A Moray woman whose son’s life is blighted by severe allergies is fighting to help other sufferers across the region.
Kelly Hale fears for five-year-old Mason every time he leaves the house in case he comes into contact with food or materials he takes a reaction to.
She and her husband, David, have spent more than £7,000 on trips to London, Manchester and Glasgow to speak with specialists about possible ways of alleviating his conditions – but are no further forward.
And they have even built a miniature cinema in their garage, so that Mason can have fun with his friends without being exposed to any risks.
The youngster is allergic to nuts, eggs, fish, oranges, avocado, soya and latex.
And last week, he came out in hives while playing with modelling clay at Millbank Primary School.
The incident prompted Mrs Hale to launch a crusade to ensure other children like Mason are kept safe.
The 29-year-old said: “I had already been in the process of setting up this campaign but that really made me put it into action.
“He had unbelievable hives, and I wanted to make sure kids in his class knew how to spot it if he was having a reaction.
“This affects every aspect of his life, but we are determined he lives as normally as possible.”
Mrs Hale has distributed an information pack around pupils and parents, offering guidance on the signs that Mason is having an allergic reaction.
She is also trying to set up training sessions for other parents to learn how to use Mason’s Epinephrine epi-pen – incase he goes into anaphylactic shock.
Mrs Hale added: “It is an adrenaline shot that needs to be given if Mason has a severe reaction that makes his throat swell up and prevents him from breathing.
“He has only ever had one reaction that bad, and thankfully that was while we were in hospital so it was quickly dealt with.”
Because of Mason’s allergies, his parents have to plan his activities extra carefully – from checking what friends’ birthday parties will involve, to consulting with hotels before booking a trip away.
Their garden also contains artificial grass because Mason is allergic to cuttings.
Mrs Hale said that after simply touching a nutty biscuit, Mason’s eyes swelled up so badly that within 20 minutes he “could barely see”.
Her campaign aims to ensure that more people in Moray are familiar with different allergies, and know how to respond to emergencies.
Mrs Hale said: “Millbank has been really good, but I don’t think there’s enough support in Moray for people with allergies.
“Parents from other schools have told me that they worry for their children, and feel there needs to be more awareness.”
Mrs Hale has already created a pack entitled Mason’s Five Simple Steps, offering tips on how to identify when he is suffering an allergic reaction.
She is now working on more general guidelines to be distributed across the area, and is hoping to stage an information evening about allergies in Buckie.
Moray Council said it already had processes in place to ensure children with allergies were correctly looked after in school.
A spokesman confirmed that the parents of any child with a known food allergy is invited to meet the head teacher and discuss a six-week menu.
