Children With Food Allergies Recipes Food Cooking International
Guide
Children With Food Allergies And Managing Food Safely Around Your Child
By Julia Taylor-Fernandez
Most children with food allergies suffer mild but uncomfortable
symptoms, such as loose stools, excess gas, diarrhea, constipation,
nausea or vomiting. In some cases, blood or mucus will appear
in the stools (particularly in the event of a milk allergy).
It’s not uncommon for kid food allergies to cause hives, ear
infections, stuffy/runny noses, watery/red eyes, wheezing, asthma
flare-ups, eczema, localized rashes or mild tingling/itching in
the mouth.
In severe cases, anaphylaxis may occur within minutes or hours.
The child may find it difficult to swallow, breathe or speak.
Usually, they will begin to panic as they begin to feel their
throats swell, and they will turn red, feel weak and may slip
into unconsciousness.
Keep Your Child Safe From Allergic Reactions To Food
The most important part of raising a child with a food allergy
is to keep them safe. At home, you will need to make adjustments
in many of your recipes to ensure that your child does not come
into contact with his or her allergens.
It’s natural to feel overwhelmed and stifled at first, but after
a little bit of digging, you’ll find alternates for just about
all of your families’ favorite foods. There are many broad cookbooks,
such as The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook, which offers more than
325 recipes free of all common allergens, such as wheat, milk,
eggs, corn, sugar and yeast.
Then there are also more specifically targeted books, like Amazing
Dairy Free Desserts (for a milk allergy), Bakin’ Without Eggs
(for an egg allergy) or Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread (for a
gluten allergy). For a list of books containing food allergy recipes,
visit www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/cookbooks.html.
Your Child Should Not Swap Food With Other Children
Of course, for part of the day, children with food allergies
are away from home. Therefore, it is important that you know how
to deal with a food allergy in schools. When your child enters
school, be sure you fill out paperwork regarding your child’s
condition (including what should be done in case of an allergic
reaction, who to contact and what your child may eat while at
school).
It is especially important that the nurse be informed of your
child’s condition. It should also be emphasized to your child
that he or she must never trade any lunch food with other kids.
When your child is in pre-k and kindergarten, it’s safe to assume
that treats are a part of everyday lessons (birthdays, counting,
rewards), so communicating with the teacher at the beginning of
the year is very important.
Talk To Your Child
Be aware that your child may be left out of some lessons by teachers
who don’t know how to accommodate him or her, and that children
who do not understand may bully or tease your child.
It’s important that you sit down and talk to your child about
these events. You can buy inexpensive e-books at www.allergicchild.com/foodallergyandschools.htm
to help you send your child with food allergies off to school
safely.
Online And Mobile Tools
If you have children with food allergies, then you must be prepared
at all times to prevent a food allergy reaction. This can be tricky
when you’re out and about, but there are some helpful online tools
and mobile phone apps to help you.
For instance the "Allergy Companion No Peanut" for
the iPhone and iPod Touch will list menu items to avoid at over
50 major restaurants in the U.S. (www.allergycompanion.com).
Similarly, you can check fast food restaurants at www.allergyfreepassport.com.
Storing Medical Information On Your Cell Phone
Another iPhone/iPod app is the "Pocket First Aid & CPR
from Jive Media," which provides you with American Heart
Association content and lets you store medical contact information
(www.jive.me/pocketaid).
You can search a number of foods and get updated alerts from
Food Content Alerts at www.foodcontentalerts.com.
Please Note: All information given
on this site is for information purposes and is not to replace
any medical opinion or medical diagnosis or any other medical
expert, as individual circumstances may vary. Please see your
medical doctor, before any action is taken to alleviate symptoms.
About the Author:
Julia Taylor-Fernandez has written a number of articles on food,
cooking and dieting including General
Nutrition, Salad
Dressings, Low
Carb Cheese Cake, Teen
Weight Loss, Low
Carb Dinners, Health
Food Store, Organic
Baby Food.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles on this website.
Did You Know?
Most people find that they are allergic to something. It might
be poison ivy. It might be a certain type of medication. But by
far the hardest to control are food allergies. You have to be
very diligent in what you eat and buy.
You never know when a potential allergen could be in a meal and
this could lead to some very serious medical problems if you are
seriously allergic. Child food allergies are especially hard to
deal with because children do not often understand why they cannot
always eat the same foods that their friends eat.
You have to ensure that they are educated and know what to look
for on packaging information as well as having the ability to
communicate these allergies to adults that are supervising them.
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