6) Cooking a food makes it less allergenic (less likely to cause an allergy).
Proteins are the part of the food that triggers an allergic reaction and some people believe that cooking a food alters the protein enough so that your child won't be allergic to it anymore. That is why, some believe, some kids can be allergic to eggs, but still eat a cake that was made with eggs.
According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, most foods "can still cause reactions even after they are cooked," although "some allergens (most often from fruit and vegetables) cause allergic reactions only if eaten before being cooked."
7) If you are allergic to a food, it is OK to sometimes eat small amounts if that doesn't trigger a reaction.
This is a dangerous myth, since just because your child didn't have a reaction after eating a small amount of a food he is allergic to one time, that doesn't mean that he won't have a more serious reaction next time. Also, since the best way to outgrow a food allergy is to practice a strict elimination diet, in which you don't eat the food for a few years, eating small amounts of the food from time to time may decrease your child's chances of outgrowing his food allergies.
8) Food allergies aren't real.
Food allergies are real. And yes, some people are so allergic to foods that they have reactions if foods are simply made using the same utensils or if they touch the food and don't actually eat it.
Because food allergies are so serious, be sure to respect a child's food allergies and alert parents and children when a food might have been made with a food that they are allergic to.
9) It is easy to avoid foods your child is allergic to.
While it may be easy to avoid the whole foods that your child is allergic to, like milk and eggs, the real problem is that many of these types of foods are ingredients in other foods. So the hard part about avoiding allergic foods is trying to figure out what is actually in the foods that you are thinking about feeding to your allergic child.
Reading food labels of processed foods and asking about the ingredients of foods when you go to a restaurant, your child eats out at school, or eats at the home of a friend or family member can help detect hidden ingredients that your child may be allergic to.
10) Food allergies aren't serious.
Food allergies can be deadly.
Each year, there are about 150 deaths a year from severe allergic reactions from foods.
In many cases, a younger child or teenager with a known food allergy, might eat the food they are allergic to and may not survive a life-threatening allergic reaction in the following situations:
- at school in a cooking class (a 16-year-old who ate a walnut in Chinese food)
- eating a cookie on a school outing (a 9-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- eating bread at home (a 16-year-old allergic to milk)
- eating an egg roll (a-12-year old allergic to peanuts)
- eating a wrap (an 18-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- eating a cookie at a friend's home (a 17-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- eating candy at a friend's home (a 17-year-old allergic to hazelnuts)
- eating peanut butter at camp (a 17-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- eating peanuts at home (a 5-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- drinking milk at camp (a 9-year-old allergic to milk)
- eating an egg roll at a restaurant (a 14-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- drinking a protein shake at home (a 17-year-old allergic to milk)
- drinking a chocolate mix drink at home (a 7-year-old allergic to milk)
- eating a candied apple at a carnival (an 11-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- eating a wrap at a fast food restaurant in a mall (a 13-year-old allergic to peanuts)
- eating a cookie at a friend's home (a 16-year-old allergic to peanuts)
These are among some of the cases reported in a registry maintained by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and are just a few of the deaths from food allergies that occurred between 2001 and 2006.
If your child has a food allergy, be sure to teach him how to identify and avoid foods that he should avoid, and make sure that he always has an EpiPen available in case he has a serious allergic reaction.
Sources:
Kliegman: Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 18th ed.
Adkinson: Middleton's Allergy: Principles and Practice, 6th ed.
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Tips to Remember: Food allergy
Early clinical predictors of remission of peanut allergy in children. Ho MH - J Allergy Clin Immunol - 01-MAR-2008; 121(3): 731-6
Further fatalities caused by anaphylactic reactions to food, 2001-2006. Bock SA - J Allergy Clin Immunol - 01-APR-2007; 119(4): 1016-8
