Food allergies at school

AUSTIN (KXAN) - To a child with a food allergy, eating at school can sometimes be scary.  Pick the wrong snack or lunch item and you could get hives, itchy throat and even have trouble breathing.  Allergist Dr. Pooja Varshney of Dell Medical Center's 'Specially For Children has been busy helping students with food allergies get ready for school.

Look in any classroom, and you'll likely find at least one child with a food allergy.  Allergists say the number is one in every 25 kids.  These are kids who could have life threatening reaction if they eat a particular food.  Dr. Varshney takes time to help children and their parents know how to manage their food allergies when they are at school, a place they could encounter what they are allergic to, and they have to know how to react.

"Actually the first step is knowing how to avoid the food allergen," said Dr. Varshney.  "Really that requires a lot of personal responsibility on the part of the child, the family and then also the school environment and school personnel, because this affects not just the kids with food allergy but also kids who don't have food allergy."

 

The most common food allergies are milk, eggs and peanuts.  That is followed by wheat, tree nuts and soy.  All of those food allergies most often show up when children eat them for the first time around age one to two.  Fish and shell fish bother some people, although those allergies can show up at any age.

Dr. Varshney says many people who think they have a food allergy likely do not.

"About 25 percent of people out there think they have food allergy," said Dr. Varshney.  "The exact number is probably between 1 to 2 percent of adults and 4 to 6 percent of kids."

The difference there, Dr. Varshney says, is due to so many lab tests now that can lead people to believe they have a food allergy, but she says they need more comprehensive testing.
 

Here is another myth about food allergies.  She says you actually have to ingest the food to cause serious harm.

"So if you have contact with a food allergen, it may cause a skin symptom," said Dr. Varshney.  "It may cause hives or redness at the site, but it's very unlikely to progress to a systemic or life threatening allergic reaction."

There are a few exceptions to that according to Dr. Varshney.  If you are allergic to fish or shellfish, all you have to do is smell it cooking, and you can have an allergic reaction.

Learn more about food allergies at this link .

 

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