Food allergies.
I’ve known about food allergies for a long time since I work in pediatric healthcare. If you’re like me and work in pediatric feeding, you MUST know about food allergies to keep your patients safe.
But food allergies and I got much more close and personal when I had my first baby. One day I had a snack while my son was napping. I enjoyed some peanut butter on banana slices, drank a glass of water and then put a load of laundry into the washing machine. Shortly afterwards my little boy woke from his nap and I swept him into my arms to give him kiss on his tiny, five-month-old cheek.
And then he started to swell.
I was beyond shocked, but I knew in an instant what was happening. My brain went to a clinical place and my first thought was back to the peanut butter I had eaten about 15 minutes earlier. I called the pediatrician and loaded him into the car; praying the entire time.
My baby got the care he needed and he was safe. I was shaken to my core. We went home with strict instructions to make our home nut free.
That night my husband and I emptied our pantry shelves into trash cans in utter disbelief and thought, “Food allergies do not run in our families, how can this be happening to our son?”
Sadly, our story is becoming the more common one. Once you are thrown into this world, you look around and realize, we are in the middle of a silent “allergy super storm.” An impending epidemic. A public health crisis. This isn’t me being an over-reacting allergy parent. These are the hard, cold facts. The number of children being affected by food allergies is rising at an alarmingly, rapid rate.
While many people are presenting theories (not facts) and arguing over the cause, researchers are hard at work searching for a cure. WE want one. They are getting close.
Want to learn more? Do you love being in the “know”? All it takes is ONE hour.
I am BEYOND excited to help spread the word about a NEW DOCUMENTARY!
The Food Allergy Research & Education Organization has teamed up with the Discovery Channel to “produce a new medical documentary, “An Emerging Epidemic: Food Allergies in America.” The hour-long documentary, narrated by Steve Carell, explores the science of food allergy, what it is like to live with the disease, and the state of food allergy research, including the status of various treatments under study.”
The documentary will premiere Sept. 7 at 8 a.m. ET/PT and encore on Sept. 21 at 8 a.m. ET/PT. Check local listings for details & set your DVRs!
You can bet i’ll have something to say about it afterwards.