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Anyone of them could trigger a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction in her 6-year-old son, Nick, a kindergartener at Parr’s Ridge Elementary School in Mount Airy.

If he eats any of those allergens, or touches something that the food has touched, his reaction could be as mild as hives or as severe as anaphylactic shock, Christine Bloch said.

With that uncertainty, she remains on high alert. ‘‘We all do fire drills and pray that it never happens,” she said.

Nick’s allergies presented themselves early in his life. As a baby, he had bad eczema and trouble sleeping, she said. Eventually he underwent tests at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which revealed his allergies.

When it was time for Nick to attend preschool, she realized the school was not ready for someone with such allergies, so she went with him to educate his teachers.

‘‘I made it a point to take it on myself,” she said.

Support group forms

Shortly thereafter, Bloch began attending meetings of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network’s Washington, D.C. chapter — a support and advocacy group for food allergies.

She thought Mount Airy residents could benefit from what she learned at those meetings, so she formed a chapter in town. ‘‘There’s got to be other people,” she recalled thinking at the time. ‘‘I have all of this information; it would be awful if I didn’t share it.”

The chapter evolved into a group of about 30 parents who exchange e-mails and meet monthly to support and educate one another. They share shopping tips, experiences about how they address their child’s needs, and exchange recipes.

Leeann Heinicke is a member of the group, and said she benefits from interacting with people who understand what she is experiencing with her 9-year-old son, Jack, a Mount Airy Elementary School third-grader. He is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.

‘‘It’s part of our lives,” Heinicke said. ‘‘You never know which one of these confrontations with the allergen can be the explosive one.”

Heinicke said she learned of Jack’s allergies when he was 2 years old. He broke out in a rash around his mouth when he ate a piece of food with nuts. ‘‘And it was such a little scrape of his tooth on the walnut,” she said.

Working with the community

Heinicke’s experience at Mount Airy Elementary mirrored that of Bloch’s preschool experience.

Carroll County Public Schools does not have a policy to tell principals and teachers how to handle a student who has food allergies, so Heinicke took it upon herself to educate her son’s class.

‘‘I went into the classroom and we did a movie,” she said about how she made students and teachers in Jack’s class aware of his allergies.

Christine Bloch continues to educate her son’s school and the community at large. She said she gave a food allergies presentation to the Parr’s Ridge Elementary PTA at its first meeting of the year, and prepped staff in advance of his attendance. She also offers free presentations to other parent support groups, restaurants, daycare centers, and businesses that market to children.

All of Nick’s teachers know how to use his EpiPen, which delivers the medicine Nick needs to save his life if he has a severe reaction.

Sarah Parsons, Nick’s classroom teacher, said it is important not to make children with food allergies feel out of place. ‘‘We step back and say, ‘All right, this is a part of the child,’” Parsons said.

She discusses food allergies as part of talking with students about what makes each of them different and special.

In the cafeteria, Nick and Jack each have their own desks that are cleaned with a separate sponge. ‘‘He sits at a separate table, but he’s not excluded, which I like,” Bloch said of her son.

Nick prepares for lunch by making sure his hands are clean. ‘‘I usually wipe down my hands,” Nick said. ‘‘I wipe them down real good.”

The Bloch’s rarely eat out as a family, but they occasionally go to Burger King where they order Nick a plain piece of meat and fries.

‘‘We try and accommodate him,” said Geoff Vale, assistant manager of the Mount Airy Burger King.

Vale said staff is trained to prepare his burger so it does not come into contact with cheese or other food to which he is allergic.

‘‘So we just go ahead and send a piece through by itself,” Vale said. Once the burger is through the broiler, it immediately goes into a side salad container, which is sealed.

He understands firsthand the importance of being aware of what ingredients are in foods. ‘‘I’ve got a son that’s allergic to milk,” Vale said, although he said his 14-year-old’s allergies are not life threatening.

‘‘In certain situations you’ve got to be that way,” Vale said. ‘‘And there’s no compromising.”

To learn more

For information on the Mount Airy chapter of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, or to have a food allergy presentation given to your group, e-mail Christine Bloch at abcn5686@comcast.net.