And the number of kids with food allergies is exploding — doubling between 1997 and 2002, according to the Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine — yet no one is certain why. The most current theory is the "Hygiene Hypothesis," the idea that kids need to be exposed to potential allergens at a young age, and that most parents keep their homes too clean to allow this to happen. But there is no clear consensus about the reasons behind this rise. Other researchers point to the increased use of pesticides and other environmental chemicals. Still others blame immunizations and antibiotics.

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"The bottom line to that question is that we really don't know," says Dr. Paul Hannaway, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tufts University and author of On the Nature of Food Allergy. We have even less information about potential cures.

"The only treatment right now is education and avoidance," Hannaway says. "There are treatments on the drawing board but it's all preliminary right now."

Life-threatening food allergies present their own set of parenting challenges, and potentially a whole new level of anxiety. Statistically, most child fatalities are caused by the uncontrollable and unintentional, like car accidents, cancer or congenital conditions. An allergy-induced death, however, is wholly preventable if you are vigilant enough. And being the last line of defense for your child in that way can send even the most laid-back parent into"I know parents who won't eat out. They won't travel. They cut down on social activities." Hyperland.

"A lot of studies have shown that families of children with food allergies are negatively impacted," Hannaway says. "It affects the whole lifestyle. I have parents who get overly compulsive about foods. They won't eat out. They won't travel. They cut down on social activities."

Lynda Mitchell, the president of Kids With Food Allergies, Inc., has a son, now seventeen, who was diagnosed with over a dozen food allergies when he was a baby. In the early 1990s, finding other parents facing similar issues was nearly impossible. Mitchell calls it the "dark ages of food allergies." Not only were social networks hard to find, it was equally hard to convince other adults that there was a distinction between an allergy and an intolerance and that she wasn't just a hyper food mom.

"In raising a child with food allergies, one of the biggest challenges is a lack of awareness in the community," Mitchell says. "I think everyone struggles with finding a balance. Is your home a happy home or is it a home filled with anxiety? Comparing notes with other parents gives you some perspective," Mitchell says.

It was this need to compare notes that led Mitchell to form Kids With Food Allergies, which is largely a place online for parents to connect with and educate one another.

"If you just share information, it opens up new opportunities and gives you strength," Mitchell says.