Finally, a first post

Hello and welcome. If you found this blog after searching the net for information on peanut allergy because you've had the scare of your life involving your little one having a reaction to a food you probably love, I know exactly how you feel. Peanut allergy is one of the scariest food allergies out there. It's a wild card in that no matter how low the number on the blood test, no matter how minor the reaction in the past, no matter how little the amount of peanut consumed, it seems to always be considered a dangerous, potentially life threatening allergy. It's a frustrating allergy because you can explain over and over and OVER again to people that all food is potentially dangerous, even if there is no peanut in the ingredients. (I gotta be honest, this one is still hard for me to come to terms with). A knife can be wiped clean, even washed and still have some traces of peanut protein on it that are invisible to the eye but not to the body's immune system. People will think you are over-reacting, but really, can you really over-react to that kind of threat? No one would give their children food prepared in a kitchen next to rat poison, *just-in-case*. Peanuts might as well be rat poison for my son.

I found out about his peanut allergy ten months ago. I set up this blog eight months ago, but couldn't bring myself to post. I didn't want to jinx his chances of being in the elusive twenty percent of people who can possibly outgrow this allergy. I know that sounds silly, but when your child is diagnosed with a dangerous food allergy, you don't always think straight. For the first few months after I understood the risk we were up against (in the beginning I had no idea and still ate Snickers bars around my son!) I felt creeped out just walking down the aisle of the grocery store with nuts and peanut butter stacked up menacingly around us. It is so overwhelming in the beginning, researching all the scary facts, finding "safe" food, looking for a possible "get out of peanut allergy free" card.

So if you are there, still at the beginning of this unexpected and unwanted journey, take heart. I wanted to start this blog back when I first found out about my son's allergy because I wanted to help others in a similar situation. But it was too hard in the beginning. I went through long periods where I didn't want to think about his allergy or deal with it at all. And days when it came crashing down on me, keeping me up late at night in tears searching the internet for information and reassurance. But finally, FINALLY, I am here posting on my blog. Now my major block more than fear is time. I do hope however to share as much as I can as we navigate through the scary world of food allergies where we are living, here in Japan.

From reading labels in Japanese, to flying back back home to Canada for a visit this summer, I hope to spread awareness about dealing with food allergies, peanut in particular, and to help people in similar situations as other bloggers have helped me.