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Mom Warns Parents What Anaphylaxis Really Looks Like

As a mom to a child with a food allergy (peanuts in particular) I fear the day that I have to ever watch my son go through a severe allergic reaction more commonly known as Anaphylaxis. 

While I thought I knew what to look for, one mom just painted a very real picture and now I realize, I had no clue what to ever expect and I am so glad I saw her post!

Mom Warns Parents What Anaphylaxis Really Looks Like

According to Wikipedia:

“Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death. It typically causes more than one of the following: an itchy rash, throat or tongue swelling, shortness of breath, vomiting, lightheadedness, and low blood pressure. These symptoms typically come on over minutes to hours.”

And that’s the thing, when we first found out my son had an allergy to peanuts, we had just given him peanut butter and we didn’t see most of the typical symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Within a few minutes of ingesting the peanut butter at home, he began to cough and vomit.

We rushed him to the ER but when we arrived, they monitored him and he never did have to receive any sort of medication, EpiPen or breathing treatments.

It wasn’t until a blood test was done, that they determined he had a peanut allergy and needed to avoid them.

We were lucky.

But one little girl almost lost her life while she was being monitored during a controlled tree nut challenge.

During these challenges, kids are given small amounts of the allergen and monitored during this time. The idea is that, their body will build antibodies to the allergen and eventually the child may eat the allergen without a reaction at all.

It is also sometimes known as OIT therapy which stands for “Oral immunotherapy” or oral desensitization for food allergies.

OIT is a medical treatment guided by a board-certified allergist with a payoff of lifetime freedom from food fear and stress.  The immune system is re-trained to tolerate food proteins/allergens through regular eating of small amounts of food.

Something this family was trying to do for their daughter when things went horribly wrong.

The mom posted on Facebook warning other parents saying this:

My daughter recently had a controlled tree nut challenge at her allergist. She went into anaphylaxis during the trial….

Posted by Julie Ferrier Berghaus on Saturday, March 9, 2019

So, as you can see, anaphylaxis doesn’t always look like it’s described as.

It’s terrifying.

It can be silent.

And in an instant, it can be deadly.

Please, please share this with anyone you know that has children with food allergies.

This is one of my biggest fears once my son starts Kindergarten this year. I am terrified to put my faith into another’s hands when it comes to his food allergy.

Seeing this, really puts things into a very real perspective and I hope by sharing this, we can keep other kids safe from a deadly allergic reaction to food.