Young allergy suffer outlines his concerns to MPs (From Wiltshire Times)

Young allergy suffer outlines his concerns to MPs

8:30am Thursday 17th December 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

A schoolboy who suffers from life-threatening food allergies visited the Houses of Parliament to raise his concerns with MPs over a lack of education on the condition.

Alex North, 12, from Melksham, has suffered from food allergies since he was a toddler and was diagonosed with the condition, Anaphylaxis, at the age of three.

His mum Tiffany North, of Severn Road, Melksham, said:” He wasn’t a very well baby suffering from eczema and other things but it wasn’t until he was two and a half, when he had a little bit of peanut butter on toast, that he had a reaction.

“We rushed him to the hospital and he was given anti-histamines but they didn’t realise what was wrong with him at this point.”

It was following a second attack when he was three that doctors realised his allergies were potentially life-threatening and his parents were shown how to use an epi-pen injector, which contains adrenalin to combat the reaction.

Following tests at Norwich Hospital, near to where they were living at the time, Alex was found to be allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts and sesame seeds.

Although he is no longer allergic to milk and can eat cakes with eggs in them, he is finding it hard to come to terms with his condition.

“I get quite sick of not being able to eat the same things as other people,” he said.

“I went to a birthday party the other day and when they handed out goody bags I couldn’t eat the birthday cake inside it or the Celebrations chocolates.

“The attacks do sort of scare me. It just doesn’t feel like I’m going to be there any more. It feels like I might die.” .

Alex, a pupil at the John of Gaunt Student in Trowbridge, was among a group of 50 children who suffer with allergies to visit the House of Commons in London, for an event hosted by MP Jo Swinson, who is co-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Allergy. The meeting was also attended by members of the National Allergy Strategy Group - an alliance of organisations, including the charities Allergy UK and The Anaphylaxis Campaign.

All of the children were able to speak during the event, and Alex brought up issues including the lack of knowledge most GPs have about allergies, as well as a lack of awareness in restaurants and cafes.

He also raised the issue of why epi-pens are a paid-for prescription item, as they can be the difference between ‘life or death’.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)