Fifty per cent of Maritimers know someone with a serious food allergy, and with back to school not far off, food safety is key.
Canadian race car driver Alex Tagliani has lived with a peanut and tree nuts allergy since he was a young child. He is touring the country to talk about what it’s like to live with severe food allergies and the importance of raising awareness.
“The most scariest thing for me is really eating out without a EpiPen on me, it's way scarier than, you know, driving a car at 400 k’s an hour,” says Tagliani.
Julie Coleman’s seven-year-old son was diagnosed with allergies at just six-months-old.
“Starting out young, we knew right away what it was and a lot of the foods he's never actually ingested himself, other than through cross contamination, which hasn't happened for a couple years,” says Coleman.
Dr. Wade Watson says six per cent of children and one to two per cent of adults have some form of food allergy.
“Severe food allergies can cause life threatening events, and having somebody that's famous having a food allergy and having them share their experience, I think it is extremely important,” says Watson.
Tagliani says lots of progress has been made, with food labels and nut-free zones, but the most important thing to remember is never go anywhere without your auto injector.
“I ended up being like intubated in a parking lot of a restaurant, induced in a coma for 72 hours from just eating a cheesecake that had almond paste on it,” says Tagliani.
Tagliani says, when eating out, it's important to know what's in your food. He says to ask questions and make sure your server is aware of your allergies.
“Sticking your EpiPen on the table and telling the server, look I have a very severe food allergy,” says Tagliani.
The same rules apply to school and various social settings.
Coleman says she tells her son to constantly wash his hands and not to share food with someone else.
“Birthday parties, we always bring our own snacks, and so as long as I'm prepared with a cupcake or something that he can have, it's all good, and everyone is very understanding about that,” says Coleman.
Tagliani says accidents can still happen, but he's hoping to hear about them happening less as more awareness is raised.
“Be okay with your allergy, the more people know about it, the more you tell them, the easier it gets,” says Tagliani.
Educating others is Tagliani's way of being in the driver's seat when it comes to his allergy and he encourages others to do the same.
Dr. Watson also reminds everyone with an auto injector to keep an eye on the expiry date, especially if you haven't used yours for some time, and to always, bring it with you wherever you go.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Suzette Beliveau
