Part 1 - Visit to the allergist
by Marie-Ida Bonneau
October 15, 2009
For a person with severe food allergies, visiting an allergist become as crucial as visiting a dentist or a general practitioner. When children have a first allergic reaction, parents should consult and seek medical advice from a health care professional as soon as possible to identify its cause.
But sometimes the allergic reaction is so strong and intense that in a fraction of seconds or minutes, it will produce an anaphylactic shock and will terrify the parents who will avoid giving any aliment related to the allergen to prevent future crises.
That precise example happened to my parents and probably others frightened parents too. I had my first anaphylactic shock at the age of 6 months. While my parents were away, my grandparents decided to introduce some new foods to my baby diet. My granddad gave me a pinch of jam, honey, caramel and finally peanut butter. Instantly, I stopped breathing and they had to carry me to the nearest clinic which was, thankfully, just across their house. That day, the doctor diagnosed my peanut allergy. Ever since, I have tried to avoid peanuts and all nuts from my daily diet, but on three occasions I received treatments for anaphylactic shocks in intensive care.
Even if I am extremely cautious with what I eat; I always read carefully labels, avoid everything that may contain traces of peanuts and / or nuts and always carry two EpiPen® auto-injectors with me. Now at 29 years old, I wish to find out if I am allergic to all nuts and if one day, I may be able to drink a cocktail with amaretto or eat some mixed nuts as a healthy snack. As I wish to have children in few years, I believe that it is the right moment in my life to undergo tests.
Few weeks ago, I phoned my local medical clinic to arrange an appointment with an allergist and I was surprised to get an appointment within weeks. With the raise of food allergies in our society, I was convinced that my name will be added to a long waiting list of patients, who suffer of similar allergic reactions to mine. Only after a few weeks of wait, the big day came; I went to the health clinic and felt very nervous as I was about to meet for the first time, my allergist. During that first visit, he could not give me a diagnostic without knowing my full medical history, so we talked immediately about my food allergies, allergic reactions and anaphylactic shocks. Even if he confirmed me that I will have to pass further blood tests which will confirm my diagnostic, I was looking forward to our next meeting in two months.
I will have to wait a couple more weeks to find out the final result of my blood tests. I am curious and excited at the idea that I could maybe taste and enjoy some tree nuts which could extend my diet and please my beloved boyfriend. Until there, I will continue to be as carefully as always with my food allergies and wait for the final diagnostic.
If you already visited an allergist and will like to talk about your personal experiences, please share your story and we will publish it for the benefit of our readers.
For others, who have not visit an allergist yet, we have grouped a list of resources which includes associations, foundations and organizations. You can find all the information required to contact a specialist within your region or town around the world. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to add some useful information on this matter. Please refer to our Resources page for other useful listing about food allergies.
Read Part 2 - Test results from the allergist
Sources :
Allergy Asthma Information Association (AAIA)
www.aaia.ca
Allergy-Ireland.net
www.allergy-ireland.net
Allergy UK
www.allergyuk.org
American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI)
www.aaaai.org
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI)
www.acaai.org
Association of Allergists and Immunologists of Quebec (AAIQ)
www.allerg.qc.ca
Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA)
www.allergy.org.au
British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI)
www.bsaci.org
Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation (CAAIF)
www.allergyfoundation.ca
European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)
www.eaaci.net
Food Allergy & Anapylaxis Network (FAAN)
www.foodallergy.org
The Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI)
www.csaci.ca
World Allergy Organization (WAO)
www.worldallergy.org