Hi, my name is Lisa and I want to tell you a little bit about myself and how the No Nuts Moms Group came about. When I am chatting with the ladies on the Facebook Group Page, I often wish they knew me on a first name basis instead of just talking to the person behind the No Nuts Logo. After all, I feel like I know all of you and feel very close to some of you.

I am 35 years old and I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I live in Michigan with my husband and my two boys. We also lived outside of Rockford, IL for about four years. My boys are 17 months apart. The oldest turned four on November 28 and my youngest will be three on April 8. My four year old is highly allergic to peanuts and he is also allergic to some tree nuts. He was only tested for a couple of nuts and we know that he is allergic to almonds and he isn't allergic to black walnuts. To be safe, we have decided to stay away from all nuts until we get him retested later down the road. My youngest will be getting tested for peanuts and tree nuts this year.

After I learned and accepted my son's food allergy, I began to search online for a local playgroup for food allergic children. At the time, I was in another moms group and everyone was really nice, but I felt uncomfortable around any food being served and in the beginning, I just wasn't ready to answer questions or give explanations. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any such playgroup, so I decided to start my own and see if I could find any other moms living in my area. The name of the playgroup was The No Nuts Moms Group of Oakland County. It took a while to get any members and when I got my first member, I was so excited! The member didn't even live in Oakland County, but I didn't care. I was just happy to be connected with another parent who was dealing with the same fears. I eventually decided to change the name to No Nuts Moms Group of Michigan. The group was free and anyone who had a child with a peanut and nut allergy were welcome to join. I then started a Facebook page in order to get the word out about the group. I passed out flyers, I posted to any free online newsletters, and I connected with Boogie Babies, Macaroni Kid and Metro Detroit Mommy. They were so helpful in getting the word out about the moms group and I am so thankful for all of their help. To my surprise, moms from all over were joining my page. It was great! When I had 20 "Likes" on the page, I was jumping for joy. At this point, I decided to make this page a moms group for any one dealing with any type of allergy. There are so many allergy pages and resources out there that I never knew existed and most of us do not have the time to keep up with all of these stories and allergy updates. I decided that I wanted to provide this information on one page and also be able to connect with other moms in the process.

The No Nuts Moms Group has a main website and we are also on Facebook and Twitter. In addition to these sites, we also have 16 peanut and tree nut free playgroups located in Arlington, VA, Michigan, Belpre, OH/Parkersburg, WV, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dayton, California, Naperville, IL, Springfiled, IL, Colorado, Richmond, VA, Winchester, VA, Buffalo, NY, South Jersey, Portland, OR and West Chester, PA. If you live in these areas and are looking to meet other mothers and children who are dealing with peanut and tree nut allergies, please check out our playgroups. It's FREE to join!

I hope this group can continue to grow and raise awareness to others. I want this group to be a place for all of us to go and share our fears and stories. I know the No Nuts Moms Group has helped me a great deal. I am learning so much about all food allergies and I am meeting some truly wonderful people. I feel like I always have a place to go and chat about my son's allergy and not feel judged or uncomfortable. My husband has been so amazing and very supportive, but we can't talk about food allergies all day long. This is where I can go and talk about it any time of the day or night.

I want to thank you all for being in this group.  It has been very helpful to me and I hope to you as well.

Did you Know..........

The FDA doesn't require manufactures to place labels on food with advisory statements such as, "May Contain" or "Manufactured in the same facility as". These are strictly voluntary statements and not required, however manufactures are required to list all ingredients on the label. Read More

Your child's rights and safety are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Read More and Read More

Coconut is considered a tree nut by the FDA, but it is actually a member of the Palm Family and there is a good chance that your nut allergic child isn't allergic to coconut. Read More

Fenugreek is a member of the legume family and is used as an ingredient in curries, chutneys and teas. Allergic reactions to fenugreek may be severe yet its presence is rarely declared in ingredient listings. Some nursing mothers take Fenugreek to increase their milk production. Read More

Peanut allergic people can often eat tree nuts and tree nut allergic people can often eat peanuts. However, some allergic individuals may be allergic to both peanut and tree nuts. Peanuts are part of the Legume Family. Read More

Allergy skin test and blood test are not always reliable. Read More

As many as 15 million Americans have food allergies, including approximately 6
million children. Read More

When fatal cases of anaphylaxis are reviewed, one of the most important aspects leading to death is the absence of medications, resulting in delay in treatment. So it's important that epinephrine and Benadryl be available at all times. Read More

Anaphylaxis symptoms can recur 8 to 72 hours after apparent resolution. Read More

It is a good idea for your child to wear a medical id bracelet or necklace in case you are in a car accident and unconscious or if your child gets lost and stranger is trying to help. They may offer them food. Read More

Two Epipens are recommended at school and at home. In case the first one doesn't work then you should give a second injection. Read More

Never twist or pull on the Epipen cap. Doing so may prevent the medicine from being delivered to your child. The blue safety cap on the auto injector must be removed by pulling straight up, while the orange tip of the device is pointed downward. Read More

Epinephrine is intended for immediate self administration as emergency supportive therapy only. Seek immediate emergency medical treatment after use. After administering epinephrine, always call 911 and wait for the ambulance to arrive. Read More

The majority of serious reactions occur in adolescents and young adults.  It is very important for your child to always carry an Epipen. Read More and Read More

Neither skin tests nor blood tests can accurately predict how severe a future food allergy reaction might be. You can find the full article by Dr. Sharma Allergic Living Magazine, Winter 2012. 

If one child tested low for peanut and nuts and another tested high, there is still no way to predict which child will have mild or severe reaction. Read More or Read More

Food allergy deaths are not reportable events according to the CDC. Read More

Most likely now or sometime in the future, you may encounter people who don't believe your child has a food allergy or understands the severity of it. These people can be close friends, your child's classmates, other parents, teachers and even family members. Our job is to help educate them in this area. I think that parents of food allergic children often feel uncomfortable approaching this subject with others. Whether it is because they are made to feel uncomfortable or this is their own inner conflict, explaining the food allergy can end up coming across negatively.  Some people may think you are overacting or talking down to them.  For example, grandparents and relatives may feel that you are saying that they are not capable of caring for your child.  In these situations, it may help to be honest and say, "I feel uncomfortable when I have to do this, but I hope you understand this is not an attack on you or your parenting skills."  You can also ask the person to attend a support group meeting with you. This would be very helpful for them to hear other's experiences and stories.  If you have made mistakes yourself in regards to your child's food allergy then share this with them and let them know how scary it was for you. Try to share any articles and handouts with your friends and family. Show them stories of children who have died from anaphylaxis. These stories can be difficult to read, but these stories can be the best educational tool for other's learning about your child's food allergies.

I would like to share a quote that I got from an article. Unfortunately, this statement rings true for a lot of people. Quote: "Before she could even tell me the results of the tests, my mother-in-law chimed in and said that she thought allergies were a myth, with the exception of medication allergies. She declared that food and environmental allergies were simply made up and we all just needed to get over them."  Read More Here

Please feel free to share any articles posted on this website or on Facebook and Twitter. 
I have listed some helpful links/resources to share with others: