Melksham mum sets up allergy support group

A MELKSHAM mother has set up a support group in the town for those suffering with allergies. 

Tiffany North decided to set up the group as her son Alex, has had anaphylaxis since he was just three years old. His allergy has had a significant impact on both their lives and has restricted what and where he can eat and has even affected where the family goes on holiday.

The next meeting for the support group is on Thursday 27th November at Church Hall, St Barnabas Church, Beanacre Road, Melksham from 7-9pm.

Tiffany said, “Unfortunately there isn’t much out there for support for families, as allergy is very under-funded in the NHS.

“I have set up the group as I used to work for the NHS running anaphylaxis training sessions for pre-schools and nurseries so know that there isn’t the support out there and having a child with a life threatening food allergy can be very frightening and isolating to live with.

“Melksham seemed like an ideal location for the group as it is fairly central and as I already work for The Anaphylaxis Campaign running workshops for parents and young people, I know that the charities support groups could really benefit people, so here I am!

“Alex’s allergies affect’s every part of family life, particularly because he has multiple allergies, which is a bit more complicated to live with. Shopping means having to read and check the ingredients of any food you want to buy. Eating out entails either ringing ahead or checking websites to check ingredients or eating in the same restaurants every time you go out. Many families struggle to eat out at all, as they worry too much. Holidays are a minefield, many flights don’t serve meals that are suitable for allergy sufferers, and lots of families feel much safer staying and holidaying in the UK, because reading packets or asking questions about food is even more difficult if a foreign language is involved!

“I’m really hopeful that the group will be able to provide support for each other as their children grow up, and for young people and adults who want to come along to share how it has been for them becoming independent and moving away from home or starting new jobs or going to uni. These are all big steps in life, but seem huge steps with having to worry about a food allergy as well. We are getting the word out about the support group, but the more people we can get coming along, the better support we can all provide for each other, as we all have had such a variety of experiences and we are all living with different allergies.

“When Alex was diagnosed we didn’t ever meet anyone else with anaphylaxis, so it was quite isolating, I want that to be different for other families, and working with The Anaphylaxis Campaign has helped me to do that.

Mia Walford a Corsham Primary School pupil from Beanacre who attends the group said, :I think the group is really good. It allows people with similar problems to get to gather and it is really nice.”

To attend the next meeting on Thursday 27th November in Beanacre you can register for a free ticket on www.anaphylaxis. org.uk/events?id=339