Teens With Food Allergies Take Risks
Survey Shows Many Leave Medications at Home, Eat Potentially Dangerous Foods
Which Kids Leave Medication at Home? continued...
Wearing tight clothes is also a major deterrent, with only about half bringing their epinephrine in these circumstances, Sicherer says.
"Teens have to be consistent in carrying it," he tells WebMD. "If they're wearing tight clothes, they can use a holster; if they're at a sports event, they can put it in their gym bag. Most teens always have their cell phones, so they certainly should be able to take along their medication."
Another risky behavior: tasting foods to see if they really contained the culprit food, he says.
The researchers surveyed 174 participants aged 13 to 21 using a web-based questionnaire. Three-fourths of the participants suffered from peanut allergy and 20% were allergic to milk. A total of 82% reported they had suffered anaphylaxis, a severe life-threatening allergic reaction to the culprit food; 52% had more than three such reactions in their past.
Educating Friends About Allergies
Among the other findings:
- Three-quarters of teens said they always read food labels to make sure a product doesn't contain the offending food, but 42% admitted they would eat a food even if the label showed it "may contain" an allergen.
- The 29 participants considered as "high risk" because they do not always carry epinephrine and ate foods that "may contain" allergens tended to be less concerned with their allergy, have more recent reactions, and feel "different" because of their allergy, compared with the other participants.
- Sixty percent of participants told their pals they suffered from food allergy and 68% thought that educating their friends would make living with the condition easier. Of those who don't tell their friends, 60% wish the schools would do it.
"Most wanted their friends to know that they have a food allergy and about food allergies in general," Sicherer says. "They just don't want to have to be the one to tell their friends. They want someone else to educate them."
Suzanne S. Teuber, MD, a food allergy expert at the University of California at Davis, says the results are consistent with what she sees in her practice.
"The key is education," she tells WebMD. "We really need to keep making people with food allergies aware of all the situations in which they can eat foods that can cause reactions and how important it is to always have their medication."