Food allergies are not a joke

<p>"I was truly gutted when watching the recent <a href= "https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1500546760732643329?s=20&t=BomPEZ4VabB4_4xgoHFhbA" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow external noreferrer" data-wpel-link="external">Saturday Night Live</a> that joked about nut allergies. My son Joshua, who is 16 years old, has an anaphylactic peanut allergy. I found the segment to be insensitive to the millions of people globally who live each day with food allergies, an invisible but potentially fatal disease.</p> <p>How do I explain to my son that it is OK to make fun of a kid’s throat closing from a nut and then laugh as he struggles to speak? Would this skit make it past the drafting board and be approved if the disease in question was visible? There is a societal disconnect where making light of food allergies (a legitimate medical condition) has become acceptable and that can put those with a food allergy in harm’s way."</p> <p><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/lianne-mandelbaum-b8a4a180/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link= "exclude">Lianne Mandelbaum</a> is founder, the <a href= "http://www.nonuttraveler.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener nofollow noreferrer external" data-wpel-link= "external">No Nut Traveler</a>, and can be reached on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/nonuttraveler" target= "_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer external" data-wpel-link="external">@nonuttraveler</a>.</p> <p>She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "<a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/2022/03/food-allergies-are-a-growing-public-health-concern-not-a-joke.html">Food allergies are a growing public health concern, not a joke</a>."</p> <p>SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST → <a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast">https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast</a></p> <p>RATE AND REVIEW → <a href= "https://www.kevinmd.com/rate">https://www.kevinmd.com/rate</a></p> <p>FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM → <a href= "https://www.instagram.com/kevinphomd">https://www.instagram.com/kevinphomd</a></p> <p>FOLLOW ON TIKT