close
close

My son was diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy; How we manage

My son was diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy; How we manage

  • I was terrified when my son was diagnosed with a life-threatening almond allergy.
  • He handled the diagnosis bravely and our friends learned how to use EpiPens.
  • He no longer has this severe allergy, but the experience made me feel very grateful for our community.

In July 2023, my 8-year-old son and I were having a smoothie together in our small town in Australia when he started complaining that he felt something strange in his throat.

He kept saying he felt his tongue getting bigger and I noticed he had a red rash on his chin. Our doctor referred us to an allergist and, by October, he had already received a skin prick test.

It revealed one of my worst fears: Our son had a life-threatening allergy to almonds.

Our entire world changed instantly.

Allergies like this can cause anaphylaxisand symptoms It can include difficulty breathing, coughing, fainting, severe stomach pain, and swelling of the tongue or throat, as my son experienced.

If not treated immediately, anaphylaxis can be fatal. As I sat listening to the forecast, I couldn’t believe it. As far as we knew, no one in our families had had a serious allergy and I didn’t know much about them.

The pediatric allergist recommended an EpiPen (an auto-injector used to treat life-threatening allergic emergencies), gave us an action plan for what to do in case of exposure, and said she would see us in 12 months.

Those first weeks after the diagnosis, I felt terrible anxiety about the situation. I cried often and had nightmares about my son having a bad reaction.


Children playing on the playground and slide.

I was worried about what would happen if my son had an allergic reaction and I wasn’t there to help him.

FG Comercio/Getty Images



We started carrying an adrenaline injector and antihistamines with us every time we left the house. When my son ate something new, we would meticulously check the labels for almonds in any form.

The grandparents were educated in how to use an EpiPen. Friends offered to learn how to use one before a play date, so I wouldn’t have to poke my son.

I started getting ahead of myself and worrying about adolescence, when my son might be drunk at a party and eat something without thinking, or when he was older and traveling, unable to decipher ingredients in another language.

It was a difficult period, but my son handled it all like a champ. he would do it religiously He checked all ingredient labels himself and got into the habit of asking parents at birthday parties if the cake contained almonds.

After a year, it was time for the follow-up test.

After 12 months of stress, we returned to the allergist for our follow-up appointment.

As I sat there watching my little one’s back form a tapestry of welts of different sizes (depending on his reaction to the different allergens that prick the skin), I felt terrified. What would this test reveal?

“That’s interesting,” the pediatric allergist said, just as my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. “His almond reaction is half of last year’s.”

She suggested my son do an “almond challenge,” where they would introduce small amounts of the nut into his system in a controlled environment. We agreed.

When the big day arrived, I asked my son how he was feeling. “I’m not afraid, Mom,” he said. “I’ll be fine.” As I drove with my husband to the allergist’s office, I kept thinking about how brave he was, even at such a young age.

That day I could barely concentrate at work until my husband called me with the best news of my life: our son had not reacted.

Tears ran down my face. I felt so overwhelmed with gratitude, but we weren’t out of the woods yet.

For seven days afterward, my son was instructed to eat a small amount of almonds a day at home and to take note of any reactions. When there was nothing to report, it was given the go-ahead.

To commemorate a reaction-free week, I gave my son my blessing to give the middle finger to his old arch-nemesis, the almond, and our family chuckled.

We find a positive side in a stressful experience

Only a very small percentage of children with nut allergies overcome them. It seems my son was one of the lucky ones (or maybe there was another reason his initial skin test was so elevated, which we’ll never know for sure).

A serious allergy diagnosis really rocks your world, and I feel for others who have to navigate those turbulent waters. However, through this experience I learned a lot about the value of true community and friendship.

Our friends made separate cakes just for our son, reviewed ingredient lists like forensic detectives, and stepped up to the plate when they were given an EpiPen to potentially use.

I also realized that bravery comes in all shapes and sizes and that we can often learn a lot from our children. When presented with a frightening situation, my young son bravely faced it; maybe we could all use a little more of that.