Food is part of nearly everything we do. Nearly every party, event, and meeting include food. Snacks are easily available and even handed out on planes, during events, or in classrooms.

Our food-centered culture can make food allergies harder to manage. This can lead to stress, anxiety, and sometimes food aversion in a child with food allergies. Parents and caregivers of children with food allergies have higher rates of anxiety and panic than parents of children without food allergies.

You do not have to manage your child’s food allergy alone. Kids with Food Allergies (KFA) has many resources – including free help and support.

Ways to Manage the Mental Impact of Food Allergies

Here are a few ways to support your mental, emotional, and social health:

Form a circle of support. Enlist a team of people you can reach out to when you need help managing your child’s food allergies. Giving information about your child’s condition to these people in your life is very important. They can help reduce your child’s chances of having food allergy reactions. They will also be able to help your child if they have anaphylaxis, a serious allergic reaction. Include people you trust who will listen to you and encourage you.

Your support team may include:

• Family members or caregivers
• Friends and neighbors
• Classmates, faculty, or school staff
• Health care providers such as doctors, nurses, registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN)
• Mental health counselor or therapist

Join KFA’s online communities. KFA has an online support community where you can connect with other people managing food allergies. Visit kidswithfoodallergies.org/help for more resources.

Find a food-allergy-aware counselor or therapist. A counselor or therapist who understands food allergies can help you and your child find ways to cope with the emotions that come with managing food allergies. Visit foodallergycounseling.org for a directory of food-allergy-aware counselors and therapists.

If your child takes medicine for asthma and allergies, talk with their doctor about medicine side effects. Most people have few side effects, if any, from asthma and allergy medicines. But a small number of people may have side effects related to mental health, including mood changes, irritability, depression, and more.

If your child takes medicines and you think they may be affecting their mental health, talk with their doctor right away. Don’t stop your child’s asthma or allergy treatment without talking with their health care team first.

If your child shows signs of disordered eating, get help. Disordered eating can turn into an eating disorder. Disordered eating is small or infrequent eating behaviors that aren’t as severe as an eating disorder. In a child with food allergies, it can include avoiding foods they aren’t allergic to, picky eating that gets worse, or obsessions about foods. Here are some resources for disordered eating and eating disorders:

• National Alliance for Eating Disorders
• National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders