This one is ironic. I was at a gathering of my extended family in Boston this past weekend. It was interesting to meet another branch of the family. We won a door prize as the people who traveled the greatest distance to be there. The prize was Salt Water Taffy and Boston Baked Beans. The irony is that unbeknownst to me Boston Baked Beans are chocolate covered peanuts. Sometimes you just have to chuckle. I'm glad that my wife noticed or I would have brought them home.
This week we were out to dinner. While eating a delicious strawberry parfait I crunched into something that has become foreign to me … a peanut! Ironically, I had just finished saying how much our daughter would enjoy the parfait. I found it interesting to experience first-hand the shock that an allergic person would feel when finding a surprise peanut. My first reaction was one of fear. It was as if I was allergic myself. I felt very strange and I could no longer eat the parfait.
I have not had a peanut in about six months. The taste is now unsettling and for obvious reasons no longer welcome. While I can still enjoy an omelet while traveling on business (despite our daughter's egg allergy), I no longer have a desire to eat peanuts. I was surprised that I had such a strong reaction. It is funny how the mind works.
This spring I started a new series called Villager of the Month. The intent is to recognize people who do special or interesting things to help those with food allergies.
For June 2007 I wanted to recognize the efforts of a group of concerned parents in
Though Bill M210 failed to advance after its second reading, the government is certainly aware of the issue of allergic children in schools and that is largely due to the efforts of PACT and its supporters.
You can learn more about PACT or Bill M210 on the organization's website.
So here we are ... six months into our daughter's severe food allergy. I have been struck by how tight knit the anaphylaxis community is and just how much there is to learn. I think we've done a good job of managing the allergy without having to significantly alter the things we do, but it is certainly a challenge at times. It is difficult to be 100% compliant in reading labels, checking ingredients, quizzing servers, bringing the EpiPen, bringing safe snacks, etc. It is annoying to deal with people who think that you are overreacting. It makes me sad to hear my daughter It is also quite stressful to live with the intense fear that rises up whenever you see a red spot on your daughter's hand.
That being said, while it would be great for her to outgrow her allergy I would not change anything. She is an absolute treasure and the food allergy is part of who she is. I am certain that we appreciate every day with her even more after experiencing a near fatal allergic reaction to peanut six months ago.
For those of you sitting at the edge of your seats wondering when I would find less expensive Sunbutter, the wait is over! I did a review of Sunbutter recently and noted that the only negative was its high price. Several readers commented that $8.49 for a jar of Sunbutter was ridiculous. Turns out they were right.
My wife talked to the grocery manager at Stong's our (excellent) local grocery store here in Vancouver. They now stock Sunbutter and price it at a reasonable $3.99. I guess that leaves me with a clean review of Sunbutter afterall!
Sunbutter is perfect for those with anaphylaxis due to peanut allergy in their homes. We do not let our daughter eat Sunbutter to avoid confusion but it has been an excellent peanut butter replacement for us.
Tonight we had an incident that reinforced our decision to remove all raw egg products from our home. We ate dinner on the deck tonight. My wife ran back into the kitchen but for an instant and in the time she was gone, our daughter grabbed her hamburger and took a big bite. In the past we always had mayo on our burgers. Given our daughter's egg allergy this would likely have been a bad situation.
But alas we are now using an eggless mayo so disaster was averted. There was no way I could have gotten to the burger before my daughter. Naturally my immediate thought was a mental image of the allergic reaction that might have ensued should the mayo have been of the egg variety.
Our decision to remove eggs from the home came after I ate an omelet. It was about a month ago. Up to that point we kept eggs but removed peanuts. The thinking was that we could be careful with eggs but despite all my precautions during the cooking process, I gave my daughter a kiss after eating the omelet and she had a large welt on her cheek. That was the final straw.
Ironically a week or so after we removed eggs from the house my parents were here. My Dad found four eggs in the back of the fridge and fried them up. My wife caught him just as he was bringing the eggs downstairs to my Mom, who incidentally was playing with our egg-allergic daughter. Understandably my Dad did not think about the allergy and it was only after my wife caught him at the top of the stairs with a plate of eggs that he remembered. I did not even realize we still had eggs in the back of the fridge.
Though (like me) you'll probably miss many of your favourite food items, I urge you to rid your home of any products that contain allergens harmful to your family members. Accidents happen and it is just not worth the risk.
