"Igår blev jag allergisk mot melon” - Barns berättande om allergi

Abstract

Barns erfarenheter av ohälsa är fokus i denna artikel, mer bestämt barns erfarenheter av att leva med allergisjukdom, en form av ohälsa som ökar i Sverige liksom i övriga västvärlden. Genom intervjuer med barn som har allergiska besvär belyser denna studie vad barn beskriver som allergi och vad barn lyfter fram som allergins inverkan på deras dagliga liv. Syftet är att belysa dessa aspekter ur barnets perspektiv, för att visa på allergisjukdoms betydelser för barnet.
In contemporary society the wellbeing and health for children are of great concern. Alarming reports are frequent in media about increasing ill-health in children. In social science research people’s experiences of illness are at the same time a growing research field, but children’s experiences of illness are investigated to a lesser extent. This study aims to explore children’s experience of living with allergic disease, an ill-health which is common in Sweden. To explore children’s understandings and experiences of allergic disease the choice was made to carry out a qualitative interview study, which would allow for a more close analysis. Interviews were conducted in the home of six twelve-year-old children suffering from varied allergic difficulties. Two specific questions are outlined in this article; children’s understandings of what they experience as allergic symptoms and what they gain knowledge of from medical test, and what children stress as significant consequences for their daily life. The results show how the children accept the somewhat confusing discrepancy between their bodily experience and what they are tested for. The most apparent consequences for their daily life were what they had to avoid and endure, in terms of avoidance for specific food or animals and in terms of risk for social exposure because of deviant bodily appearance and behaviour. Keywords: Children, Illness experience, Allergy