Asthma and Food Allergies

Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 7:21
Asthma
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Kyna:

I have a daughter who’s five and she’s had asthma since she’s been about three. She’s allergic to about 15 foods. One of the things that she’s severely allergic to is peanut butter. I can’t even send her to school on the days that they have peanut butter because if she just smells it she’ll break out in a rash. The teachers think I’m crazy. I just wanted to know, can she be so allergic to something that it sets off asthma and allergic reactions?

Dr. Stempel:

Peanut butter is really the one food allergen that I think everybody who takes care of children really learns to respect. It’s a really important allergen to avoid in children who are allergic, and you’re right, some children are so sensitive that they can’t even be around it when it’s being eaten. I think that the school needs to respect the fact that your daughter can’t be in a room when there’s peanuts. And I think that this is just as important as there not being cigarette smoking, maybe even more so, because the reactions might be more severe. If your child was allergic to a cat, they shouldn’t have a cat in your classroom. Many children who have serious problems with peanuts always should have antihistamines around and in some cases where it compromises their breathing, adrenaline should be around.

Kyna:

She has to have the Aputin with her at all times.

Dr. Stempel:

That’s very, very important. I think that you need to get together once again with your physician and be certain that the school really understands the seriousness of this and that this is not just a trivial allergy but something that is very, very serious.

Kyna:

I have a daughter who’s five and she’s had asthma maybe since she’s been about three. And she’s allergic to about 15 foods. Can she be so allergic to something that it sets off asthma and allergic reactions?

Dr. Redding:

There is a growing appreciation for allergies as being a major trigger and underlying predisposition for asthma, but particularly in older children, say five and older. In children who are younger than that and particularly infants, they will often manifest that in the form of food allergies rather than allergies to cats or to dust mites. Those are allergens that tend to become more apparent as children grow older and as adults grow older. It seems like it’s a chronic exposure that tends to precipitate the condition in older children. Food allergies I think are a very red flag that a child may really be allergic, and because they are allergic they stand a greater risk of having one of the allergic manifestations, which in this case is asthma.

Rick:

Thank you for your questions, Kyna.

Kyna:

Thanks.

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