想象一下，生活在一个你不能像其他人一样享受食物的世界里, and some foods are actually your enemy ⁠— even potentially deadly. It’s becoming increasingly prevalent for many kids. 事实上，在一个教室里，每13个孩子中就有2个有某种食物过敏. This is true for little Nico, 谁从一出生就表现出他和他随和的妹妹有很大不同. 

“My daughter is 13½ months older and was just a happy, healthy baby, nursed like a champ,” explains Nico’s mom, Paige. “她7个月大的时候就能吃整片披萨和寿司卷.”

但尼科似乎总是不舒服，好像他是一只在树上搔痒的熊. For his first year of life, 由于湿疹引起的强烈瘙痒，他一次睡不超过45分钟, which is a chronic skin condition commonly affecting babies. Nico’s eczema, however, covered most of his body. He often tried to scratch his back during diaper changes. 他手上戴着连指手套，因为他老是抓自己的身体. 而且他每次被放下来时，都会尖叫一声，佩吉说那是“血腥的谋杀”.”

“There was something clearly wrong with him. It wasn’t normal,” Paige says. “One time I was in a store, trying to nurse, 他哭得很厉害，他的肚脐开始流血，因为他痛得弓着腰尖叫着.”

Desperate for answers, Paige turned to her midwife, who is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. 她认为也许尼科有食物过敏，她的母乳影响了他. By the time he was 6 months old, Paige stopped eating a variety of known top food allergens: dairy, wheat, soy, eggs, tuna and nuts. She took Nico to a few allergists seeking answers between New York, and their eventual move to Florida, and they finally found their way to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital just over a year ago.

It was perfect timing as the new Food Allergy Clinic at Johns Hopkins All Children’s had just opened. Nico became one of the very first patients.

“At that point, he was labeled with being allergic to several foods, including eggs, peanuts, several tree nuts, chick pea, coconut, flaxseed,” explains Panida Sriaroon, M.D., medical director of the Food Allergy Clinic.

首先，尼科要做皮肤和血液测试，看看他是否已经不再过敏了. 接下来将是一系列的口腔食物挑战，看看他的身体是否有反应，以及有什么反应，同时由一组专家监测, ready to spring into action if an allergic reaction occurs. Most reactions are treated in the clinic, but because the clinic is in the Outpatient Care Center, across the street from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, the team is poised for an adverse reaction, even if it requires going around the corner to the Emergency Center.

“It’s been a completely life-changing experience,” Paige says. “But it’s terrifying. 这个诊所的团队了解它的严重性，因为它不像填充蛀牙, but they still make it as comfortable as they can.”

四岁的尼科已经完成了六次以上的食物挑战，并取得了一些改变生活的结果. During these food challenge tests, 在两到四个小时的时间里，给推荐十大正规网赌平台小剂量的他或她可能过敏的食物，并监测反应. One was a huge success, proving Nico, 谁曾经对牛奶和奶制品过敏(可能导致死亡的过敏), could finally consume them. 这意味着享受他现在最喜欢的食物之一，披萨，并朝着某种正常的感觉迈出了一步.

“有很多推荐十大正规网赌平台不能吃纯乳制品，但他们可以忍受烘焙牛奶. In Nico’s case, we had him try baked milk in cake form first, which he tolerates, then we tried straight dairy next,” Sriaroon explains. “With some foods that are thoroughly cooked, the protein structure changes, which allows the patient to eat it without reaction. Now we’ve cleared him to eat pizza, 这改变了他的生活，他可以去参加派对，像其他孩子一样吃饭. It’s a lot for the family. This opens doors.”

但一次用腰果和开心果进行的食物挑战导致了严重的反应, 需要注射肾上腺素，并接受约翰霍普金斯儿童医院的紧急治疗 Emergency Center team. It was frightening for Paige, 但斯里亚龙说，这就是为什么有儿科专业医护人员在身边很重要的原因, who are trained and prepared for life-threatening reactions.

佩奇回忆说:“我找不到比这更好的专业团队来处理这件事了. “They were super calm, wildly calm, through it all. Dr. Sriaroon带我们经历了整个过程，感觉就像他们控制了一切. I cannot speak highly enough about the food allergy clinic team, 以及运送并稳定他的急救小组.”

而尼科可能会在一段时间内重复过敏测试和口腔食物挑战, 佩奇很感激这个团队的照顾，这个团队和她说着食物过敏的语言. 她承认，对于食物过敏的孩子和他们的父母来说，生活并不容易, 但通过食物挑战是一个里程碑，值得庆祝. She admits it takes a lot of advocating and planning, 但这种诊断值得更多的关注和讨论.

佩姬说:“这需要很多教育和鼓励人们向我提问。. “找到约翰霍普金斯所有儿童医院的食物过敏诊所是我们遇到的最好的事情.”

斯里亚龙说，虽然目前还不清楚为什么现在儿童食物过敏更普遍, it is a very complex condition. “我们希望我们知道为什么它会上升，但我们知道这主要还是遗传的. 如果父母一方有这种情况，40%到60%的孩子可能会过敏, and up to an 80% chance if both parents do.“这可能与环境有关，也可能与西方化的生活方式有关，比如认为发达国家往往更‘干净’的卫生假说。, our bodies start fighting something normal such as foods.

虽然小尼科可能无法告诉你他对每一种食物过敏, 他可以告诉你每一种恐龙的学名——也许现在是一个正在吃披萨的古生物学家. 这一壮举让每个人都更加平静，对未来的食物充满希望.