>I have a 18 month old little boy with severe food allergies to milk,
>egg, wheat, soy, and citrus. If there are any other parents out there in
>my situation I would like to hear from you. Any information you have on
>food allergies would be greatly appreciated. We are members of FAN. Are
>there any other groups I can hook up with? My email address is
>[log in to unmask] .
>
Lori

Just saw this old message burrind in my inbox.

My 11-year-old, Josh, has severe reactions to dairy products, eggs, and all
nuts. He also has food-allergy-triggered  eczema. For the most part, he
does quite well on a restricted diet. THe only times that we have trouble
is when we're not absolutely vigilant about what he eats. When we prepare
the food, and we're careful about cross-contamination, he does great.

One counterexample was on Saturday, when he ate something at a picnic and
had a severe reaction. He did have many symptoms of anaphylaxis, but
fortuntely his airways remained open (mostly) and his blood pressure didn't
collapse. We got his antihistamines and Ventolin (asthma rescue medication)
into him, and got him to a hospital immediately (we were 2 blocks away!).
We were hesitant to give him the Epipen because 1) he was still conscious
and alert, 2) we were so close to the hospital and knew we'd have to go
there anyway, and 3) we were slightly afraid of not being able to replace
it (while disturbing, the last item was a *very* minor concern).

They gave him a shot of epi and he responded well. By the time is wore off,
his antihistamines had kicked in and he was doing much better. We kept him
on the antihistamines for another 24 hours. He was fine. We were a wreck
(and still are). Seems that when we let up our guard, we are much more
likely to have trouble.

The bottom line is that we must always err on the side of caution, or we
must be prepared to react immediately when the consequences arise. We
always have antihistamines and Epipens with us.

We try very hard to anticipate when food will be needed. Josh has come to
trust that we will make up for any situation where he was denied a special
treat (e.g., that was offered to him and/or his little brothers) with an
equal or better treat later.

Good luck with your son. You and he will need it.

Mark

Mark Feblowitz                  GTE Laboratories Incorporated
[log in to unmask]              40 Sylvan Road, Waltham, MA 02154-1120