Panic set in. Pure head spinning panic but at the same time an instinctual pull into action. We had just moved into our new town days before, boxes stacked everywhere, and I did not know where any of our medicine was packed away. Paxton, my almost two year old, was looking up at me with a rash quickly spreading across his lips and face.
“What did you eat?!”
He shows me his hands still clutching the yogurt chips and craisins I pulled from the trail mix earlier for him…trail mix…NUTS! He has never had tree nuts before.
He did not eat the nuts but I knew right away that he must have been reacting to the residue left on the bits he did have. I took it from him and ran around looking for the Benadryl. It took me 30 seconds to realize this was useless and I was never going to find it in time. I grabbed Paxton and ran to the car, strapped him in his carseat and threw the car in reverse. I had NO IDEA where I was going. Again, we just moved here and I didn’t know the area.
I drove. I got stuck in traffic. Panic. Looking back at Paxton while waiting at a red light I saw his face starting to swell, badly. I saw a Walmart and knew I had to get help. Parking and getting out of the car in one swift motion, I full on sprinted with a toddler in my arms all the way to the pharmacy. Thank the Lord for the people at the Walmart pharmacy that day. They were calm while I screamed for help. They called 911 and all I could get out was “BENEDRYL, I NEED BENEDRYL!” As I gave the medicine to Paxton, his eyes swollen shut, the firefighters were storming in and we were whisked away via ambulance in no time.
This is the day we found out that our son is deathly allergic to tree nuts and most other nuts. I am a food allergy Mom.
We don’t have any family history of nut allergies, none. We didn’t think this could happen to our kid. We weren’t prepared. We were lucky this time. I want to share our story so that other new moms, or parents of small children, can learn from us and prepare ahead of time.
Thirty two million Americans live with food allergies these days. On average, two kids in each classroom have a food allergy. That is a 50% increase in the children’s allergy statistic since 1997! Between 1997 and 2008 alone, the prevalence of peanut or tree nut allergy appears to have more than tripled in U.S. children and researchers don’t yet know why. (FARE)
Advice from a food allergy Mom:
1) Always know where your Benadryl is. ALWAYS. In fact, pack one in your diaper bag regardless of the age of your child. I was told by the firefighter that day that they do not have children’s liquid Benadryl on the ambulance (this may vary for your city). It is easy and potentially lifesaving for you to be prepared with it yourself. It can slow down reactions, but by no means is a replacement for epinephrine. Call 911 if you suspect a reaction, and then administer Benadryl.
2) Introduce allergens to your children early on, before they turn 1. Talk with your pediatrician about how you can do this safely. If you introduce them early on, science is showing it may have an impact in reducing the chance your child becomes allergic later in life. Something to note is the reaction doesn’t always present itself in the 1st interaction. Most often it is the 2nd or 3rd time you are exposed to the substance that your body reacts so make sure you are exposing your baby multiple times when you are introducing potential allergens.
3) If you know of any blood relatives that have food allergies get your baby tested right away. You can have their skin tested as early as 4 months old. It is a non-invasive test and in fact Finlee, our second born, didn’t even flinch for her test. Even if you don’t have any family with an allergy, I still suggest doing this. In my opinion it’s better to know.
4) For those families that battle food allergies, check out this awesome resource website for food safety guides: www.snacksafely.com
If your child doesn’t have an allergy, please remember that there are many kids that do. Please be thoughtful in what you pack your kids for school lunch, what you serve at their birthday parties and think twice before offering your child’s friend a snack. It is a food allergy Mom’s worst nightmare to think that her child will come into contact with their allergy out in the world when she has no control. Food allergies can and will kill. Please help us by having it on your mind as well.
**One thing that I didn’t mention in the post is that if you already have an Epipen handy, and suspect a reaction, then our allergist recommends to always use the Epipen first and then call 911 and give them Benadryl.