15 million people or 1 in every 13 children, in the United States alone, have something in common. Food allergies. Food allergies happen when the immune system makes a mistake, according to Kid’s Health. Your immune system makes antibodies to help you fight germs and disease, but with an allergy something in the food or other allergen tricks your immune system into thinking it’s dangerous to you. A common misunderstanding is that the allergen is what is harmful, when it’s really how your body is reacting to it that is harmful. (Though of course, one should avoid the allergen if possible.) The most common food allergies are to peanuts and other nuts; seafood, milk, eggs, soy, and wheat.

What is a reaction like? Something in the food triggers the immune system to take action, and mast cells (a type of antibody) release chemicals, such as histamine, into the bloodstream. The histamine causes the symptoms that most people know, and the reaction can happen right away or even a few hours after. The first signs could be a runny nose, an itchy skin rash, or a tingling in the tongue or lips. Other signs include; tightness in the throat, hoarse voice, wheezing, cough, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, or diarrhea. The most serious symptom is anaphylaxis, which is a sudden and severe allergic reaction which involves the skin, breathing, digestion, the heart, and blood vessels. While some kids can outgrow allergies, some allergies can’t be outgrown just as some allergies are from birth and others can develop over time due to surroundings or changes in the body.

Nichole Boyden, mother of three, has two daughters with severe allergies. Her middle daughter is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs while her youngest is only allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Both cases are considered anaphylactic. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology peanut allergies are the hardest to diagnose and tend to be the most severe. The first signs of an allergy for Nichole’s middle daughter came when she was only 18 months. Nichole had given her a bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and her face immediately puffed up. They cut peanuts from her diet but 6 months later she grabbed her sister’s English muffin with peanut butter and took a bite, within seconds she projectile vomited; which means she’s so allergic that her body wouldn’t even try to break it down. They tested her and she was considered in the high risk category. With their youngest they wanted to be careful, but also not keep her from all foods because of their fear. When she was three, they let her have a tiny bite of the sweet treat Puppy Chow. She started scratching at her tongue which resulted in testing her as well.

Nichole immediately removed all peanut and nut products from the house so their home life was a completely nut free zone. Nichole said it was a learning experience with her middle child, figuring out how to handle the allergy and how to work with the school. Until her youngest was in kindergarten there wasn’t a nut-free table so it was definitely a trial period in the beginning. The lunch room now has a nut-free table, the teachers wipe down the tables and desks to make sure no by-products are there, and most of the school is nut-free. Though children are still allowed to have nuts at lunch, the school has all the children wash their hands after school so no traces are brought elsewhere. Nichole mentioned that washing hands with soap and water is the best because using just hand sanitizer is just rubbing it around on the skin and doesn’t remove anything. Her children also carry EpiPens for the rare instance that a peanut escapes everyone’s notice. Nichole mentioned that even she has made mistakes; she recently bought a chapstick and was using it for a few days before she noticed it contained peanut oil.

Jackie Riley is an adult who suffers from a peanut allergy who says it wasn’t too difficult growing up with the allergy. “My only real threat was peanut butter. Kids are pretty simple when it comes to food.” As Jackie grew older and times changed, she has noticed more issues with not just food items but everyday items. As society moves into a natural craze, more products are containing some type of nut oil and it’s being used a lot to cook with as it’s a healthier substitute to oils like vegetable oil. This is also the scariest part for Nichole, it’s almost an unknown exposure. Nichole mentioned that things like lotions,

tooth paste, cleaning products, health and beauty products, etc. are containing these nut oils. Then there’s foods that can be cooked in nut oil that may escape notice. It’s not just food items anymore; there is a world of non-food items. Right now Nichole knows they are safe under her roof but as they grow older that can all change. Moving out on their own and even dating are big worries for her. “If the boy just ate a PBJ sandwich and she goes to kiss him…you just don’t know.”

Nichole and Jackie both noted that people are still always looking at food when it comes to peanut allergies and they don’t expect a non-food item to be dangerous as well.

Yankton School District and Sacred Heart Schools are more than willing to work with parents and their kids’ food allergies. Sandy Kramer, of Yankton School District, informed me that there are special diet order forms for parents to fill out and it has to be signed by a doctor. Sandy also told me that each school has a different system concerning allergies.

For the elementary schools, once the menu has been filled out it is double-checked to make sure that no food allergies were missed. For the middle school and high school, there are separate menus for those kids and the server will set aside trays for them. The servers know these kids and will provide them with their meals with no production so there is no embarrassment. Sacred Heart’s Sherry Rockne says that parents should note food allergies on the registration form and that the teachers have copies so that any snacks or treats do not contain any allergens. The school lets their food service know of any issue with the menu and a substitute is sent in place of the allergen. The school also has EpiPens in a cupboard, and most students with allergies carry them as well, and there are extra snacks in case another child brought in a snack that contains an allergen. Sherry says there is definite communication between the school and parents.

Nichole stresses for her kids to read labels for themselves and ask if they don’t know, and Jackie said her parents drilled that into her head as well. “This all sounds scary, but knowledge is the key,” Nichole told me. Both Nichole and Jackie told me though that the hardest part is when people don’t understand the severity of a peanut allergy. “They don’t understand it’s not intolerance, this is life or death,” Nichole said. Jackie suggests for parents to be straight with their kids about their allergies. “Kids are messy and sometimes unaware of a situation. And the teacher can’t watch every kid every second, it’s not possible.” Nichole also suggests that the parents of kids with food allergies should make themselves available for questions, and that other parents should ask as many questions as they need. “Communication is key.”

Especially since there can be an emotional and social side to allergies; kids can feel left out of things because of their allergy. Whether it’s not being invited to a party because their allergy is misunderstood or having to sit aside because they can’t eat what everyone else is eating. “Kindness and compassion go a long way,” Nichole said.

Nichole does note that her kids’ allergies are theirs, and not anyone else’s. She stays proactive, she packs extra snacks or asks what treats are being offered. She talks with her kids about not eating anything they don’t know the ingredients to or using a product they don’t know the ingredients to.

Most parents will call or text her with questions if they don’t know about snacks her children can eat. She said most of the parents keep that communication open, which she says is a true blessing. She notes that most labels will include allergens now and if the plant processes nuts. If the label says “May Contain Nuts” they pass on the item, but if it was just “Processed in Plant Containing Nuts” they go for it. “At a certain point, you just have to live.”