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Peanuts, milk, even chocolate. People can be allergic to just about any type of food.
In this week’s Building Blocks for Healthy Kids we talk to a family living with food
allergies. “Huge big breath here and BLOW!”
“I think like having allergies says anything about a person except that you can’t eat
like a certain food.” Ten year old Declin Donahue has been living
with allergies almost his whole life. “When Declin was five months old he had
an accidental exposure to peanut butter and we nearly lost him.”
Pretty soon Declin’s mom Susan realized it wasn’t just peanuts.
In his early years, Declin developed allergies to all nuts, milk, eggs and wheat.
“I would go to the grocery store every night saying to myself I will find something that
I can feed my baby.” “OK big breath…BOOM!”
With symptoms ranging from rashes and itching to more life threatening symptoms like wheezing
and swelling, doctors recommended seeking treatment, learning more about the condition,
and trying to live a normal life. Last one. This is the one that’s going to
be itchy probably, OK? “And then with food allergies we actually
look at the size of the skin test and that’s helpful. We follow that over time.”
“And in Declin’s case his skin test size has decreased dramatically as he’s become
older.” With regular check-ups and treatment, doctors
are able to better control allergies. Declin has outgrown his wheat allergy and
is working towards milk and eggs. “He’s been able to expand his diet greatly.
And so I think we’re at the tail end of what foods he’s going to be able to eat,
and it’s quite exciting.” “Every time a food allergy goes away I think
his life becomes a little less complicated.” And for more information on some of the signs
and treatments of food allergies, you can log onto our website fox forty three dot com
and click on the Building Blocks tab.