My Allergy Kid

Last night’s FAAST meeting was very informative. We had a panel discussion with mothers of allergy kids from all different ages- infant thru college age. It was very nice to hear all different perspectives on how people handle their child’s food allergies as well as learn some helpful tips. I came home with pages of notes.

Something I was not aware of is that coconut has now been added into the category of “tree nuts” (it used to be a separate allergen, but now it’s been grouped together). This is especially useful when buying soaps and shampoos, etc. Many products like this have coconut extracts in them that can be irritants to our allergy kiddos! Just something to keep in mind.

We are slowly but surely understanding more and more about these food allergies. We have decided to homeschool Mason for the first few years just to be on the safe side since he has had anaphylactic  reactions and since he has reactions to contact, not just ingestion to so many things.

Food allergies are so scary and it’s hard to live with them daily. I often feel like I walk a fine line between  hovering and protecting. I want him to have all the opportunities available to him, but  I also have that maternal instinct to protect and keep him safe. We’re doing the best we know how with the information that we have.