Meet Nusto, the cartoon character that could save your child's life. AllerMates could be the key to ensuring children with food allergies are kept out of harm's reach.

When Iris Shamus discovered her son Benjamin was one of the many American children who develop a food allergy every year — nuts, in Benjamin's case — she reacted the way most mothers would: she became concerned.But in Iris's case, she became so concerened, that she decided to put her acting and screenwriting background to work to do something about it

With the help of Benjamin, Iris came up with a series of AllerMates characters that would be able to warn someone if a child they're caring for has any type of food allergy.

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, around five percent of children under the age of five have at least one food allergy. A life-threatening allergic reaction to food, also known as anaphylaxis, could require an Epipen to inject a shot of adrenalin.

Iris hopes her brainchild will eliminate the worry for parents and danger for children. She and Benjamin came up with various characters to represent different food groups that children with a food allergy need to avoid: There's Professor Wheatley for children with wheat and gluten allergies. P. Nutty for children with peanut allergies. Even Soy Cool for children with soy allergies.

The stay-at-home mom didn't stop with food allergies. Today, there are inhaler AllerMates for children with asthma as well as other allergies like cat, dog and latex.

AllerMates can be found in an array of different objects a child could easily carry with them including bracelets, necklaces, dog tags, and key chains. There are even entire lunch bags to warn someone if a child has a certain allergy.

"So often, people don't move forward because they're afraid," Iris told the Huffington Post. "But I couldn't live with the idea that there was nothing out there for my child. I was afraid not to do something."