Welcome to Episode 8! This week it’s all about eczema. We dive into our journey through it, what forms it can take, and some of our tips and tactics for dealing with it. As always, we’re not doctors or trained medical professionals. All of the tools and things we used/still used were provided by our doctors and medical care team, We ALWAYS recommend that you consult your doctors and care team before doing anything.
Main Topic(s)
October is National Eczema Awareness Month
The primary goal is to raise awareness
Eczema is part of the Atopic triad
What is eczema?
American Academy of Dermatology has some great resources
Eczema is part of Shaun’s Story
Our first and earliest indication that Shaun might have food allergies
We went to a dermatologist before we ever saw an allergist
An infant with eczema + winter (and no G.I. symptoms) was presumed to just be eczema
Care Plans (of which there are MANY)
Over the counter
Breast Milk
Natural Options
Oatmeal
Coconut Oil
Lavender
Sea Salt Baths
Prescription Topicals (Creams/Ointments/Oils)
Wet Wraps (also sometimes referred to as “Soak & Seal”)
Oral Medications
Antibiotic
Steroid
Antihistamine
Formula (Prescription & refined)
What we do now (maintenance)
Shaun’s Facts
Community Connection
Linda’s Sen. Blumenthal & Sen. Lesser Roundtable about drug pricing and legislation.
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For episode 7, we’re going to be diving a bit deeper into some quality of life impacts that come from an allergy diagnosis. Specifically, we go into how it can affect your relationship with your partner/spouse.
**Disclaimer** – We understand that there are many different types and styles of relationships between people/caregivers and we are not trying to offend anyone or devalue any of those other types of relationships. As we mention in the episode, our experience is from a heterosexual marriage raising a child with food allergies, and this is what most of this will be based upon. We do think that the core principles that we discuss are valuable to most types of other relationships as well though, and we hope that regardless of your situation, you are able to find something valuable to take away from this episode.
Main Topic(s)
Food Allergies Impact Quality of Life
Health
Emotions
Finances
Relationships (Marriage in particular)
Dr. Gupta
Dad’s feel less empowered but generally, have a better QOL
Mom’s feel more empowered but generally, have a lower QOL
Marriage Outside of Food Allergies is Hard on its Own
We all come with baggage, history, and experiences that impact the relationship
It’s hard work, under the best of circumstances
Marriage is not a fairy tale
Communication
Compromise
Growth
Then add kids and food allergies and it gets exponentially harder
Marriage and Stress With Food Allergies
Compounds the difficulty
Increases the struggle to communicate effectively
Stress causes people to revert back to old (often unhealthy) habits
How it has affected us and our relationship
We started going to counseling back in 2015 and still continue to go to this day!
Linda’s advice to the wives/moms
John’s advice to the husbands/dads
Shaun’s Facts
Apologies for the awkward cut this week. Given the material, it was more challenging than usual to find a good place to get Shaun’s segment in.
Community Connection
Again with how heavy the topc was for this episode, we are just using a short and sweet story of an experience we had with Shaun this past week.
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Welcome to episode 6! This one is going to be about Halloween and the Teal Pumpkin Project! We know it’s a bit early, but we wanted to talk about it early enough that anyone who wanted to participate this year with the Teal Pumpkin Project would have the time and access to resources to do so 🙂
Main Topic(s)
Halloween!
Why we (and especially Linda) love Halloween, and what it means for our family
How to cope with what your expectations for the Holiday might have been, compared to what they are/will be posted allergy diagnosis
How well-intentioned people tried to “comfort” us
TIME!
Everything in allergy life (and life in general) happen at a much slower pace than we want it to
Allergies will likely change/shift over time
Substitutions get easier the more familiar you are with your specific allergy situation
Forming NEW and unique traditions with time
How We Celebrate
Shaun’s costumes are homemade
We move family dinner on the week of Halloween to the day of Halloween so the family can participate
We do a costume reveal and special photos for Shaun with each new costume
How we Trick-or-Treat with Shaun
The Candy Trade (how we swap things with Shaun so he can end up with safe treats)
Linda’s 2017 FB Post about the Teal Pumpkin Project:
I have read a lot of mixed reviews this year about FAREs Teal Pumpkin Project. Many people feel that my child’s food allergies are “not their problem”, and that providing a non-food treat for a food allergy child on Halloween teaches them that the world will always accommodate them.…
Now you might be surprised to hear that I don’t believe people who hold this opinion are entirely wrong. But, as always, there is a middle ground. Here are my thoughts:
You absolutely do not have to accommodate my food allergy child by participating in the teal pumpkin project. Whether you don’t like the idea, don’t have the time or money, or just plain prefer orange pumpkins, no one if forcing you to participate. And when we trick or treat on Halloween, with our EPI pens in tow, my child will collect candy unsafe for him and trade it in for his safe treats when we get back to the house. This way he gets to participate in a modified way, hopefully teaching him that he will have to modify his experience often to navigate food (and life) safely. This is so important for him to learn.
But, if you participate you sure will make my son’s night if you hand him something that is safe for him! It will show him that there are people who understand his food allergies significance in our life. And hopefully, teach him that being considerate and kind makes a difference. This is so important for him to learn.
So to all those who choose not to participate, I understand. And thank you for teaching my son about personal responsibility, fairness (because when it comes to food for him a fair alternative is not always equal and that is okay) and life!
And to all those who will be placing a teal pumpkin outside their house this year, thanks to you for teaching my son about community and kindness!!!
Happy Haunting
LC
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Welcome back to episode 4! This is going to be part one of a two-part segment about reading labels. We’re starting off here focusing primarily on the Top-8 food allergens recognized by the FDA. In part two we will go more in-depth with foods that are outside the Top-8.
Main Topic(s)
Avoiding Food – Necessary to avoiding a Food Allergy reaction.
Must be able to confidently read food labels
Every Label Every time
No matter how many times you have used the product, always read it
Manufacturers and/or distributors can change ingredients or processes without warning!
