The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Anxiety is the other battle for children with allergies
This week the Press and Journal has been highlighting the physical harm allergies can cause but today Ben Hendry writes about the mental toll such reactions can take
The simple pleasure of dining out, or even just sitting down to a tasty homecooked meal, is a chance to unwind and relax for most of us.
But for children suffering from food allergies, the experience is often fraught with anxiety as their next mouthful could cause them to suffer a life-threatening reaction.
North-east youngsters who react adversely to everyday items such as nuts, milk and eggs undergo such crippling levels of stress around mealtimes that many have been referred to psychologists.
Lorraine Clark is paediatric allergy and immunology clinical nurse specialist at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
She has been working in the city for 26 years, specialising in allergies for the past seven.
This week she is speaking out to highlight the ordeal that young sufferers can go through.
She said: “The anxieties that come with allergies are a big part of what I do, it is much more complex than people might believe.
“It can cause an awful lot of anxiety, I have had to refer quite a lot of children to clinical psychologists because we do not want their allergies to get in the way of their lives.
“When these conditions get children so worried that they can’t do things, that is when we need to intervene and do what we can to help.
“It often means children aren’t invited to sleepovers or birthday parties.”
On Monday, the Press and Journal reported that James Dempster of Kintore had to see a child psychologist after developing a fear of food stemming from going into anaphylaxis following his first taste of peanut butter.
And earlier this week research emerged indicating that people with allergies are at greater risk of developing anxiety and depression than those without.
As many as 11% of people with conditions such as asthma and hayfever have been found to develop a mental health problem within a 15-year period, compared to 6.7% of people without any allergies. The research, published in the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal, also found that children with allergies suffered more emotional and behavioural problems than those without.
But Ms Clark explained that some children in her care have bonded over their shared conditions, and provided each other with a morale boost.
And the expert’s message to young allergy sufferers is a positive one.
She said: “Allergies are a pest but they shouldn’t get in the way of people doing what they want to do.”
“When these conditions get children so worried that they can’t do things, we need to intervene”