At just nine years old, Jess Hoque from Luton has already endured multiple life-threatening allergic reactions due to a severe dairy allergy present since birth. For his mother Billie, this means constant vigilance over everything her eldest son eats or touches. 'Every meal is a calculated risk,' explains Billie, a mother of three boys. 'I micro-manage his diet completely.'
A Mother's Constant Fear
Jess experienced his first serious anaphylactic reaction at six months old in response to formula milk. His second occurred at age six during a cousin's birthday party. Billie recalls the terrifying incident: 'My sister had given Jess a "free from" pizza thinking it would be safe, but it wasn't free from dairy—only gluten.'
'I didn't swallow any pizza,' Jess remembers, 'but the second I put it to my lips they started going all tingly.' Within minutes, they rushed to A&E. An hour later, while still waiting to be seen, Billie noticed alarming symptoms. 'Jess looked at me and said, "Mum, I need Dad." His eyes started to go yellow and bulge, his lips swelled up—I could see he couldn't swallow his saliva.'
Billie screamed for nurses who immediately injected Jess with adrenaline. He recovered, but experienced another anaphylactic reaction just an hour later. After additional treatment, Jess thankfully stabilized. Billie's experience reflects that of millions of UK families living with similar fears.
Tragedies That Changed Legislation
The devastating reality of food allergies entered national consciousness in 2016 when 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse from London collapsed on a flight to Nice after an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette containing undeclared sesame. Despite her father administering two adrenaline injections, Natasha suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
This tragedy prompted her family's campaign for better food labelling, resulting in Natasha's Law in 2019. This legislation requires all food businesses to provide full ingredient and allergen information on pre-packaged food sold on premises.
Now Benedict's Law, named after five-year-old Benedict Blythe who died from anaphylaxis at school in 2021 due to delays in administering an adrenaline pen, will come into force this September. The new law requires schools to train staff about food allergies and provide access to adrenaline auto-injectors.
Growing Epidemic with Inadequate Care
More than 20 million people in the UK live with allergic disorders including asthma, eczema, hay fever, and food allergies—with numbers rising steadily. Hospital admissions due to allergy increased by 52 percent between 2011 and 2017, while admissions for anaphylaxis rose by 29 percent.
Food allergy affects approximately 2.4 million people in the UK and is particularly dangerous. A 2021 Imperial College London study found hospital admissions for food-induced anaphylaxis increased three-fold from 1998 to 2018. Cow's milk causes over a quarter of allergy-related deaths in children and is the single most common cause of fatal anaphylaxis in young people.
Professor Helen Brough, a paediatric allergy expert at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, notes: 'Recent figures show around 6 percent of adults in the UK report having a food allergy—much higher than in the past. Adults can develop food allergies even without previous reactions.'
Cinderella Service with Postcode Lottery
Despite five reports since 2003 calling for allergy care improvements, services remain inadequate with a postcode lottery for diagnosis and treatment. The UK has approximately 40 specialist adult allergists and slightly fewer paediatric allergists—equating to one adult specialist for every 1.3 million people.
'Not only are we battling with inadequate specialist care provision,' says Professor Adam Fox, a consultant paediatric allergist, 'but we're up against a disease pattern that has been increasing over recent years.'
Next week will see publication of the UK National Allergy Strategy, hailed as the most far-reaching report on allergy services in two decades. Developed with input from specialists, education and industry experts, patients, and families, it sets priorities for improving allergy care.
Campaign for an Allergy Tsar
Campaigners including Natasha Ednan-Laperouse's parents are pushing for the appointment of an 'allergy tsar'—similar to the cancer tsar role created in 1999 that significantly improved UK survival rates. They believe this position could drive necessary improvements across food, health, education, and workplace sectors.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse explains: 'There is a postcode lottery of care and insufficient allergy doctors. Some people wait too long to access specialist clinics or cannot get allergy testing. Londoners benefit from concentrated hospital allergy services, but in Northern Ireland some families wait up to five years to be seen.'
The need for coordinated leadership was highlighted in the tragic case of Shanté Turay-Thomas, an 18-year-old from north London with a severe nut allergy who died in 2018. The coroner identified multiple errors in her care and emphasized the need for a single person with named accountability for allergy services.
Personal Stories Highlight Systemic Failures
Indio Roe, a 27-year-old student from Hove, nearly died from an allergic reaction in July 2024 while working as a film extra in Brighton. After being assured a curry was nut-free, he experienced rapid swelling and used his EpiPen, but symptoms worsened.
'I ran to a local GP surgery—I knew running during a reaction isn't advisable, but I figured it was my only chance,' Roe recalls. 'By the time I arrived, I was struggling to breathe and thought "this is how it ends—killed by food."' The GP administered a second adrenaline dose, saving his life.
Roe now carries two EpiPens and antihistamines, and triple-checks all food. 'If I'm ever uncertain, I just won't eat,' he says.
Professor Brough explains potential causes for the allergy increase: 'Modern Western lifestyles, including diets high in ultra-processed foods and increased exposure to harsh detergents, may damage protective systems and disrupt the gut microbiome, increasing food allergy risk.'
As the National Allergy Strategy launches, campaigners hope it will lead to tangible improvements rather than joining previous reports that brought no substantial uplift to allergy care. With millions living in fear of life-threatening reactions, the call for systematic change grows increasingly urgent.
