Time To Talk About Food Allergies: Why We Should Be Hungry For Progress
Every bite I take, every motion of the fork, I am risking my life, balancing on the dangerous precipice of death. While this might be a bit of a dramatic way to describe it, I am attempting to convey that I have a life threatening anaphylactic food allergy. And I feel that people do not talk about these enough. So, let’s start.
Every three minutes. Every 180 seconds. This is the time interval in which a food allergy sends someone, suffering and panicking, into an emergency room. As rare and overlooked as it may seem, food allergies are actually and regrettably very common. According to Food Allergy Research and Education, also known as FARE, 32 million Americans live with food allergies. Even more unfortunately, this number does not seem to be declining, with FARE stating that, between 2007 and 2016, a mere nine years, there was a 377% increase in treatment of diagnosed anaphylactic food allergy reactions. This condition may begin and/or present mild to severe symptoms in both children and adults, and is the cause of a body’s reaction to a cuisine protein as a threat; reactions may include hives, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and even death. This sounds frightening and ominous, and, without sugarcoating it, that is exactly what food allergies are.
Especially considering that modern medicine has not presented any cure, people with food allergies need to be very attentive and wary about what they place into their bodies. The only current treatment is epinephrine, a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that, when injected into a body (most ideally at the beginning of a reaction) works to prevent upper airway mucosal edema, hypotension, and shock. However, this is not a complete cure, as people still need to be observed in a hospital after these types of events.
But, it is time we begin to investigate these challenges beyond their health impacts. Medical and psychological researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center and Fordham University made the keen observation that “[f]ood allergy differs from other chronic diseases in that affected individuals are in generally good health, but their health may be episodically compromised by acute food-allergic reactions that may be severe or life-threatening.” So, not only are there aggressive and alarming bodily reactions, but the threat of this life-threatening situation is constantly looming and terrorizing. This presents a whole field of new concern, as people may live in constant fear of potentially eating the “wrong” thing, and greatly suffering because of a minor culinary mistake. This is why FARE’s website notes large psychosocial impacts, among them being that 90% of food allergy patients also show symptoms of anxiety, with 70% reporting food allergy-related panic attacks and bullying.
Food allergy treatment is not simply or automatically paired with a psychological examination or therapist recommendation. This would explain why, in a survey of 500 patients and caregivers in the FARE patient registry, two thirds reported mental health issues relating to their allergy, while over half desired sources to aid them in dealing with their anxiousness. This goes to demonstrate that people are aware that their quality of life is suffering because of their cuisine-related concerns, but they do not receive treatment for it. This explains why research conducted by pediatric, psychiatry, and behavioral neuroscience specialists found that adolescents with food allergies often display emotional and behavioral issues, among them being depression, anxiety, and ADHD, symptoms that can continue into adulthood.
Now that it is abundantly clear that food allergies expand far beyond the physical medical concerns and into mental health territory, it would be important to note that this is not the full extent to the struggles that food allergies provide. The food allergy community, particularly the younger generation, often find themselves subjects of bullying. In a survey distributed by Kaléo, a pharmaceutical company, 82% of children admit to being victims of bullying due to their food allergy; yet, 79% of parents of children without food allergies do not see this condition as a cause for the bullying. This goes to prove a sort of bias, possibly due to cognitive dissonance (the discomfort we feel when information disagrees with our point of view), egocentrism (being unable to comprehend something beyond one’s own, emphasized point of view), or maybe even a lack of adequate education, where society and its members are unable to comprehend the struggles of something they do not personally deal with.
No Appetite for Bullying is an organization focused on bringing attention to food allergy related bullying, attempting to encourage food allergy acceptance. Their website presents resources that educate about the condition itself, while also providing information about the proper conduct with concern to addressing the bullying and being more food allergy friendly. No Appetite for Bullying has quite popular and strong partnerships with Kaléo, Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connection Team, FARE, Allergy and Asthma Network, Kids with Food Allergies, and more; however, this is something that not even I, as someone who survives with (not suffers with) food allergies and have been a victim of bullying related to it, have heard of. I believe if No Appetite for Bullying expands their initiative to social media, where audiences of all ages may view these resources and facts, they would gain much more popularity, attention, and awareness, helping to assuage some of the struggles these food allergy children face.
While further treatment may be necessary for the mental health impacts beyond this inappropriate and oppressive comportment, a strong start would be to eliminate these challenging endeavors between those that have allergies and those who may not understand the difficult everyday food-related undertakings. Those Mount Sinai Medical Center and Fordham University experts noted a need for further and more reliable, valid considerations which is completely justified; but, they did not refute the fact that food allergies negatively impact patient and parental quality of life. Overall, even if more research, analysis, and care are necessary, it is time that we, as a community and a civilization, stop overlooking food allergies and begin to view them as opportunities (for new innovation, new campaigns, and even new friends).
References
FARE. (n.d.). Fare Food Allergy Summit 2022. Food Allergy Research & Education. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.foodallergy.org/
Ferro, M. A., Van Lieshout, R. J., Ohayon, J., & Scott, J. G. (2016). Emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents and young adults with food allergy. Allergy, 71(4), 532–540. https://doi.org/10.1111/all.12829
Kothari, P. (2020, July 9). Epinephrine is the only effective treatment for anaphylaxis. Harvard Health. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/epinephrine-is-the-only-effective-treatment-for-anaphylaxis-2020070920523
No Appetite for Bullying. (n.d.). Be a voice against food allergy bullying. No Appetite for Bullying. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://noappetiteforbullying.com/
Ravid, N. L., Annunziato, R. A., Ambrose, M. A., Chuang, K., Mullarkey, C., Sicherer, S. H., Shemesh, E., & Cox, A. L. (2012). Mental health and quality-of-life concerns related to the burden of food allergy. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America, 32(1), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iac.2011.11.005
Sicherer, S. H., Simons, F. E., Mahr, T. A., Abramson, S. L., Dinakar, C., Fleisher, T. A., Irani, A.-M., Kim, J. S., & Matsui, E. C. (2017). Epinephrine for first-aid management of anaphylaxis. Pediatrics, 139(3). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-4006
