Food allergies are not a joke

"I was truly gutted when watching the recent Saturday Night Live 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.

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."

Lianne Mandelbaum is founder, the No Nut Traveler, and can be reached on Twitter @nonuttraveler.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Food allergies are a growing public health concern, not a joke."

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