Allergy Bloggers: Resources to share with the newly diagnosed

My son was diagnosed with his food allergies at 10 months of age. When the allergist told me that he was allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, eggs, dairy, peanuts and tree nuts my first thought was "What am I going to feed this child"? I was so lost and so scared and I had no idea what to do. No one else I knew had a food allergy child and I didn't know where to turn. Unfortunately, as wonderful as our allergist is, he is not very helpful in this area. He showed me pamphlets from The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and I did get in touch with them and purchased as much information as I could, but I did not find all the answers I was looking for. Not knowing where to turn or what to do is one of the chief complaints that I hear from parents with a newly diagnosed child. That is one of the reasons that I started my blog. I wanted to let others know that they are not alone. And that even though I'm not a physician or an expert, just a mom that has "been there, done that", they could feel free to contact me with questions and I would try to point them in the right direction.

Below is a great list of resources that encompass the generalities of how to get started dealing with the food allergies. The information found on these links can answer most of the immediate questions:

KFA's starter guide to parenting a child with a food allergy - This guide is from Kids With Food Allergies and lists all of the "What do I do now?" questions that parents immediately have. Parents can also join Kids with Food Allergies for a small fee and find support and so many other wonderful resources.

WEGO Health's Child Food Allergy page - This page answers some of the basic questions of why and what now and then takes it a bit further by adding in links about school and support groups.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network - This organization saved my life (or actually my child's life) when we first received the diagnosis. At the time in 2005 there wasn't much information out there about food allergies (or at least I couldn't find it). The books and pamphlets for parents section of the "store" was invaluable to me.

Allergy Kids - This is a wonderful organization of advocacy and education. Their "Defining Food Allergies Section" has wonderful free downloads and printables to help you protect your child.

But then where do you go?

A list of My top 7 books that helped me when my son was diagnosed

A blog post on How to find a food allergy support group in your area.

A list here, here, here, and and here of some wonderful food allergy bloggers/tweeters.

Meet some other food allergy parents:

No Whey Mama - Child with diary allergy

Peanut Free Mama - Child with peanut allergy

Jennifer B from Food Allergy Buzz - Child with peanut allergy

Ruth Smith from Best Allergy Sites - Child with multiple food allergies

Amy Leger from the Savvy Celiac - Child with celiac disease

How did you feel when you or your child was first diagnosed? What were the questions you had and where did you go to find the answers? What are some other resources that you can add to this list? What is the number one question you find people ask when they have a child that is newly diagnosed with food allergies?

Please feel free to take this information and the links here back to your communities and make it available so that it can be easily found. My hope is that in the future parents of newly diagnosed children aren't as lost as I was in the beginning. I hope that they have a place to go to find the answers that they so desperately need.

Visit the Asthma and Allergy Community to see what other topics are being discussed or to start a discussion of your own.