What is an Oral Food Challenge? Oral food challenges are a diagnostic tool that allergists use to test for food allergies. Very simply, the patient consumes some of a potential food allergen under the supervision of a Board Certified Allergist. This allows the allergist to test for food allergies reliably and safely. Blood and skin […]
10 Strategies to Manage the Anxiety of an Upcoming Oral Food Challenge Learn more about our Food Allergy Services Contact us for a free video consultation. (908) 242-3634 or Connect Now Thinking about food allergy anxiety therapy in New Jersey? Brave Minds Psychological Services helps children, teens, and families overcome severe anxiety, stress, and painful […]
Hives. Stomach pain. Vomiting. Lethargy. An anaphylactic reaction is terrifying. Maybe you kicked into gear and gave them the epinephrine shot. Perhaps you were like me in the beginning and took them straight to the ER, not sure if you had needed to give an epinephrine shot. Maybe it was the school telling you there […]
(Today’s blog is a little different. A little more personal) I’ve been doing a bit of avoiding of the to do list today. It’s that time of the year for me again. Summer camps, birthday parties, and Epipen renewal. I knew there was a reason my stomach was churning this morning. […]
In Part 3 of this series, we finalize our discussion of the Food Allergies Hierarchy of Needs. Now that we’ve tackled Physiological and Safety needs, let’s move onto Love & Belonging, Self-Advocacy, and Fulfillment & Acceptance. Love and Belonging Once you’re on the same page about your child’s physiological and safety needs, it’s […]
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the “why” and “how” of co-parents getting on the same page when it comes to a child’s food allergies. In Parts 2 and 3, we continue the “how” with some help from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs comes from Abraham Maslow’s work in developmental […]
The Isolating Struggles Any parent who has a child with food allergies can tell you what a challenging experience it is. The constant fear of harm, anxiety about contamination/contact, accommodations that need to be made for safety, and more, take a toll on the food allergy parent. While other children are picking their favorite foods […]
As a food allergy parent, one of your biggest fears may be an anaphylactic reaction. Rightly so, these multi-system, life-threatening reactions to an allergen create a chain reaction in the body. The immune system releases a flood of chemicals that can compromise the functioning of bodily organs. As a food allergy parent myself, this sounds […]
In our previous blog, we talked about helping teens with food allergies and anxiety. In this fourth, and final blog in the series, we will be discussing how stress goes hand in hand with being a food allergy parent. You worry about food, checking ingredient lists, accidental exposures, healthy eating, and cross contamination. You worry […]
Last time, we talked about young children with food allergy related anxiety. In this third article in our series, we look at teens with food allergies who start to experience heightened anxiety. Adolescence is full of changes and adjustments that create additional stress for teens. Peer dynamics shift, thinking becomes more complicated, and teens crave […]