Recently my nephew, who at the time was just a few weeks shy of his 2nd birthday, had an allergic reaction to peanuts.  We were at a family gathering and someone had given him a homemade chocolate chip cookie. As allergies are not common in my family no one thought to ask if there was any peanut butter in the cookie, and there was.  Luckily this was his first exposure and his reaction was somewhat mild.  However the reaction from the rest of us was not. 

His mother made an appointment on his 2^nd birthday to be tested for allergies.  Turns out he has a severe allergy to peanuts and tree nuts.

Shaken from the experience I began to do a little research on symptoms of an allergic reaction.  My daughter is too young to be tested and we’ve taken extra precautions because we do not want to go through that experience again.  I’ve come across some good information.  I’ve also found some cute books to help children understand allergies.     

What are the symptoms of an allergic reaction?

A person experiencing an allergic reaction may have any of the following symptoms:

·         Flushed face, hives or a rash, red and itchy skin

·         Swelling of the eyes, face, lips, throat and tongue

·         Trouble breathing, speaking or swallowing

·         Anxiety, distress, faintness, paleness, weakness

·         Cramps, diarrhea, vomiting

·         A drop in blood pressure, rapid heart beat, loss of consciousness

Where can I get more information?

For more information on:

• food allergies;
• ordering free copies of this pamphlet and subscribing to the free “Food Recalls and Allergy Alerts” e-mail notification service, visit the CFIA Website at www.inspection.gc.ca or call 1 800 442-2342/TTY 1 800 465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).
• http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/faalerts.php (For US, Canada and UK)

Below are some organizations that can provide additional allergy information:

Allergy/Asthma Information Association
www.aaia.ca

Anaphylaxis Canada
www.anaphylaxis.ca

Association québécoise des allergies alimentaires
www.aqaa.qc.ca (French only)

Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
www.csaci.ca (English only)

Books:

 

1.      “The diary of Cyril the squirrel”

Author: Lucy Warn
Publisher: The Anaphylaxis Campaign, UK.  
Year of publication: 1996

Cyril was a happy and healthy little squirrel but, unlike his friends and his sister, he could not munch or touch the ripe nuts which they found amongst the carpet of golden leaves and twisted roots. Find out what happened, and how they all coped.  Beautifully written and illustrated by a young student whose younger sister has nut allergy. A winner.

2.      “Allie the Allergic Elephant”

Nicole Smith’s preschool age son was due to enter school and she couldn’t find an age-appropriate book to explain his life threatening peanut allergies to his teacher and classmates. So she wrote her own. The book is geared toward ages 2-7, but has received rave reviews from older children too. “Allie” is a wonderful book written about the perils and triumphs of an elephant who tells her life story of what it is like to live with peanut allergies. The book explains allergic reactions (hives, coughing, red eyes) and how to say ‘no thank you’ to foods offered by other children and adults.  The pictures are enhanced by the fact that a 12 year old did the artwork. She is a very talented artist, and even drew the elephant with hives!

 

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