I always find it interesting how many times our daughter's anapylaxis comes up in conversation. People are genuinely interested in it. Surely our forced preoccupation with her allergies is a major factor but when the topic comes up people do not shy away from the discussion. They are typically inquisitive and sympathetic at the same time and seem interested in discussing it at length.
I was reminded of people's interest tonight after reading an article which discussed the fact that food allergy seems to be growing exponentially. That point resonates with people whenever we discuss food allergy - they are not generally aware of this increase. The other thing they are struck by is how little research funding is out there. Though total research seems to be growing, at least anecdotally, the fact remains that food allergy research lacks funding versus other health issues. The Food Allergy Project sums it up well:
"Food allergy research is woefully underfunded. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends less than $10 million a year on food allergy research, compared to $107 million on attention deficit disorder and $1.2 billion on diabetes. These are all important diseases that deserve attention."
Whenever we discuss food allergy over dinner or in a group setting, people are troubled by the fact that while many healthcare professionals and scientists concur that there is likely a cure for food allergy, research into a solution is underfunded. Hopefully this will change as awareness builds.
The Padres have followed the lead of the 2006 Minnesota Twins, offering one home game with a peanut free section. Though this is a positive step, there is room for improvement. First of all, they are offering one game out of 80+. In addition, even with Padres attendance up 8% so far this year they draw only 33,000 per game versus the 42,500 seating capacity. There is an opportunity to have at least one peanut free section for every game.
The one difference here, as compared with the Twins, is that the allergic kids are at least sitting in a proper section of the ballpark instead of being quarantined in a skybox. To enhance safety, the Padres have assigned two additional ushers to the peanut free zone and have a paramedic in close proximity in the event of an allergic reaction.
Allergic fans should understand that there are no guarantees. There is always the risk of a remnant peanut from a prior game, but certainly this is much safer than sitting next to a guy who has a mound of shells at his feet and particles blowing all over those seated nearby.
Though the Padres are taking a step in the right direction, I am looking forward to the first stadium that steps up and ends the sale of unshelled peanuts. This would allow allergic kids to sit throughout the stadium. The Padres designated section 326 as the peanut free zone. From this seating chart you'll notice that section 326 is so deep in the recesses of the upper deck that you might as well be watching from home.
Note: Soon after I made this post I came across another article while visiting ABCPeanuts. It noted that the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL played their entire 2006 home schedule peanut free. Kudos to this CFL team for being the first to step up!
Today marks the debut of NoPeanutsPlease Product Reviews. These reviews will focus on products that make life safer or more comfortable for those with severe allergies. The reviews will have four categories: Impact, Quality, Price, Style.
The first product I am reviewing came to my attention as a result of the interconnections created in May by Ria Sharon, our inaugural Villager of the Month. Ria highlighted other bloggers on her site during food allergy week. One of the featured sites was the Food Allergy Queen, who pointed me in the direction of AllergyMama.com. You could say it took a village ...
Product being reviewed
AllergyMama.com purses and totes
Impact
The first thing I look for is whether this product contributes to comfort or safety. We've often rifled through the recesses of a diaper bag trying to locate allergy medication that we know to be inside. The stylish and colourful AllergyMama.com totes and purses easily carry parental accessories. More importantly, the bags neatly hide allergy medication in a lined, zippered section on the bottom of the bag, thereby improving both safety and comfort.
Quality
The bags are made of a lighter cloth and to a high level of quality. Though I do have concerns about the durability of the cloth over time, and whether it will hold up in Vancouver's winter rain, there have been no issues to date.
Price
Priced at $65 for the purse and $82 for the tote, the bags are reasonably priced. In addition you have the option of ordering a custom bag at no extra charge.
Style
In addition to improving comfort and safety, these bags score points for style. Each bag is unique and the peppy colours, funky beads and catchy names (such as 'Harriet Takes New York') are just downright fun. A diaper bag has never looked this good!
Overall
The smart design of these purses and totes have been a hit with my wife. The zippered compartment is very convenient and the bags are quite stylish. Though the bags will likely not prove as durable as the traditional diaper bag, they truly are a great accessory for the hip urban Mommy.
YouTube (aka Google Video) has a cool blog widget that allows users to view videos. I have a video strip below that allows you to view videos that are pulled based on the following search terms: peanut allergy, food allergy, anaphylaxis. The risk is that some suspect videos show up but I think this will be an entertaining addition to the blog. Note that when you click on a video thumbnail the video plays at the top of the page.
