More Tolerance for Food Allergies?

Posted May 12, 2009 by Donna Koehn

Updated May 12, 2009 at 03:13 PM

My son has a number of food allergies, the most severe of them to tree nuts. About a year ago, I had to rush him to the ER when he experienced an anaphylactic reaction to something he ate at a Chinese food buffet.

Seeing him struggle for breath was one of the most terrifying things I’ve been through as a mom. (A belated “thank you” to the security guard at Brandon Regional Hospital who allowed a frantic mom to park in his space when all the others were full.)

My son had eaten at that restaurant several times before without a problem. That’s the way it is with food allergies—the same food that gives a kid an itchy nose once can close his airways the second time he eats it. Now my son carries an Epi-Pen wherever he goes so he can give himself a life-saving injection if he needs it.

Before this happened, I had written an article for the Tribune about a huge increase in the number of food allergies and what parents were doing to cope. Parents with children in public school described how difficult it sometimes can be to get schools and other moms and dads to understand the seriousness of this. But some readers commented that they were really irritated when they couldn’t send up whatever they wanted in school lunches.

Attitudes might be changing.

The National Poll on Children’s Health recently asked parents of children from birth to age 13 about food allergies and what their children’s daycare centers, preschools and elementary schools are doing to accommodate food-allergic children. It found 3 percent of U.S. households are affected by a life-threatening food allergy.

About 75 percent of the parents with allergic kids say their schools are making at least some accommodations.

About two-thirds of preschools and daycare centers ban foods in the classroom if kids are allergic to them, compared to half of elementary schools. About half of parents without allergies in the family didn’t find dealing with the bans all that difficult.

Other accommodations include posted or required food allergy plans, separate eating areas for food-allergic children, and special classroom assignments. About half of the parents say their children’s schools have staff training specifically for food allergies.

Half of the parents with kids with food allergies believe their schools respond “very well” to their children’s needs. Not perfect yet, but better than the days when children weren’t allowed to bring their Epi-Pens to school.