What is Food Allergy Anxiety?

If your child has a food allergy, it is normal to feel worried sometimes. This is called food allergy anxiety. A little worry can help keep your child safe from an allergic reaction. If the worry about food impacts the child or parent’s daily routine, it is important to get help.

What Are the Signs of Anxiety?

A child with food allergy anxiety may:

• Have headaches, stomach aches, or trouble sleeping.
• Feel scared, upset, or angry when it is time to eat.
• Have tantrums or disruptive behavior around meals.
• Talk a lot about being afraid of food or having an allergic reaction.
• Worry often about getting sick from food.
• Avoid eating in new places or trying new foods.
• Want to stay very close to a parent or caregiver, even when it is not typical for their age.

How Can I Help My Child with Anxiety?

• Watch your child and pay attention to how they feel about their food allergy.
• Let your child talk about their worries and feelings often.
• Your child can also use a “worry journal” to write down or draw about their worries. Talk with your child about these worries.
• Talk about a plan to help your child with their anxiety.
• Ask for help from your child’s healthcare provider or a counselor, if your child's anxiety makes it hard for them to do their everyday activities.

Teach Your Child About Safe Allergy Habits

Help your child learn important safety habits, such as:

• Avoiding foods they are allergic to.
• Reading food labels.
• Washing their hands often with soap and water.
• Carrying their allergy medicine or epinephrine auto-injector at all times.

Prepare Your Child for Emergencies

Make sure your child, family members, caregivers, teachers, and other trusted adults know:

• When to use allergy medicine or epinephrine auto-injector (Epi pen®).
• How to use the medicine correctly during an allergic reaction.

Have Your Child Practice Using an Epinephrine Auto-Injector

Practice using an expired or trainer epinephrine auto-injector on an orange. This can help your child, family members, and caregivers feel more confident and prepared to use it in an emergency.

Talk to Your Child About Their Food Allergy

Talk to your child about their food allergy using words they can understand. Start teaching them about their allergy when they are young. As your child grows, continue helping them learn how to stay safe and manage their food allergy.

• Be mindful of how you talk about your child's food allergy when they are nearby. Talk about allergic reactions in a calm and reassuring way. Use simple, honest words that help your child stay safe without causing extra fear.
• When talking about severe allergic reactions, choose your words carefully. Instead of using the word "death," you might say, "This food could make it very hard to breathe" or "This food could make you very sick." This helps children understand the danger while feeling safe and supported.
• Have a private conversation with your child's teacher about their food allergy. Make sure the teacher understands that the allergy is serious and knows what to do in an emergency.
• Children often notice when adults are worried. Try to talk about food allergies in a calm way. If your child sees a lot of fear or anxiety, they may become more worried too.

Where Can I Get More Information?

Websites:

• Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)
• American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Developmental Stages Handouts

Book:

• The Food Allergy Experience by Dr. Ruchi Gupta and Denise Bunning. This book includes tips and stories from parents of children with food allergies.