Parenting contributor Megan Lavin shares in her new video about a scary food allergy situation with her tween son. However, as you’ll hear, it was one that also revealed an unexpected silver lining to biologic allergy therapy.
Here’s what happened. The Lavin family had been visiting her grandmother’s house. Great-grandma had thoughtfully made two bowls of popcorn. Given Megan’s oldest son’s dairy allergy, the second popcorn bowl had no butter.
Once Megan’s family was in the car heading home, Megan asked her son, just to confirm, which bowl did you eat from heading out the door?
Unfortunately, it was the wrong bowl. Given his severe dairy allergy, her son needed to take epinephrine right away. But Megan was driving on narrow country roads, with no obvious place to pull over.
As she quickly thought about where to get off the road, her son did not miss a beat. He simply pulled out his auto-injector and injected himself. No fears, no big deal.
“To say I was shocked, is an understatement,” Megan relates in this episode of the Megan’s Minute series.
Biologics and Epi Ease
The mom and her son had long felt anxiety in such allergic reaction situations. This was a combination of the possibility of severe anaphylaxis and shared stress about auto-injector needles.
So what made the difference? Being on biologic therapies. Megan’s son used to take Dupixent injections for his eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) allergies twice a month. Then, more recently, he began taking Xolair shots monthly for his IgE-mediated food allergies.
The allergist gave them the green light to do the shots at home. And Megan’s son decided he wanted to take on that responsibility. Don’t miss her full explanation of how that has lessened her son’s needle concerns. Plus, it is easing her mind as he’s hitting the age of greater independence.
The light-bulb moment for her in the popcorn episode is that, not only “can” her son self-inject, but he’s also clearly “willing” to do so.
“To see him suddenly so easily and comfortably administer, before I could even pull over, was a big wow moment,” Megan relates. “What a win, what a silver lining!”
Join Allergic Living monthly for a new installment of Megan’s Minute with Megan Lavin, the creator of the Allergy Awesomeness blog. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
More Megan’s Minute Videos:
My Son Starts on Xolair for Food Allergies
Food Allergy Mom’s Advice: Visiting Relatives, It’s a Balancing Act
How to Avoid Holiday Overload with Allergies
5 Top Tips for Unwanted Food Allergy Advice
How to Host or Attend Big Parties with Allergies
Going Big Box Shopping for Allergy-Safe Finds
Allergy Mom Video: Our First Cruise with Food Allergies was a Hit
Food Allergy at School: Self-Carrying Epi Matters
