PATRICK OSBORNE: When I looked down, and my whole body was covered in hives.

And I guess my mom had told my older brother to put calamine lotion.

But all I remember was just being covered in this pink lotion from head to toe.

ANGIE MILES: Patrick Osborne had his first allergic reaction to food around the age of 4.

Initially, fish sticks, then salmon, then tuna.

PATRICK OSBORNE: That's when I just decided, 'Hey, I'm going to stay away from any kind of fish.'

Mom would cook the fish in the house.

I would just leave, you know, go play outside or something like that.

ANGIE MILES: Now, married with a family, food allergies pose a challenge for the entire Osborne household.

KRISTIN OSBORNE: I have three sons who have multiple life-threatening food allergies.

PATRICK OSBORNE: David, he's about 1.

What is he, 2?

Something like that.

And she said that he wasn't breathing right and he was drooling.

So I put him in the car seat, wanted to take him to the doctor.

KRISTIN OSBORNE: They tested him for dairy, egg, and wheat.

And I remember getting the phone call from the nurse thinking, 'Oh, it's just one of the three.'

And she said, "No, it's all three."

And I remember thinking, 'What do I feed him?'

ANGIE MILES: Kristin, the only family member without any known food allergies, has a passion for making sure her family enjoys healthy meals that are safe for them to eat.

KRISTIN OSBORNE: So today, we're making gluten-free meatballs with a gluten-free spaghetti pasta and a delicious salad with a vegan feta crumbles and gluten-free baguettes.

All the spices and all the ingredients have to be checked.

I have to read the ingredient label to make sure there aren't any allergens that we're allergic to.

ANGIE MILES: Kristin coaches her boys to understand that staying safe from allergens should not detract from a sense of joy and adventure at mealtime.

BENJAMIN OSBORNE: When I discover something new that I can eat and it's really good, I like it because it's a new addition to the other foods that we've had.

DAVID OSBORNE: There have been some surprising ingredients in some of my favorite foods, and I'm like, 'Really?

There's beet root in this, but it tastes so good.'

KRISTIN M. OSBORNE: Through the years of advocating on behalf of my children, I realized there were other parents who really needed someone to kind of hold their hand through the process.

ANGIE MILES: Kristin is founder of Virginia Food Allergy Advocates and has worked closely with schools, places where food allergen safety has become a prominent issue.

HEIDI SOWALA: There are about 3,000 students in Virginia Beach City Public Schools that we have identified with life-threatening allergy, the peanuts to the other nuts to milk now, sometimes to some perfumes to some odors.

We're seeing just different life-threatening allergies.

ANGIE MILES: Schools are required by law to stock life-saving epinephrine.

But what happens if a child is between school and home when an allergic reaction occurs?

KRISTIN M. OSBORNE: So I was approached by a parent almost a decade ago about helping her student safely ride the bus, and needed accommodations for epinephrine.

And after working with the school system, we arrived at changing the guidelines so that bus drivers would be able to recognize anaphylaxis, but also administer epinephrine to the students who are allowed to self-carry their epinephrine in their backpack.

ANGIE MILES: And Virginia Beach schools made the change to prepare all school bus drivers just in case.

JEFF BOZARTH: When we're initially hired, we go through training and we're taught how to use the EpiPen.

Really helps our confidence when we're out with the actual children on the bus that if something were to happen, we would know how to handle the situation and help that child.

ANGIE MILES: Five-year-old Isaiah is just beginning his school career, something that adds a little worry for his mom.

CAITIE MAHARG: It's somewhat nerve wracking because I think sometimes people think, "Oh, gluten-free, that's just a trend."

And for so many people, it's not a trend, it's a matter of life or death.

And for our son, if I know at school they're going to have something, they'd let me know what they're going to have and I create something for Isaiah, so he doesn't feel left out.

ANGIE MILES: Isaiah's mom advocates for him and others in an entrepreneurial way.

CAITIE MAHARG: You're very welcome.

We have our cinnamon roll.

Is this all together?

Okay.

There you go.

CUSTOMER: Thank you.

CAITIE MAHARG: You're very welcome.

ANGIE MILES: Maharg is a professional chef, who experiments with recipes at home and who founded a company so that those with food allergies can experience the joy of special treats, safely.

CAITIE MAHARG: The more I thought about it, I was like, 'You know what?

Isaiah's never had a donut' and nowhere we went made donuts that were safe for him.

And I was like, 'I'm going to tweak around with some of these recipes and see what I can come up with.'

The donuts that I make are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, everything-free.

(laughing) And it's a good product and I put my heart into it.

And Isaiah is probably our biggest fan.

Anytime I think of new flavors or anything, he is my, the first one that gets to try it for me.

ANGIE MILES: Isaiah receives care for his specific food allergy issues at the University of Virginia.

Pediatric Allergy Specialist, Dr. Jonathan Hemler, works with patients to try to expand the list of foods they can eat safely.

We asked him why food allergies are on the rise in America.

DR. JONATHAN HEMLER: The most common theories are something like, "The Hygiene Hypothesis," where we are using our hand sanitizers and soaps and detergents and we're just very clean.

And our bodies aren't exposed to the microbes that they should be exposed to in order to keep your GI tract functioning properly.

There's some very recent research looking at detergents.

They are designed to break things down.

And there's, at least in the lab, has been shown that those things can actually break apart the linings of your GI tract and specifically, in your esophagus and in your lower gut.

And that is what may be the catalyst for allowing food to get in there that shouldn't get in there.

And that's why, potentially, food allergies develop.

ANGIE MILES: While research into the “why ” continues, in earnest, at places like UVA, experts and families living with food allergy challenges say the more important issue is making it possible for people to live well, despite the specter of food allergies.

At UVA, that might mean research into immunotherapies to help people tolerate their known allergens.

For the general public, it can mean advice on how to avoid food allergies altogether.

DR. JONATHAN HEMLER: I think the most important thing for many people to know, especially new parents, is that the earlier you introduce allergenic foods, especially like it's been studied mostly with peanuts, but also milk, egg, tree nuts, those other things, the thought is that you'll be able to go on to prevent future food allergies.

CAITIE MAHARG: Our story begins on the first day of school.

"No peanuts," said Eppie.

“She knew.

” ANGIE MILES: Avoiding food allergies or avoiding the dangers of having them, these are motivators for researchers and parents as they manage the pitfalls of food allergies and look for silver linings as well.

KRISTIN M. OSBORNE: And that silver lining is that my kids love to be in the kitchen.

They fully understand the food that we eat, but we do our best to make sure that the kids feel included and they can create some of these delicious foods on their own when they leave the house.