Food Allergy Week

Imagine if just eating a tasty snack could kill you. That's exactly what can happen if you have a food allergy. This week is National Food Allergy Awareness Week so we thought we'd take a closer look at what it's like to live with one.

For some people, like Elizabeth, a simple thing like shopping for a treat can actually be pretty tricky.

CARL: So Elizabeth how come you keep putting stuff back?

ELIZABETH: Because I have a nut allergy

CARL: What does that mean?

ELIZABETH: I can't have anything with nuts in it.

CARL: So what happens? If you were to eat something with nuts in it what would that mean for you?

ELIZABETH: I would start having a reaction and like my throat would swell up and I'd have to have medicine to calm it down or I might have to go to hospital.

CARL: So how do you make sure you don't pick something that has nuts in it?

ELIZABETH: I just need to check the ingredients and just check if it has any nuts actually in the recipe.

In Australia about 1 in 20 kids have a food allergy. Some of the most common are nuts, egg, cow's milk, soy, fish, shellfish and wheat. And the reactions people have to those allergies can be life threatening.

CARL: So what's wrong with this one then?

ELIZABETH: It's got almond oil and it's just people like to use nut oils in these things.

CARL: So even things like soaps and shampoos can be a problem for you then can't they?

ELIZABETH: Yeah like if I put it on me or put it on my hands, it can be really dangerous if I put it in my mouth. And even if I don't put it in my mouth I can still get hives, and it's not fun.

The reason people have food allergies is because their immune system - the barrier that normally protects against germs and diseases - mistakenly thinks the food they're eating is harmful.

The immune system then tries to get rid of that food by releasing chemicals which spark a serious reaction. For situations like that, Elizabeth keeps something called an EpiPen nearby.

ELIZABETH: If I was having a reaction you jab it into my thigh, because there's a needle, and it helps the reaction from getting too severe.

CARL: And you've always got to have one of these around don't you?

ELIZABETH: Yeah I've got one in my mum's bag, one in the classroom, one in my dance bag, and when I go to friends' houses my mum gives me one in a little bag that I bring with me.

Aside from shopping, there are a few other dangerous situations Elizabeth has to be careful of too.

FRIEND: Want a biscuit?

ELIZABETH: Have they got nuts in them?

FRIEND: Ah, not sure.

ELIZABETH: Um if I can't check the ingredients, I can't have them.

FRIEND 2: Is there anything else you have to worry about when you're around food with nuts?

ELIZABETH: Just like getting it on my hands, because I could accidentally put it in my mouth.

Unfortunately more people are developing food allergies these days. In fact food allergy groups say one in ten babies born in Australia today will have one. Some researchers reckon it's because there are more preservatives in our foods. While others say it's because we now live in super clean environments compared to the past, so our immune systems are changing.

But no matter what's causing them living with a food allergy isn't such a big problem these days. And people like Elizabeth still find plenty of great food to eat.

• Carl Smith | Reporter
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