Food allergy treatments for Canadian kids could get a boost under new guidelines – National [Video]

With almost 600,000 Canadian children dealing with food allergies, some caregivers and their kids face a feeling of constant worry.

Rebecca Cooper from St. Thomas, Ont., is one such caregiver. Her 13-year-old son Bergen Eckert is allergic to peanuts, sesame, chickpeas, as well as most other nuts except for almonds.

Though it’s all he’s known, Cooper says she’s constantly worried when he goes into a “new food environment.”

“Things like birthday parties or sleepovers, they just stress me out a lot more with him,” she told Global News.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Eckert began a therapy called oral immunotherapy (OIT), which for decades has seen food allergens introduced in very small amounts and then gradually increasing doses until they can eat a certain amount without reaction.

Though they could not continue due to the pandemic and her concerns of safety at hospitals, Cooper said her son was able to tolerate the therapy to a certain extent.

“I do …