A WORRIED mum says she wants children to be aware of the potentially fatal impact of allergies after a food prank at a park nearly went badly wrong.

Louise Harrison’s son Oliver, who has a severe allergy to dairy products and other items, saw another child squirting fresh cream on to play equipment while he was playing at Freeland Park in Old Kilpatrick.

Had 11-year-old Oliver arrived at the park moments later he would not have been aware of the danger and could have suffered an anaphylactic shock.

The schoolboy is severely allergic to peanuts, legumes, eggs and kiwis as well as dairy products, and carries an epipen and antihistamine tablets at all times in case of an unexpected reaction.

Louise said she did not want to blame the child who squirted the cream on to the play equipment, as no harm was intended and the other child did not know of Oliver’s allergies.

Instead, she wants to make parents and children aware of the wide range of allergies many children face – and the severe, and potentially fatal, consequences of an allergic reaction.

She also hopes schools will do more to raise awareness of how to react if a child was to take a reaction, as Oliver could have needed his friend to inject him with the adrenaline from the epipen in case of a severe reaction.

Louise said: “Allergic reactions can be very unpredictable and no two are the same.

“If Oliver is exposed to an allergen, his lips could swell or he might break out in hives, but if we catch it quickly it can be managed with antihistamines.

“However, if he had touched the equipment and then touched his face, it could be a very quick escalation and possibly fatal.

“Drinking a small glass of milk would kill him.

“He carries his meds in a bum bag and he can’t be without them. It’s scary because even different brands of the same product can contain different allergens, and the ingredients can change without any obvious warning or difference in taste.”

Oliver has had the allergies since he was born, and Louise is grateful that his close friends and their families are aware of the dangers certain foods can pose.

But she also knows that not everyone will be as aware of Oliver’s allergies, and says she is aware of cases on other parts of the UK where children have died after food pranks went wrong.

She continued: “Oliver was quite shaken up when it happened.

“He told me he had shouted at the child to stop and eventually they realised what harm it could have and they did.

“He has been out since, and I don’t want it to hold him back, because I can’t always be there – and when he’s older it’s not as if I can come to the pub with him.

“It would help though, if people understood the hidden dangers of exposing people to allergens which can cause anaphylactic shock.

“It would be helpful if first aid training included how to administer adrenaline and that there is no harm in using it even if unnecessary.

“You are better to be safe than sorry.”