Living with dangerous food

By RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post

One in five Kiwis have allergies and for most the symptoms are merely irritating - but for some, they are potentially deadly.

Tomorrow is five-year-old  Aimee Chong's first day at  school and she couldn't be  more excited.

However, for her parents, Nicola Clissold and Thomas Chong, who have spent seven months preparing for this day, it is terrifying. "I would love to be a normal mother who just drops her kid off at school and waves goodbye ... but I can't do that," says Ms Clissold.

Simply touching a toy or a door handle contaminated with invisible traces of dairy, wheat, nuts, citrus fruit, potatoes, fish or another forbidden food could trigger a life-threatening reaction for her child.

Ms Clissold has been working with Island Bay School since October to ensure the environment is safe for Aimee.

A teacher-aide will sit with her at morning tea and lunch.

It would be impossible to ban all the foods to which Aimee is allergic, so instead the school has made her classroom a "food-free zone".

The children eat in another room and Aimee's classmates have been taught how to wash their hands after eating, using soap and water. They even sing a little song to ensure they do a thorough job.

"The school has been fantastic, they could not have been more accommodating," says Ms Clissold.

"You don't want people to feel so scared they don't want to take responsibility for your child at all, but at the same time, you don't want to downplay the dangers."

When Aimee started showing symptoms of allergies as a six- week-old baby, her parents knew what to expect.

Her older brother Benjamin, 8, also has serious food allergies.

While the jury is still out on what causes allergies, there is a genetic link. Mr Chong has eczema, hayfever and asthma.

At five months, Benjamin was covered in eczema. "He was a very unhappy baby. He would sleep only 20 minutes at a time, day or night."

Once he started on solid foods, they realised his allergies were food-related. He would come out in bright red welts when he tried a new food.

Unwilling to wait for the public health system, his parents took him to a private paediatrician, who diagnosed him with allergies to dairy, egg, soy, fish, nuts and potatoes.

Fortunately, Benjamin seems to be outgrowing most of his allergies - fish and cashew nuts now seem to give him problems - but Aimee's reactions show no sign of abating.

The first sign was a tiny red patch which appeared on her cheek one night. The next morning, her body was covered in eczema. "I was breastfeeding her. I kept cutting foods out of my diet, but she seemed allergic to everything."

Aimee is swathed in bandages and wears a sleep suit at night to keep her skin moist. Her allergies are so severe she is under the care of a paediatric allergy specialist in Auckland and she carries an EpiPen (an adrenalin syringe) in case of an accidental exposure.

When she was three, she had a near-fatal reaction after tasting her brother's yoghurt. "Within half an hour, her skin started flaring up and she was feeling sick and itchy.

"I noticed she was having trouble breathing . . . I did the wrong thing and put her in the car and took her to our local medical clinic. They immediately phoned the ambulance."

By the time paramedics arrived, Aimee was barely breathing and her blood pressure had plummeted.

There are hidden perils in many foods and every label must be carefully scrutinised.

"We have a blanket rule that she eats only food that we provide. If she's given a goodie bag with a chocolate in it, she gives it to me and I exchange it, so she doesn't have to miss out."

Aimee's birthday cake was made of kumara, maple syrup, egg substitute and special nut-free chocolate. "She's also very good at reminding people to wash their hands before touching her."

At the medical centre one day, Aimee had a reaction after picking up a toy that had been touched by a child eating a sesame seed bun.

Aimee is "not a fearful child".

"She just demands to be normal and that's great, but as a parent, you're always aware of the risks. At playgrounds and cafes, I'm always watching who's eating what."