New to Food Allergies?

When a child is diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening food allergy, the parent(s) must become educated very quickly. This is often an overwhelming, scary, and worry-ridden time for parents. Being well educated on food allergy and always prepared for accidental exposure suddenly becomes a necessity!

Unfortunately, there is much more to managing food allergy than initially meets the eye… The good news is there is no need to re-invent the wheel. Through the Food Allergy Parent Education Group, we share knowledge and learn from each others’ experiences!

We enlist area experts in food allergy and related fields to ensure our members have numerous opportunities to learn as much as possible about food allergy – so we can all keep our children safe. We have families who are new to food allergy and parents who have been managing food allergies for years. We have families who manage one food allergy and families managing multiple food allergies. Together, we share a common bond that can be very comforting. It can be very validating to talk with other families who are living the “food allergy life style” and who understand the worry, restrictions, accommodations, and diligence that managing food allergy entails. It can be very encouraging to learn new ways to help our children live full, rich, healthy lives. It can be very empowering to learn the ins-and-outs of food allergy and to help others become educated, as well.

If your child has not been evaluated by a board certified allergist, you can look here to find one in your area:

• American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI)
• American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology

In addition to looking through our links page, you may find the following links from FAAN especially helpful:

• Do you have a food allergy?
• Information for the Newly Diagnosed
• Food Allergy Facts and Statistics
• FAQ about Food Allergy
• How to read labels
• Food allergy action plan
• Chef Card (Interactive)

Rest assured that there are numerous products available for children with food allergies. There are many companies making food products in dedicated facilities and many of these allergy-free foods are available in local stores. For example, stores like Whole Foods Markets carry product lines such as Enjoy Life Foods and Cherrybrook Kitchen. There are special formulas available for infants and children from companies such as Nutricia/Neocate. There are many online stores like Allergy Grocer for purchasing products by mail. There are a variety of cookbooks and numerous educational books on food allergy that are available online, in local bookstores, and at our public libraries. There are online websites that list free recipes and provide additional information and support, such as sites like Kids with Food Allergies. You are likely to be amazed at all the resources available to help us manage food allergy- and, luckily, there are more and more products/resources becoming available all the time!

We are here to help and we hope to meet you soon!

Please remember: FAPE does not endorse any of these companies or products. We listed a few as examples of possible resources to look into. Please use your own judgment. Please consult a physician.