Bryan's bout with food allergies
As a nursing infant, Bryan would fuss if his mother had just eaten pizza. If she had taken cream with her coffee, Bryan's nose and cheeks turned red. His parents, David and Denise, suspected something was wrong. Yet numerous pediatricians could not diagnose the problem.
When Bryan took his first sip of formula at six months it sent him into anaphylaxis, a sometimes deadly allergic reaction. An emergency room physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital referred the family to Jacqueline Pongracic, MD , head of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children's Memorial Hospital, who diagnosed his allergy to milk products, eggs and nuts. It was a diagnosis that likely saved his life.
The family's experience inspired their $2 million gift through the Bunning Food Allergy Foundation to support education, research and clinical programming within Children's Memorial's Division of Allergy and Immunology.
Food allergies in children
Food-induced anaphylaxis in adults and children is believed to cause about 30,000 trips to the emergency room and between 150 to 200 deaths each year, according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN).
Food allergies are common in infants and young children, up to eight percent of children under age three have food allergies most often to milk, eggs, soy, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts like cashews and pistachios. While the long-term prognosis is good — about 85 percent of children outgrow allergies by age five — allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish tend to be lifelong. An estimated two million school-age children in the United States have some type of food allergy.
"Food allergies in children are a big deal because they impact virtually every aspect of a child and family's life," says Pongracic. "Birthday parties, school lunches, eating out, travel, vacation — these are all activities affected by food allergies."
"Our family maintains a very controlled lifestyle to keep our boys safe," says Denise, whose second son Daniel, seven, is allergic to milk products, tree nuts and shellfish. "We are diligent about reading labels, and do not keep these food products in our house to avoid reactions at home. Our babysitters must watch videos provided by FAAN and must prove that they can quickly respond if a reaction occurs."