The press is not always so kind to the food allergic. It seems we regularly come upon articles where there is some debate and the food allergic are always on the losing end.
It might be an article about how banning home made food for birthdays in schools is ridiculous. That the food allergic child should just bring his/her own snack and watch 20 other kids devour the same thing. Forget about the fact that there are also diabetics in the class, or that kids have suffered food poisoning in some schools because of these home made/baked goods.
It might be an article about how the increase in food allergies is so extreme that it must just be made up by “Yuppie Moms”. After all, no one had these allergies twenty years ago. Fact-people did have these allergies, though the significant increase in food allergies is of some concern which says something is wrong in society. Could it be the hormones in our food, pollution, processed foods and chemicals, over use of antibiotics, vaccines, and hand sanitizer? It’s not just an issue for the food allergic. It’s an issue for our entire society and the way we choose to live.
Of course we also have to mention the recent articles floating around stating there is a Peanut Allergy Cure. Good headlines sell papers. But really there currently is no cure, or one in sight. What there is, is a hope of potentially decreasing the severity of a food allergy or desensitizing. This is being done in medical trials by medical professionals and is not currently available to the public.
So why the constant backlash towards the food allergic? We suppose the non food allergic out number the food allergic and there is always strength in numbers, but we think the truth of it is that allergies are increasing beyond the rate in which people can be educated. It wasn’t that long ago that women couldn’t vote, or only whites were allowed at the front of the bus, or that the wheel chair bound didn’t have equal access. To think that that was acceptable seems absurd.
The point of this article is that when the media seems to turn its back on an opportunity to truly educate individuals on food allergies, the food allergic (and parents of food allergic children) are taking matters into their own hands. There seems to be a surge in food allergy blogs that run the gamut from peanut allergies, to dairy intolerance, to Celiac disease. Even allergists and medical professionals are blogging.
These aren’t your every day blogs either. These are blogs written by educated, and well informed individuals who are getting the word out about what it’s like to live day to day with a food allergy; and often times a life threatening one.
As time goes on and we come upon them, these blogs will be listed in our Best Allergy Sites directory. We hope you take the time to poke around and see what these passionate writers have to say. We also hope that you share this information with your non allergic friends and family. For the time being, it’s up to us to educate the public on what living with food allergies really means.
The following post came to our attention today and honestly, we couldn’t have said it better.
http://rationaljenn.blogspot.com/2009/02/facts-about-peanut-allergies.html
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