Recently I was introduced to a mom who launched a site called Corn Freedom, in an effort to help raise awareness to the dangers of a corn allergy, and spread the word on how powerful this allergy is, and (sadly) how prolific corn is in our everyday lives. 
Nicole has launched an effort to spread the word about corn allergies on both her website here and her Facebook page. She’s calling it the “Write in Campaign” which is meant to raise the awareness about the severity of corn allergies and the struggles parents endure to protect their corn-allergic children through a word of mouth campaign. Her hope is to submit these letters to Dr. Oz and have him choose to publicize this very real, and very dangerous issue. And she needs our help!
If you or someone you know has a corn allergy, please help Nicole by contributing a letter to Corn Freedom so she can add it to the list of letters she already has for Dr. Oz. Hopefully we can help get Dr Oz to take this public, helping to expose the danger of corn allergies, and help to get proper labeling of corn ingredients to better protect our children, and adults, who suffer from corn allergies.
I was shocked by some of the symptoms of a corn allergy, and by how prevalent it is in our everyday lives. In fact, I was unaware that corn is used in cleaning supplies (which are also used by hospitals), in medicines, perfumes, detergents and more. Here are some excerpts from the letters on Nicole’s site so you can get a better understanding for what parents of corn allergic children endure.
Here’s a list from one of the letters on Corn Freedom of all the products this particular family has to avoid for their corn allergic child:
Shampoo
Soap
Toothpaste/ floss/ mouthwash
Lotion
Deodorant
Toilet paper/ other paper products
Make-up
Sunscreen
Cleaning supplies for the home
Dryer sheets/ liquid detergent/ powder detergent
Medications/ Band-Aids
And of course FOOD
In Nicole’s words:
Our son responds to corn neurologically. This is very common and there are many children who are diagnosed with sensory issues or Autism who actually have food intolerances. Our son becomes combative, depressed, anxious, Autistic-like, dyslexic, hyper and has been diagnosed with ADHD but only some times (which is confusing to a parent)…. Our son is 11 years old now, we still fight doctors and have to educate where ever we go so our son can be properly cared for. He cannot go to public school due to the level of environmental corn contaminants in the building, for example; the cleaning products, perfumes, detergents, fabric softeners, air fresheners, hair spray, tempera paint, finger paint, glues, dry erase markers, colored chalk, the cafeteria…the list is extensive….
And here’s an excerpt from one of her supporters. It’s truly an epidemic that must have better labeling!
Because Trevor is hypersensitive to corn, we have to buy special soap, lotion, laundry detergent and we have to be careful when going out in public. If someone has perfume on or if there is a popcorn machine around, we have to move him away quickly. I have to be prepared just to go to Target as they have a popcorn machine in the store. So I just bite the bullet. He has reacted to our local library and the Phoenix zoo due to cleaners and food smells that contain corn and soy.He is starting kindergarten in 2012. We have decided to homeschool him.
So please take a moment to head over to Nicole’s site and submit your letter if you or someone you know suffers from a corn allergy. Let’s join together to help Nicole fight to spread the word about corn allergies and get her cause known!
Good luck Nicole – we’re fighting for you too!
Jen