7 days ago
'I avoided food courts': Mum hopeful that new study on kids' food allergies will create greater awareness , Singapore News
You are spoilt for choice when you visit food courts.
But for 10-year-old Corey Yong it was different — it was impossible for him to eat there due to his egg allergy.
It was so severe that the mere presence of egg proteins in the surrounding environment would trigger symptoms like hives and swelling, meaning that he could not even walk past food courts or restaurants that cooked eggs.
Corey was diagnosed with allergies to eggs, dairy, peanuts and dust mites when he was just six months old, after an allergist recommended taking a skin prick test.
His mother, Amanda Chan, recounted the "traumatic" period prior to the skin prick test, where he was stuck in a "vicious cycle" of flaring up and being given antihistamines as paediatricians were unable to pinpoint the cause of his symptoms.
"It was invisible and we didn't know what was happening," the 45-year-old mother told AsiaOne, adding that she felt guilty for not being able to protect her son from such reactions.
Corey's case is among the increasing number of paediatric food allergy cases according to National University Hospital (NUH) and KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), with the number of day therapy sessions performed in children rising by 60 per cent in just two years.
Common allergens in younger children include eggs, milk, and peanuts, while shellfish allergies are more common in adolescents and young adults, said NUH and KKH.
To address this issue, the Singapore Food Allergy Study, a two-phase project spanning over four years, will determine the prevalence and impact of food allergies in Singaporean children.
Led by clinicians and researchers from NUH and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), the study will involve over 2,000 children and is the first study to evaluate the social and economic impacts of food allergies — in addition to the health impacts such as nutrition and growth.
The first phase began in February, with caregivers of children aged 12 to 24 months surveyed regarding possible allergic reactions to food.
At a media event on Thursday (June 26), Associate Professor Elizabeth Tham, Lead Principal Investigator, shared that there have been 549 participants in the first phase, as of mid-June.
From the current pool of participants, 79 children were found to have food allergies.
The second phase, beginning in July, aims to study around 400 children aged 18 and under, with diagnosed allergies to milk, egg, peanut and shellfish for a minimum of six months.
"Our goal is to create a safer environment for children with food allergies, enabling them to reach their fullest potential at school and work. Additionally, we aim to improve mental health and overall well-being, especially for older children and adolescents," said Assoc Prof Tham. 'Early years were really isolating'
Because of Corey's severe food allergies, mealtimes became a major stressor for Amanda and her family. They cut down on eating out for fear of causing an allergic reaction in Corey.
His 12-year-old brother is allergy-free.
"The early years were really isolating," Chan, a stay-at-home mother said, adding that family dinners had to be "smaller and less frequent".
They "adhered to a strict avoidance of environments that could risk him having a reaction", such as indoor restaurants and air-conditioned places where the air was recirculated.
Going out with family and friends became "incredibly tough" and involved "a very tedious process of researching, calling the restaurants... talking to chefs, if they were willing to talk to me to make sure that they were able to make him foods that were safe for him".
In some cases, restaurant staff even told her to "eat at (your) own risk". 'Any sort of desensitisation is better than zero'
Chan and her family have adjusted their eating and living habits accordingly to ensure that Corey's allergies are manageable.
After his diagnosis, Chan made a huge overhaul to her kitchen and removed all products containing Corey's allergens. She also opted for vegan alternatives when possible, such as vegan cheese and an egg-free mayonnaise.
Birthday celebrations for Corey are also not an issue now, with allergen-free cakes for him and his family to enjoy together.
Over the years, she has also taught Corey to read food labels, so that he can be more independent in finding food that he can eat.
"His severe allergic reactions have become a lot lesser," she added, noting that it is much easier to manage his symptoms now that he is older and able to signal any discomfort so that his allergic reactions can be arrested as early as possible, "through the administration of the antihistamines or the EpiPen or heading straight to the hospital".
Corey has been undergoing oral immunotherapy for the past four years, though there has been "limited success" due to the severity of his allergies.
However, there has been a relative improvement in his egg allergy and Chan was able to reintroduce eggs into the family's kitchen around two years ago.
Though he still is unable to consume eggs, she is happy to see some progress.
"Any sort of desensitisation is better than zero. Whatever little we can achieve, it'll protect him when we are out," she said, adding that he has been "quite a trooper" throughout the oral immunotherapy process.
Chan is also the founder of the Singapore Parents of Eczema and Allergy Kids, and hopes that the study will yield more updated national statistics so that there will be "better outcomes for say, oral immunotherapy", and that there will be greater access to information that will help children facing food allergies.
Speaking at the briefing, Dr Chong Kok Wee, Head and Senior Consultant, Allergy Service, Department of Paediatric Medicine, KKH, said that the outgrowing trend for food allergies depends on the type of allergen.
For milk and eggs, "about 60 to 80 per cent" of children are able to outgrow their allergies by the age of six.
For peanuts and shellfish on the other hand, outgrowing rates are much lower, with "about 80 to 90 per cent" children having allergies that "will persist into adulthood".
Food allergies involve the immune system and may result in life-threatening reactions such as anaphylaxis. Other reactions include rashes, abdominal pain and shortness of breath.
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