Paul is two and a half years old and appears to be in perfect health. However, he lives with about twenty allergies that make him “constantly ill”, his parents say. They are struggling to find respite, between medical appointments and the monitoring required by the state of health of their polyallergic child. According to Allergies Quebec, 300,000 people live with food allergies in the province. A number on the rise, for reasons which remain mysterious.
“Even going to the park is dangerous,” says Chloé Gaumont, Paul’s mother. The risk of having an allergic reaction after having touched a piece of food threatens the child at all times. Paul is particularly allergic to eggs, wheat, milk, oats and soy. “Sometimes, so as not to have to say that they are allergies, I would like it to have another name, like a syndrome”, argues Mme Gaumont, looking at Paul, who is playing with a plastic stethoscope. The reality of the boy is far from the idea that many have allergies. “He’s a constantly sick child,” she says.
In the fall of 2019, Paul began treatment with oral immunotherapy. This form of desensitization involves ingesting a small dose of the allergen, the protein in the food that causes the allergy, every day.
He reacted almost every day, we always had to go to the hospital. To see him in critical condition is really draining.
Chloe Gaumont
In order to prevent him from reacting strongly, his therapy was cut in two: one dose of allergens in the morning and one in the evening.
For 10 years, allergies have been on the rise, says Dr Philippe Bégin, allergist at CHU Sainte-Justine and at the Center hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM). “It’s not just the fact of bringing them back more, there are really more of them than before,” he explains. Since allergic reactions are due to various genetic and environmental factors, it is difficult to pinpoint what is causing this increase. One possibility is that by being less exposed to viruses, the immune system produces a response (the allergic reaction) to fight a false threat (an allergen like peanuts).
Polyallergy affects a third of allergy sufferers, says Dr Bégin.
A patient who has the genetics for and who has a lot of eczema is at risk of becoming allergic to anything they come in contact with.
The Dr Philippe Bégin, allergist
When the child has cracked skin due to eczema, allergens in the house enter the system through the skin. “When your system sees something under your skin, it thinks it’s a parasite,” explains Dr.r Bégin. When you have developed antibodies this way, the next time you eat this food by mouth, you will react. ”
Little respite
In January 2020, Paul’s parents say they turned to the CLSC des Patriotes, in Beloeil, for help in finding childcare or home babysitting. “He did not fit into any category because he has no visual, auditory, intellectual or motor handicap”, explains Mme Gaumont.
In the eyes of the provincial and federal government, Paul is nevertheless considered to be disabled, which provides a subsidy to the childcare center (CPE) that receives him. The child’s file is now reopened in order to assess his needs, assures Marianne Paquette, media relations advisor for the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Paul and his mother, Chloé Gaumont
After much research and a year of unpaid leave taken by Mr.me Gaumont, the family finally found a CPE who agreed to take Paul in. However, the childcare center is located in another city, which means longer trips every day.
The daily puzzle
For Paul, the allergies started in his first months of life, when his body was covered with eczema. “He looked like a burnt victim,” recalls Chloé Gaumont. He was really tackled and it was getting infected. According to specialists, the child would lose some of his twenty allergies over the years. But “the opposite happened”, since he began to develop reactions to foods that he did not previously have, underlines Mme Gaumont. Fortunately, he is no longer allergic to mango and pineapple. “But we are not immune to it becoming allergic to it again,” warns the boy’s mother.
Paul’s two sisters, aged 5 and 8, fear that their little brother will react. “Once, my second told me in tears: ‘I don’t want him to die’,” recalls Chloe Gaumont. When Paul reacts strongly, he becomes swollen in addition to having an itchy throat and tongue, relates Olivier Trottier, father of the boy. “He coughs a lot, until he vomits, he has a drop in pressure and his eyes see, continues Paul’s father. It becomes soft and white and there is immediately the Epipen. ”
A lack of allergists
At the Sainte-Justine allergy clinic, nearly 300 children are treated with oral immunotherapy each year. Due to the lack of allergists, it is impossible to offer this service to all patients who need it. A “heartbreaking” situation, according to Dr Philippe Bégin, since the allergy can disappear when desensitization is done early in the child’s life. “We are potentially missing a window of opportunity to cure them,” he laments. The deficit of allergists is so important that many patients fail to have a diagnosis, laments Dr.r Bégin. We must rethink the system and the offer of services “if we want to continue to be relevant,” he concludes.
9
Number of priority allergens, namely peanuts, wheat, cow’s milk, mustard, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, sesame and soy
Source: Allergies Quebec
160
Number of foods identified in Canada that may cause allergic reactions
Source: Allergies Quebec