Living with allergies - Allergy awareness week
This week is allergy awareness week. I guess it's the fad to have these awareness raising weeks to make people aware of the conditions people have to live with, but I'm not too sure now much people really pay attention to them unless they're personally affected. Cancer awareness obviously gets lots of attention as we all know someone who's suffered or succumbed to it. Perhaps it's the lesser known and unfamiliar conditions that really need the exposure though.
Munchkin doesn't break out in hives if she eats something she shouldn't, although we have an epi pen of adrenalin with us at all times just in case. Her reactions are milder but still extremely disruptive. Her eczema can flare and she becomes red raw head to toe. She'll scratch her skin on anything she can find. The sides of the high chair (which have sharp plastic edges), the carpet (which results in sore carpet burns). She already has issues with feeding behaviourally, but when she's itchy you can pretty much write off the meal as she's too distracted with scratching to eat. At 20 months old she still very rarely sleeps through the night and frequently wakes up, her sleep disturbed because she's itchy. She ends up in our bed most nights, so we're pretty much permanently knackered.
Trying to buy foods for munchkin is a challenge to say the least. Dairy, soya, wheat, maize, banana, apple, pear, strawberry, blueberry and broccoli all make her itch. Dairy is the worst, making her look sunburnt. Any parent will know that that list pretty much rules out almost every baby food in the shops. It also rules out most foods in general. The majority of the foods in the free from aisle are a no no as all the dairy free substitutes contain soya instead of milk and if they don't, they have apple, banana or pear in them. Most of her food needs to be made from scratch, which I know some people will say is best anyway, and when you're at home yes it's fine, but what about when you're out and she wants a snack? Or eating out at restaurants? Or places where you can't heat a home cooked meal? Her diet is really limited as options are so few, which I'm sure hasn't helped her feeding problems. Who would really want to eat rice, potato, fish, chicken, green beans and peas, in various different forms and combinations, day in day out at every meal?!
What I do find off the shelf costs a fortune. A small pot of coconut yoghurt, enough for one meal, costs £2. That's £14 a week just on yoghurt alone if she had one a day. And it's not just food. The dermatologist recommended silk undergarments specially designed for children with eczema to stop her scratching until she bleeds at night. They cost £45 per top. And any parent will tell you, clothes don't last long for a growing toddler. Then there's the multiple creams and lotions, the trips to see homeopaths... it all adds up. When she was younger, before the GP admitted she had a dairy allergy, we were spending £20 a week just on goats milk formula to see if that helped (it did slightly).
But it's not about the money. It's about the discomfort and difficulties her allergies cause. She's finally showing interest in foods and I'm having to say no when she points to a biscuit another child is eating. It pains me to see her scratching and her face covered in scabs. It's the uncertainty, when her skin flares up and you have no idea what's caused it or if she's allergic to something you hadn't considered. Even things like shower gels and creams that may have soya in can cause a reaction. I hate using steroids on her but it's the only thing which calms the inflammation. I worry about her skin in the future and if I'm causing future damage.
Living with an allergy or a child with allergies can be difficult, but most people associate allergies with anaphylactic ahock, where the sufferer has a severe reaction to something and comes out in rashes and dangerous swelling which, if I'm the mouth or airway, can be fatal. Not all allergies are this severe though.
Munchkin doesn't break out in hives if she eats something she shouldn't, although we have an epi pen of adrenalin with us at all times just in case. Her reactions are milder but still extremely disruptive. Her eczema can flare and she becomes red raw head to toe. She'll scratch her skin on anything she can find. The sides of the high chair (which have sharp plastic edges), the carpet (which results in sore carpet burns). She already has issues with feeding behaviourally, but when she's itchy you can pretty much write off the meal as she's too distracted with scratching to eat. At 20 months old she still very rarely sleeps through the night and frequently wakes up, her sleep disturbed because she's itchy. She ends up in our bed most nights, so we're pretty much permanently knackered. 
Trying to buy foods for munchkin is a challenge to say the least. Dairy, soya, wheat, maize, banana, apple, pear, strawberry, blueberry and broccoli all make her itch. Dairy is the worst, making her look sunburnt. Any parent will know that that list pretty much rules out almost every baby food in the shops. It also rules out most foods in general. The majority of the foods in the free from aisle are a no no as all the dairy free substitutes contain soya instead of milk and if they don't, they have apple, banana or pear in them. Most of her food needs to be made from scratch, which I know some people will say is best anyway, and when you're at home yes it's fine, but what about when you're out and she wants a snack? Or eating out at restaurants? Or places where you can't heat a home cooked meal? Her diet is really limited as options are so few, which I'm sure hasn't helped her feeding problems. Who would really want to eat rice, potato, fish, chicken, green beans and peas, in various different forms and combinations, day in day out at every meal?! 
What I do find off the shelf costs a fortune. A small pot of coconut yoghurt, enough for one meal, costs £2. That's £14 a week just on yoghurt alone if she had one a day. And it's not just food. The dermatologist recommended silk undergarments specially designed for children with eczema to stop her scratching until she bleeds at night. They cost £45 per top. And any parent will tell you, clothes don't last long for a growing toddler. Then there's the multiple creams and lotions, the trips to see homeopaths... it all adds up. When she was younger, before the GP admitted she had a dairy allergy, we were spending £20 a week just on goats milk formula to see if that helped (it did slightly). 
But it's not about the money. It's about the discomfort and difficulties her allergies cause. She's finally showing interest in foods and I'm having to say no when she points to a biscuit another child is eating. It pains me to see her scratching and her face covered in scabs. It's the uncertainty, when her skin flares up and you have no idea what's caused it or if she's allergic to something you hadn't considered. Even things like shower gels and creams that may have soya in can cause a reaction. I hate using steroids on her but it's the only thing which calms the inflammation. I worry about her skin in the future and if I'm causing future damage.
So there you go. An awareness of what it's like for my daughter living with allergies. I challenge you next time you do your weekly good shop to find a snack suitable for a toddler that has no milk, wheat, maize, soya, apple, pear, banana, strawberry or blueberry in it. And if you do, leave me a comment! I'd like to know :)
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