Seven-year-old Nathanael Lockwood of Cloquet, MN, is allergic to foods containing soy, tree nuts, legumes, eggs, and dairy products. He has never been to a fast-food restaurant. His parents have to wipe down theater seats before he sits down. They try to protect their son from allergic reactions, but they're not always successful.

‘Once we went to a pet store and walked by a parrot display,’ says father Lee Lockwood. ‘The dust from the peanuts in the air caused him to break out in hives.’

The Lockwoods have had a hard time getting school officials and other parents to understand their son's allergies. His father says, ‘We learned that if you're going to send your child to school, you need to talk with them several months in advance.’

‘We've had to educate, educate, educate,’ says mother Dawn Lockwood. ‘The school kept telling us: 'We'll get cans of Lysol and spray and disinfect everything.' But there is no peanut butter germ!’

Read the entire article at topix.net.