Anxiety Among Food Allergic Children

Filed in archive Food Allergies on December 30, 2007

We parents of children with food allergies know it - that the natural "side-effect" of having life-threatening food allergies is anxiety. Even if my son's allergic reactions haven't been severe so far, reading about other cases where exposure to peanuts or a single bee sting has led to an anaphylactic reaction (or worse, death) sets off a mild paranoia in me. I can only imagine how it is for parents who have had to deal with anaphylaxis before. Or for the kids themselves who could already understand what exposure to a certain allergen mean.

Anxiety is a very real issue among children with food allergies.

Mental-health experts and doctors say most food-allergic children have some anxieties about accidental ingestion, but successfully manage them and lead normal lives. For others, worries can become crippling. Children who have had an allergic reaction may become fearful of going to school or parties. They may skip meals, or wash their hands over and over, fearing skin contact with the allergenic food.

Parents and doctors say the worries can also take a physical toll, causing headaches, insomnia, weight loss and stress-induced vomiting. "You end up with something similar to a post-traumatic stress disorder," says Scott Sicherer, an associate professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai and author of a book on food allergies in children.

Food allergies in itself can already drastically reduce a person's quality of life. And then there's still the emotional and mental aspect to deal with, too.