Living with Anaphylaxis – Personal Account
Food Allergy Awareness Week: 11th – 17th May 2008
Awareness, Avoidance and Action = Knowledge for Life
Aged 10 months, Lorelei awoke on Christmas Day to her first stocking, and excited first-time parents! During breakfast, however, she became sleepy, developed red patches and went blue around her mouth. We called the ambulance. The Children’s Hospital discharged her with a referral for an allergy appointment during which she received a diagnosis of tree-nut anaphylaxis. We had sprinkled a miniscule amount of ground cashew on her cereal that morning.
Lorelei was prescribed an EpiPen® auto injector which contains life-saving adrenaline. During an acute anaphylactic reaction, the victim’s blood pressure drops and the tongue and throat swell, blocking the airways and potentially leading to death by suffocation and heart failure. Quickly administering the EpiPen® in the early stages of a reaction can reverse these symptoms.
We are members of Anaphylaxis Australia Inc (AAI) and their media release states – “during this Food Allergy Awareness Week, AAI calls on all Australians to be Aware about the serious nature of severe allergies, help sufferers Avoid dangerous situations and importantly, urge authorities to take Action to address this growing public health issue”.
One in five Australians are allergic to at least one of the common food allergens, and current predictions indicate there will be a 70% increase within 40 years. About 10 Australians die each year as a result of anaphylaxis and around 85% of deaths occur outside the home.
For us, day to day living changed considerably and we know we will be continually adapting to living with anaphylaxis, depending upon Lorelei’s age, community-wide awareness and legislation. Lorelei naturally does not comprehend the challenges and severity of her condition and it will be some time before she understands that if she were to take in the smallest amount of nut, she would go into shock and, without treatment, could die within four minutes.
Our biggest step will be to trust others with our precious daughter when she begins her education journey, in 2010. This will be made easier if AAI is successful in their continued campaign for nationwide mandatory legislation to create safer education environments and expansion of dedicated anaphylaxis educator programs.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dayboro Rascals Playgroup for enthusiastically supporting Lorelei’s anaphylaxis.
For more information, please visit Anaphylaxis Australia at www.allergyfacts.org.au
Franck, Heather & Lorelei Amy
