❗Trigger warning: this post discusses anaphylaxis and fatal allergic reactions.
🎥 Watch or Listen First
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You can also keep reading below for a clear written breakdown
Watch or Listen First
If you prefer to listen, you can start here:
Listen to the podcast below:
You can also keep reading below for a clear written breakdown
I want to talk about something today that I think about a lot, but that rarely gets said out loud: the fear of a fatal reaction in a young child.
I’ve spent the last 10 years working with children with food allergy. I don’t have a child with food allergies myself, and I want to be upfront about that before I say anything else. What I’m sharing here comes from a decade of working alongside allergy families, watching how you live your lives, and listening to the anxieties that sit underneath so much of it. And most of that anxiety, understandably, comes from fearing the worst-case scenario.
So today I wanted to actually look at the numbers, because a fatal outcome from anaphylaxis in a young, primary-school-age child is extremely rare. So rare that there isn’t really solid recent annual data on it in Australia. From my research the numbers in the UK are also very small in primary school aged children (2 children in the last 5 years)
What the data does show
There are deaths from anaphylaxis, but they overwhelmingly involve adults, not young children. In Australia, there are around 20 anaphylaxis deaths a year, and in the last couple of years, these have almost entirely been older teenagers or adults.
A couple of theories help explain why:
Children’s cardiovascular systems seem to recover differently, handling a drop in blood pressure better than an adult’s does. Children are more resilient than they often appear and I say this a lot!
Young children are also rarely alone. A lot of fatal outcomes in older teens and adults come down to being unsupervised when a reaction happens, and treatment being delayed as a result. A young child is almost always with someone, and that matters enormously
Why this matters for you
I hope this lands as reassuring rather than frightening. Yes, your child might have a severe reaction. They might look really unwell, covered head to toe in hives. But the reality is that the chance of that becoming fatal in a primary school-aged child is very low.
I’m not downplaying how heavy this all is, either. The constant vigilance, knowing your child’s allergen is out there somewhere, in the supermarket, in lunchboxes, at the park, on the bus, is genuinely exhausting. I don’t pretend to fully understand what that feels like day to day, only what I’ve learned from being alongside so many families living it.
You can’t control every variable out there. But you can control how prepared you are, and that’s really where your superpower is.
What you can do
Knowing the signs of a severe reaction in a young child matters enormously, especially because babies and toddlers can’t tell you how they’re feeling.
And if there’s one thing I want every allergy parent reading this to take away: if in doubt, give the adrenaline device.
I don’t care how many medical professionals, paramedics or ED staff have told you afterwards that they “probably didn’t need to give the adrenaline.” That’s not the point. You’re not meant to be certain in the moment, you’re meant to act on what you see. If the symptoms match the action plan, you give it. Your child will not be harmed by receiving adrenaline they didn’t strictly need. Delayed adrenaline is what tends to lead to poor outcomes, and that pattern shows up again and again in the data on older teens and adults.
Two things can be true at once
You can feel anxious, even scared, about your child’s allergy, and still act decisively and correctly when it counts. I’ve seen calm, “I’ve got this” parents freeze in an emergency, and visibly anxious parents deliver treatment perfectly, clear as a bell, right when it mattered. Your baseline anxiety doesn’t predict how you’ll act in the moment. Don’t underestimate yourself.
I’m pretty confident that the arrival of nasal adrenaline such as Neffy, will also change the fear spiral around giving adrenaline, for both parents and children. We already have a lot of real world feedback from children saying how they feel so much better knowing they wont get a needle.
If you’re unsure about anything or want some extra guidance, you can visit my little corner of t’internet here, I will have something to help you.
And if you want a clear, specific reference for what severe versus moderate symptoms actually look like in a baby or toddler, as they do look quite different and the little ones cant always communicate to us, (as a supplement to the general allergy action plan, which is written for all ages), you’ll find it for free here. 🤍
Looking for more practical support?
If you’re looking for simple, evidence-based resources to help you navigate food allergies, introducing allergenic foods, egg ladders, choking first aid, I’ve created a growing collection of practical guides & allergy toolkits for busy parents.
Every resource has been designed to save you time, reduce the mental load and help you feel more confident caring for your child.
FREE: Allergic Reactions in Babies & Toddlers
What to look for, as symptoms can look very different & sometimes silent in babies & toddlers.
FREE: The First Year Allergy Food Plan
A simple guide to when and how to introduce the 9 common allergy foods, and what to do after
FREE: Choking First Aid Guide
Essential Steps to Save A Baby's Life in an Emergency