When Your Child's Food Allergies Are A Matter Of Life And Death

Laurel Francoeur's son Jeremy was about a year old when he had his first life- threatening allergic reaction. She took him to the doctor when hives started to cover his whole body. Tests revealed severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, sesame and shellfish.

Like many parents of children with severe food allergies, Francoeur faces a host of unique challenges.

"It's a lot of planning," she says. "You have to always plan where you're going, how you're going to eat when you get there. Will the food be safe? Will he have something to eat?"

At school, Jeremy has a special accommodation plan designed for students with disabilities. They put the precaution in place after Jeremy had an anaphylactic reaction while building a gingerbread house in kindergarten. He had touched some icing that contained eggs.