of your child at each meal. It affects them emotionally and physically, as well with their level of nutrition. As parents, we need to make sure all the food we are avoiding are absolutely necessary.

If this has piqued your interest, you should see your allergist (or possibly a different one than your regular one) to discuss this issue. (Please don't take matters into your own hands!)


(**Please let me reiterate that I am not asking my readers to question a PA diagnosis, particularly if there has been a past reaction. I am addressing this to people who are dealing with groups of foods and not just peanuts alone.**)

Homemade Granola

photo by matthewa

I have been in the process lately of trying incorporate more whole grains into our diet. Since so many "healthy" things out there seem to either have nuts in them or have been processed in a facility with nuts, I have been making many things from scratch. (They are healthier anyway!)

I admit I love granola. These have always been off limits to Tyler. When he outgrew his dairy allergy nearly a year ago, we discovered he loves yogurt. After a little research and some modifications, I have a recipe for homemade granola clusters to add to his yogurt that is completely safe and relatively simple to make.

"Safe" Stovetop Granola

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups old fashioned oats (whole oats)
  
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1-2 T wheat germ (optional)
  
• 1-2 T flax seed meal (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats and stir until they start browning and getting crisp, about 5 minutes. Towards the end of cooking time, add wheat germ and flax seed meal (Be careful not to burn oats! It happens quickly!) Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.
2. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.
3. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container. You can also add dried fruit (raisins, Craisins, etc) at this time, too.

Peanuts on Aisle 5...

About a year ago, Tyler got "too big" to fit in the grocery cart while I was grocery shopping. He was taking up valuable space in the cart since my younger child has dibs on the top seat with the belt. (If you knew Dylan, you would understand!)

That day I realized riding around in the grocery cart would no longer work, I let him out in the produce department. At first I was worried he would run away. Then my fears became much greater. I realized there was a bulk bin of peanuts easily within his reach. He was nearly three and saying things like "Don't touch" meant the exact opposite will happen.

I will never forget that day in the store. I never realized how many peanuts there were lurking around each corner. Just when I thought we were nearly safe, we got in line to pay. It was a peanut party! Reeses peanut butter cups, Snickers, and Butterfingers all seemed to call for his fingers to reach out and touch them. I felt like I needed counseling after I left the store!

Over the last year, however, I decided education was key. No other place would there be so many peanut products around for me to use as teaching aids. Little by little I showed him one or two things that had peanuts in it. Once I knew he knew those products, I added a couple more. Soon, when he saw things like the M&M's logo, he would yell "Peanuts!" He did this, not in fear, but just reminding me (and hopefully himself!) that certain things are just "Don't touch" items.

Today, now that Tyler is 4, he understand his allergy much better. He also knows that anything with Mr. Peanut is off limits. He recognizes a vast majority of the peanut candies that are at the checkout line. He also knows he must ask me before he touches anything at the store, particularly if it is candy. He even knows what an actual peanut (shell or no shell) looks like.

Since we are not big on candy around here anyway (allergy or no allergy, its just not healthy!), I sometimes chuckle at the fact that Tyler knows more candy that has peanuts than that without.

Instead of the grocery store being a scary place, it has become a place of education for us.


(As I wrote this post, Tyler was standing over my shoulder. When he saw the picture of the Snickers bar, he said, "Look Mommy! Peanuts!)

Book Review: "Flourishing with Food Allergies"

One of the most beneficial things I have found about dealing with Tyler's peanut allergy is connecting with other parents who live with many of the same realities that I do. Oftentimes that is done through blogs and online forums.

Sometimes, however, I am lucky enough to stumble on a book that is written by a mom that thinks like I do. Flourishing with Food Allergies: Social, Emotional and Practical Guidance for Families with Young Children by A. Anderson is one of those books.

I find that nearly anytime I meet another mom with a child with food allergies, we share "our story." We all have a unique story to tell that connects us. This book starts out with the author's story of her not one, but two children with multiple food allergies, including peanut. I could relate to so many of the emotions she and her husband experienced in those early days. Then, she talks about many things along her journey as she has learned more and accepted her family's reality.

After her personal story, Anderson shares the experiences of 14 other parents. Some of these stories were from families that are dealing with other factors like autism and ADHD, in addition to food allergies. Three of the stories are from families that are outside of the US.

The book then talks about some of the research about food allergies. It discusses some possible theories of why food allergies are on the rise. Then she discusses some of the complicating factors of managing food allergies (like asthma) in some children.

The most fascinating part of the book to me (other than the personal stories) was the "Perspectives" section. It is the interviews of two pediatricians, an allergist, a naturopath doctor, a clinical psychologist and, most interesting, the author's husband (a food allergy dad).

The medical professionals' sections were particularly intriguing because there was not a total agreement on where these allergies are coming from. That is refreshing since we don't have any definitive answers. I like, however, reading the different theories and drawing my own conclusions.

My absolute favorite line in the book, which I have copied into my own personal journal for inspiration, came from Dr. Roman Adler, a pediatrician:

When a child has food allergies, he or she is forced to become disciplined and assertive in order to survive... These qualities of discipline and assertiveness can serve the child well when he is an adult in the professional world. He is more likely to be successful.

The book then discusses different allergens and the unique aspects of managing each allergy. One part of this section discusses the benefits of probiotics in managing food allergies. This has sent me researching this much deeper, as I believe these supplement can also help treat Tyler's eczema, which has been flared up terrible lately. (I hope to write a post on my findings in the future on this issue after I learn more about it and discuss it with our allergist.)

The last section in the book discusses handling the social dilemmas that the food allergy inevitably brings. These are things such as birthday parties, play dates, and school. These are issues all of us face. It is interesting to read another mother's perspective.

This book was an excellent read. It was chock full of useful information. The scope of the information is very diverse. I came away feeling like my knowledge of Tyler's food allergy was truly deepened. I also left with a lot of hope that it truly is manageable.

I highly recommend this book for your food allergy library. Even if you are only interested in a couple of the sections, it is definitely worth the read.