Top quality food allergy T.shirts? Don’t feel pressured to make every teaching moment a game, either! Since kids are basically little sponges, one of the best ways to teach your child about food allergies is to model the behaviors yourself. Announce out loud whenever you’re checking food labels, packing up medicine or performing other routine allergy management tasks. As much as you can, take the extra time to include your little one, even at a young age, so that they understand what to do and can feel more in control. Although navigating a food allergy is never easy, you can take heart in the fact that many kids’ food allergies are temporary. As many as 80% of all children who are allergic to milk, egg, soy or wheat will outgrow the allergy, often by the age of 5. Allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish, however, are more frequently lifelong.
My son always chose to put on these Allergy T.Shirts at social events, parties, restaurants and on holidays. This gave confidence for him to start managing responsibility and helped others to be more vigilant. It has such a positive impact on negotiating his allergies. Life with an allergy can make social events difficult and worrying. There is always food involved somewhere. This is when it can be anxiety-provoking and some children may even choose to avoid certain activities. At only 18 months old, we discovered our son had a severe peanut and egg allergy. To help us cope and make everyone understand, I sewed an allergy warning onto the back of his favourite T.Shirts. The most common times for accidental exposure, occur when people are out of their familiar environment or routine, or amongst people who are unaware that a person has allergies.
I’ve seen families successfully keep an allergen-free home as well as successfully have allergens in the home and away from the allergic child. Either can work and, ultimately, this is a very personal decision for each family. Talk about it together, openly and honestly, to find out what works best for your family. Here is some excellent guidance about allergens in the kitchen from AAFA/KFA. Pediatricians are great at talking with kids about complex medical diagnoses. Listen closely to how they talk about food allergies with your child and underscore those lessons using the same language when you speak to your child. This will help deepen those lessons and solidify them. See more details at child food allergy shirt.
You’ll likely feel like the only ones in the world having to be constantly vigilant about food and you may feel socially isolated at family and community gatherings and celebrations. That’s why it’s so important to educate yourself and find support, either online or in person. Some great national resources include Food Allergy Research and Education, Kids With Food Allergies, and Allergy Pals and Allergy Allies USA (free online mentorship for kids and teens with food allergies). Do not be afraid to use your epinephrine auto-injector. There is no cure for food allergies, and epinephrine is the only known way to slow down anaphylaxis. It doesn’t hurt to use it if it turns out you didn’t really need it, but since most deaths from anaphylaxis occur when the administration of epinephrine is delayed, it’s important not to hesitate.
Families have been asking about whether to go to the Emergency Department if a family member has symptoms of an allergic reaction or an asthma attack, and raising the issue of teaching alternate caregivers about allergy management. Interestingly, some families have told us that social distancing measures decreased their anxiety about allergen exposures. During the time of children staying home, they have been feeling more comfortable that they can control what allergens are present. Find more information on this website.