New to Food Allergies? Here’s What You Need to Know

You’re sitting on the plastic chair placed next to the exam table your child is perched on. The doctor has just returned to the room, takes one look at the large red welts that have formed on your child’s back as a result of the allergy skin test she’s administered and confirms what you’ve feared: what you suspected was an allergic reaction to milk or to peanuts or to soy the other day was indeed an allergic reaction. You are now part of a club you didn’t want to belong to, one that reads labels and carries epinephrine and worries over basic everyday life events like birthday parties and going to school. You are now an allergy parent, and a sense of dread and overwhelm is beginning to set in.

First Things First

Yes, a food allergy diagnosis can be scary. This isn’t just about itchy eyes and a runny nose. The doctor has likely just prescribed an auto-injector of epinephrine and told you to keep it with your child at all times in case of a life-threatening reaction — and you likely stopped listening at that point because your brain got tripped up on “life-threatening.” The idea that a childhood staple like a PB&J could be deadly for your child is overwhelming. But before you go too far down the “what if” rabbit hole, take a deep breath and keep reading this article.

You are Not Alone