Sustainable allergy T.shirts? Sit down and explain in simple terms what a food allergy is. Go over the emergency action plan that you’ll be putting in their backpack or lunchbox. Give your child a list of their food allergens and practice reading them aloud together. Show your child how to read food labels and which words to look for. Take a road trip to the grocery store and make a game of finding all the food allergens, both in their whole and processed forms. Give your kid a dedicated shelf in the fridge or pantry and help them stock it with allergy-safe snacks that they can independently choose. If your child likes crafts, make a collage comparing safe and unsafe foods. Print pictures online or cut them from newspapers, magazines and food packaging. Check out kid-friendly websites like Allergy Adventures for games, puzzles and videos about common food allergies. Make food allergies the stuff of heroes and legends with fun, age-appropriate books like The Princess and the Peanut Allergy or Aidan the Wonder Kid Who Could Not Be Stopped: A Food Allergy and Intolerance Story.
My son always chose to put on these Allergy T.Shirts at social events, parties, restaurants and on holidays. This gave confidence for him to start managing responsibility and helped others to be more vigilant. It has such a positive impact on negotiating his allergies. Life with an allergy can make social events difficult and worrying. There is always food involved somewhere. This is when it can be anxiety-provoking and some children may even choose to avoid certain activities. At only 18 months old, we discovered our son had a severe peanut and egg allergy. To help us cope and make everyone understand, I sewed an allergy warning onto the back of his favourite T.Shirts. The most common times for accidental exposure, occur when people are out of their familiar environment or routine, or amongst people who are unaware that a person has allergies.
No matter their age, encourage your child to ask questions of their doctor so they can begin to have that direct doctor/patient relationship that they will need as they grow and learn and become more independent. Here are some great additional tips from FARE about how to talk to your child in an age-appropriate way about their medical diagnosis. Mistakes will happen. That is life, for everyone. However, for a child with food allergies, the consequences of an honest mistake can be very scary. Talking through a food allergy emergency is so important, and there are ways to do it for all developmental levels. Discover extra info at Allergy T.Shirts.
The first time my own child experienced an allergic reaction, he was a ten month-old baby, happily gumming a teething biscuit in his high chair. When I noticed his lip had puffed up, my first thought was that he’d accidentally hit himself in the face while I wasn’t looking. Neither my husband nor I suspected food allergies, but the advice nurse did, and she instructed us to get to urgent care immediately. Luckily for us, this reaction was mild, but it could have been much worse.
Your child’s allergist is the best person to advise you if you have questions about your child’s individual risk or when you should treat an allergic reaction/asthma attack at home versus go to the Emergency Department. Many allergists are offering telemedicine appointments, so you do not have to attend allergy appointments in person during the COVID-19 crisis. Routinely schedule quiet one-on-one time with your child during the pandemic. Use this to check in about how they are feeling and give them time to ask you questions. Validate their feelings and acknowledge that worry is normal. Discover even more info on here.