Dorothy's friends Katherine and Alfie are eight years old. They suffer from food allergies, in their case “gut allergies” called non IgE allergies which you can’t test for.
IgE allergies are the ones which bring an instant reaction, and extreme forms can cause anaphylaxis.
Do you know anyone who carries an Epipen? They contain medicine for that sort of allergy. You can test for those - which makes identifying your trigger foods a little easier, although food allergies are never easy!
"There are different types of food allergies. We have Eosinophilic Disease, when the body gets confused and thinks some foods are like germs and need attacking. The problem is this attack can end up hurting your body too! Eating those foods make your throat, tummy or bowel red and sore and stops them working properly. If you are not careful then things we all take for granted like eating, swallowing and digesting food don’t happen properly. Going to the toilet can be painful, take a long time and be really difficult. Like any other food allergy you must stop eating the food your body is reacting to.
Some people react in a quick, dangerous way to foods. This can be life threatening. Others react more slowly but the long term effect can be very serious. All our bodies like to be cared for, letting them get red, sore and swollen for long periods of time can damage them. Our bodies work best when they are properly cared for. We all try and look after our teeth by not eating too many sweets! If you have a food allergy you look after your body by avoiding those foods your body reacts to.
Sometimes that means you cannot eat foods which have important things in them for growing. That can mean you need to find those important things in other foods, or in a special formula drink, and take medicines to keep healthy."
Food still needs to be fun though - Katherine and Alfie do lots of baking and cooking with their mum. You can substitute most foods to make delicious recipes.
Katherine says "Getting enough energy is really important - we use a lot of it in school! So sometimes food you might think is less healthy is just right for us! Healthy Eating is really important. It is about looking after your body. But most of all it is about eating in a way to take care of your own body in the best way possible for you."
Want more information on food allergies?
For “classic” IgE food allergies Our Allergy Adventures is a great site for kids. Lots of activities and useful child-friendly information.
For general info on allergies for kids www.allergykids.co.uk/
Or if your parents want to read more about allergies and intolerances, or more specifically Gut Allergies.
Interesting article. I agree food should be fun and children should learn how to make food that is healthy for them.
ReplyDeleteIts great that the children enjoy getting in the kitchen. It must be hard finding what is good and bad for their bodies. But this is a really interesting post x
ReplyDeleteSome great information there. I definitely agree that food needs to be fun, which I imagine is all the more important for children with allergies so they do not feel left out or like they cannot enjoy food.
ReplyDeleteInteresting read. Must make for a complex life at times, but good to hear they are enjoying cooking and eating the results!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with ensuring Baby has a varied diet (no imagination) , it must be so difficult to have to take account of allergies x
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post, I'm glad I came across your blog. Fortunately A. doesn't seem to have any allergies so far, but I'll pass your blog on to a friend whose LO seems to have milk allergy and generally isn't keen on lots of foods, maybe they can find some solutions here x
ReplyDeleteAn interesting article and full of information for those for those with children who have allergies.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me just how much I take for granted - not worrying about such things x
ReplyDeleteGoodness. What an interesting post. Thankfully we don't have any allergies in the house but I am aware that as Harry starts school and after-school play-dates become more common place, it may well be something we need to take into consideration.
ReplyDeletei have been truly blessed and lucky not to have any allergy issues with our 7 , i myself have hayfever but food wise i have been lucky and so have my children alhough my husband and i will not allow nuts anyway x
ReplyDeleteLots of information here - thanks for sharing xx
ReplyDeleteReally interesting. I have food allergy issues, but would never wish it on children.
ReplyDeleteWe've been lucky so far that we don't appear to have any allergies, although I was allergic to milk as a baby/toddler. As a teacher though I had to be so aware of bringing in treats and doing food tech lessonsnwth kids as had two children with lots of allergies, wish I had seen this then!
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to make food fun and interesting for little ones with allergies. It must be quite a challenge.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting as I didn't really know much about this but it is good to know about allergies. It's great that the they still enjoy food considering. x
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post, i don't really know much about the different allergies as we're not allergic to anything but its always good to know! x
ReplyDeleteThis is such an informative post. Thank you, Katherine and Alfie. We take so much for granted in having children with no food allergies.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating seeing how children cope with their various food allergies - they are so grown up about it!
ReplyDeletereally interesting! We have no allergies in our family so I've learnt a lot! x
ReplyDeleteI look after a little boy with serious food allergies and admit I find it stressful trying to come up with nutritious and fun food he can eat
ReplyDeleteSometimes they can be so stubborn and refuse to acknowledge they they cannot eat something ;-(
ReplyDeleteReally interesting post! We're lucky that none of us suffer from allergies so don't appreciate the struggles that other families often go through
ReplyDeleteLuckily we don't have any allergies here, it must be awful to have to be careful all the time.
ReplyDeleteA really informative post. I wish I had known about your blog when my six month old baby had her allergic reaction and we were left with very little help or information for months. Mel
ReplyDeleteThanks Mel :) that's really kind.
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