My son is a fourth generation food allergy sufferer.
The first member of my family that we can confirm had a food allergy was my Ama, Harriet Amanda Horton, who supposedly as a toddler was peeking out of the window at her mother, Amanda Lake Horton, when the picture above was taken. Harriet was violently allergic to shellfish her entire life.
Harry Davenport Horton and Amanda Elizabeth Lake.
I don't know if either of my Ama's parents had a food allergy. Her mother, Amanda died when Harriet was 14 months old. She was raised by her grandmother, and went on to marry and have four children, including my father, who was also extremely allergic to shellfish and less so to eggs. He eventually outgrew the egg allergy, but remained allergic to shellfish for his entire lifetime.
Harriet Amanda Horton, food allergy kid circa 1910/15.
In my generation, my brother followed the same pattern as my father, outgrowing an egg allergy, but remaining so allergic to shellfish, that to this day he cannot walk into a seafood restaurant without having difficulty breathing. I do not have any known food allergies, but have clearly carried the legacy on to my son, who is allergic to seven different foods.
Another generation of food allergies: my dad, lower left, and his older siblings.
Growing up around food allergies profoundly shaped my response to my son's initial diagnosis. When my four month old, mostly breastfed preemie had his first allergic reaction to a milk based formula, we went to the emergency room to have him treated, picked up some Benadryl on the way home and simply carried on. Quite frankly he had other medical issues that were of greater concern to us at the time, and a food allergy we knew how to manage.
That's the other part of my family's legacy, a stoic Scandinavian attitude that a food allergy is something that is managed by careful avoidance, rather than by medical intervention. It's just something that we live with. In three generations of food allergies, not one of my family members sought out an allergist.
As my son approached a year in age and had more reactions as he was exposed to more foods, we simply treated them with Benadryl. If I suspected he was sensitive to a food, I'd dab some of it on his back to see if he reacted, then avoid it if he did. (I do
not recommend doing this to test for food allergies, please see a medical professional!) I avoided giving him peanuts on his pediatrician's advice and stayed well away from shellfish, because of our family history.
At three years of age, I allowed my son to eat peanut butter, since he had accidentally been given it once before without any kind of reaction. He got a few bites down before projectile vomiting and sprouting hives. I gave him Benadryl once again, then finally made an appointment to see an allergist.
At the first appointment, the allergist grilled me fairly unmercifully about how I'd managed my son's food allergies. I had the impression that he either thought I was overreacting and my son didn't really have them, or that I had been extremely reckless in managing them the way I had. I was pretty sure he was leaning toward the latter by the end of the conversation, as I described the violent responses to various foods.
Then the results of both the IgE and scratch testing confirmed every food allergy I'd reported. Shellfish, which I had never exposed him to, was highest on the scale, 4+ out of 5, closely followed by peanut. The doctor prescribed a 2 pack of Epi-Pens.
After the visit I started researching food allergies online and discovered that they are not just my family's genetic quirk, but a new epidemic faced by an amazing community of families determined to overcome this unexpected threat to their children. As I read each report about new research and medical advances, I've almost allowed myself to begin to start thinking about a cure. Almost.
My very own allergic kid.
Please consider joining me and other members of my community at the Tampa FAAN Walk for Food Allergy on November 12. I'd be absolutely thrilled if you would consider
joining my team ,
starting one of your own or
making a donation .
This post was written as part of
NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days .
The percentage of kids with food allergies has risen sharply and abruptly from almost none to one in every classroom in under a decade. Food allergies used to be extraordinarily rare, but they did exist, including in my family.
The first member of my family that we can confirm had a food allergy was my Ama, Harriet Amanda Horton, who supposedly as a toddler was peeking out of the window at her mother, Amanda Lake Horton, when the picture above was taken. Harriet was violently allergic to shellfish her entire life.
I don't know if either of my Ama's parents had a food allergy. Her mother, Amanda died when Harriet was 14 months old. She was raised by her grandmother, and went on to marry and have four children, including my father, who was also extremely allergic to shellfish and less so to eggs. He eventually outgrew the egg allergy, but remained allergic to shellfish for his entire lifetime.
In my generation, my brother followed the same pattern as my father, outgrowing an egg allergy, but remaining so allergic to shellfish, that to this day he cannot walk into a seafood restaurant without having difficulty breathing. I do not have any known food allergies, but have clearly carried the legacy on to my son, who is allergic to seven different foods.
Growing up around food allergies profoundly shaped my response to my son's initial diagnosis. When my four month old, mostly breastfed preemie had his first allergic reaction to a milk based formula, we went to the emergency room to have him treated, picked up some Benadryl on the way home and simply carried on. Quite frankly he had other medical issues that were of greater concern to us at the time, and a food allergy we knew how to manage.
That's the other part of my family's legacy, a stoic Scandinavian attitude that a food allergy is something that is managed by careful avoidance, rather than by medical intervention. It's just something that we live with. In three generations of food allergies, not one of my family members sought out an allergist.
As my son approached a year in age and had more reactions as he was exposed to more foods, we simply treated them with Benadryl. If I suspected he was sensitive to a food, I'd dab some of it on his back to see if he reacted, then avoid it if he did. (I do not recommend doing this to test for food allergies, please see a medical professional!) I avoided giving him peanuts on his pediatrician's advice and stayed well away from shellfish, because of our family history.
At three years of age, I allowed my son to eat peanut butter, since he had accidentally been given it once before without any kind of reaction. He got a few bites down before projectile vomiting and sprouting hives. I gave him Benadryl once again, then finally made an appointment to see an allergist.
At the first appointment, the allergist grilled me fairly unmercifully about how I'd managed my son's food allergies. I had the impression that he either thought I was overreacting and my son didn't really have them, or that I had been extremely reckless in managing them the way I had. I was pretty sure he was leaning toward the latter by the end of the conversation, as I described the violent responses to various foods.
Then the results of both the IgE and scratch testing confirmed every food allergy I'd reported. Shellfish, which I had never exposed him to, was highest on the scale, 4+ out of 5, closely followed by peanut. The doctor prescribed a 2 pack of Epi-Pens.
After the visit I started researching food allergies online and discovered that they are not just my family's genetic quirk, but a new epidemic faced by an amazing community of families determined to overcome this unexpected threat to their children. As I read each report about new research and medical advances, I've almost allowed myself to begin to start thinking about a cure. Almost.
Please consider joining me and other members of my community at the Tampa FAAN Walk for Food Allergy on November 12. I'd be absolutely thrilled if you would consider joining my team , starting one of your own or making a donation .
This post was written as part of NHBPM – 30 health posts in 30 days .