Why blog our food allergy journey?
I already know more than the average person about managing food intolerances, reflux, asthma and environmental allergies because I have been attacking these issues for 3.5 years now, but with Annika’s recent diagnosis I now know there’s a lot more we need to learn and understand about food allergies and the immune system.
And then there’s Max, who started reacting to the same allergens in my breast milk when he was three months old. He gets eczema, hives, cradle cap, diaper rash, gas, bloating, reflux (we suspect), diarrhea and constipation, so we expect that he’ll follow a similar pattern. I’m currently avoiding peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, corn and soy and that seems to make his symptoms go away.
So I thought to myself, here’s something I can blog about and mean it. I have been planning to write a food blog for the food allergic for a while now. My husband and I both love to cook gourmet foods and eat out. We wouldn’t go as far as calling ourselves foodies, but we do like a good meal, and our area (Seattle) has lots of great places to eat. But once we realized Annika was reacting to so many foods, going out to restaurants as a family became a stressful endeavor. We have to ask about ingredients, ask for substitutions and despite that we are aware that every time we do this we engage in “allergen roulette” because of honest mistakes by kitchen staff, lack of care or simply cross contamination. Even shopping for ingredients to cook at home was no longer straightforward. We’ve become a family of label readers, checking every ingredient to make sure it’s all safe for Annika and Max. So I had hoped to create a guide of local allergy friendly restaurants, food retailers and brands. I thought, perhaps naively, that once restaurants were given marks for giving a hoot (or not) about their food allergic clients, they’d step up and try harder. I still think that’s a good idea, but first I want to understand what we’re up against.
I want to learn how best to manage Annika’s and Max’s symptoms and avoid the allergens to keep them healthy. In order to do that I want to really understand the science behind food allergies, the theories about their origins and what solutions are out there to manage food allergies. I also want to understand the laws and politics governing food labeling policies and get on top of the lobbying efforts by organizations like FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) and others.
And as I learn, I might as well do it in a public forum. Who knows, maybe what I learn and write about benefits another parent or family member of a child with food allergies, reflux or asthma? I plan to locate, collect and link resources that I find useful so that others who come to this side may be better prepared should their child be diagnosed with food allergies, GERD or asthma.
