Hi all! I am very happy to see this forum, not because I have food allergies, but because as a Pre-K teacher, I often have students with food allergies. I am often amazed by the ignorance of people regarding the seriousness of food allergies, and it can make my job very nerve wracking. It is generally a problem when parents of other children send in foods that a child reacts to. We are not a nut-free school, and I am very surprised that we have not seen any serious reactions yet.
Anyways, I currently have a child who has an allergy to peanuts, oranges, and eggs. Her parents keep telling me that her reactions are only dermatological- primarily eczema. They say she has never had any respiratory symptoms. I have seen her eyes and face swell up. It makes me very nervous. Is it possible that her reactions are only dermatological? Everytime I see evidence of a reaction, I send her to the nurse and call her parents. I am just afraid that one of these days, her symptoms will be anaphylactic. She does not have an epipen. I have repeatedly encouraged them to see an allergist. They said they saw one a couple years ago. They are currently having insurance problems, so they are not seeing one now. I don't trust their pediatrician's word, because the dumb@ss actually gave the child the flu shot despite her egg allergy.