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Parents work to protect their children from food allergies

Category: Allergy Testing

Following a positive food allergy test, it can often be difficult for children and parents to deal with the condition. It is difficult to understand how many food products have peanuts and other common allergy triggers for those who do not suffer from the autoimmune condition.

For this reason, Charlotte Jude Schwartz, the mother of a child with food allergies in San Francisco, recently started the Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board, according to CNN. The organization seeks to help parents find care for their children who they suspect have food allergies and to make life a little more fun for young people whose diets are restricted.

"There had to be a way to keep children safe, and not just safe but enjoying and living vibrant and full lives," Schwartz told the news source.

Today her organization works to connect families to doctors who can provide the clearest and most accurate food allergy testing and diagnosis. Schwartz has also hosted allergy friendly events for children.

A recent report published in the journal Pediatrics found that up to 8 percent of all children under the age of 18 suffer from food allergies, which is a greater number than most previous estimates.