OK… Breathe!!!

I think I’ve just lost five years off my life. One of Lucia’s favourite dishes is tuna pasta, mixed with chopped organic tomatoes, and grated cheese. It’s a nice healthy meal that I can prepare in a few minutes, and she loves it. I hadn’t actually given it to her in a few weeks, as I got a bit freaked by a report about the heavy metals in tuna, but decided tonight I’d treat her. As expected, she got stuck right in, using fork, spoon, and, when those proved too cumbersome, her fingers to shovel it into her mouth. It was all going swimmingly, until she started whingeing. I thought she’d had enough, so went to clean her up, only to see her face completely covered in angry, bright red welts. Her eye was watery and inflamed where she’d rubbed it with her mucky hands. Somehow, practically overnight, she’d become allergic to tomatoes! I had horrible visions of her going into anaphylactic shock, and her throat closing up, as she frantically gasped for breath. Thankfully the reality wasn’t quite so dramatic. I wiped her face with a cool flannel, and watched her closely over the next half an hour. The welts slowly faded away, and my heart rate finally began to level out. I did a quick check on the internet, and it turns out tomato allergies are fairly common, due to their high acid levels. News to me!! Apparently kids can become intolerant literally from one meal to the next – the body mistakenly registers certain foods as dangerous, and causes an allergic reaction the next time they’re consumed. So tomatoes are definitely off the menu, for the foreseeable future. Have your kids suddenly developed any allergies??