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Tag: food allergy

  • Teal Pumpkin Project Safeguards Children With Allergies On Halloween

    For children with allergies, Halloween treats can be a matter of life or death. An initiative started by parents called the Teal Pumpkin Project is helping children with allergies take part in the fun holiday without putting their health at risk with Halloween candy.

    Becky Basalone of Knoxville, Tennessee, had attended a Halloween party for children with allergies two years ago and brought along a pumpkin painted in the color for allergy awareness, which was teal. She later decided to put in on her front porch to signal that she had treats that were safe for children with allergies. “At the same time, it empowered my children, who were so willing to explain to people why we had a teal pumpkin,” said Basalone.

    Food Allergy Research & Education offered to promote the idea nationwide after they picked it up on social media, launching the Teal Pumpkin Project. “The Teal Pumpkin Project is an easy way to make a big impact in your community. Food allergies can be life-threatening, and they affect 1 in 13 children in the United States. We are thrilled to see so many people embracing the Teal Pumpkin Project as a way to ensure kids with food allergies can enjoy a safe, fun Halloween experience just like their friends,” said Veronica LaFemina, a spokeswoman for the group.

    The Teal Pumpkin Project encourages people to offer non-food treats such as stickers, temporary tattoos, small toys and crayons for children with allergies who go trick-or-treating. Households can place a teal pumpkin by their door to let parents and children know that they provide safe treats.

    Parents like Ellie Sears, whose three-year-old daughter Sarah has allergies, are happy that the Teal Pumpkin Project allows their children to experience the fun of Halloween without getting allergies. “It’s totally optional. So if you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to do it, but if you just want to make that extra step, families like us, we are overjoyed by it,” said Sears.

  • Food Allergies on the Rise: EpiPen Legislation

    Food Allergy has become a growing concern for Americans, particularly parents of school-age children. There have been several documented deaths amongst students exposed to allergens at school. There is a high probability that these students would have survived, had they been given immediate access to epinephrine.

    This week, on October 2nd, the U.S. Senate will come to a decision on H.R. 2094: School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act. The bill passed in the House in July of this year, and basically mandates that all schools have EpiPens readily available for any student having an allergic reaction to food.

    In many cases, students and parents aren’t aware of a particular food allergy until the initial reaction. As children are exposed to new and different foods in schools, there is a greater chance that the initial allergic reaction to food occurs at school. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the severity of food allergies, and how quickly one can go from exposure to death. In some instances, an anaphylactic reaction (response to allergen) occurs within seconds of being exposed to an allergen. For some, this reaction can occur by skin contact with an allergen, and actual ingestion is not necessary for a severe reaction to take place.

    It will definitely help to save lives if schools are equipped to immediately recognize and treat food allergy reactions. Still, a larger concern that is less discussed is the fact that food allergies have significantly increased in less than fifteen years. In order to improve life quality and save lives on a greater scale, we must recognize the underlying causes and address them accordingly.

    A study recently released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that food allergies have increased by 50% from 1997 to 2011. FARE, the Food Allergy Research and Education organization, reports that though there is awareness of such a significant increase, there are no reported causes.

    In similar situations, part of the increase is due to medically recognizing and documenting the condition which had not previously been done. Still, that does not account for the dramatic spike in numbers. There is clearly an overload of toxins that the human body cannot fight without eventually turning against itself. It may be the polluted air and water, the processed foods, a combination of all of these, or something entirely differently.

    Whether Senate passes this bill or not, it has definitely helped raise awareness on rise of food allergies and its significant side effects. Hopefully, this will prompt thorough research on the causes of such allergies.

    Image via FARE

  • ADHD Linked to Allergies, Asthma in Children

    As the number of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rises, doctors are now searching for an answer to why diagnoses are becoming more common. Last year, a study linked low-level mercury exposure in pregnant women to the disorder. This week, a new study has linked ADHD to childhood allergies and asthma, which are also on the rise.

    The study, published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, found that boys who have a history of allergies or asthma are at greater risk for being diagnosed with ADHD. Researchers looked at over 4,400 boys, some of whom had been diagnosed with ADHD. 34% of those with ADHD also had asthma, and 35% had an “allergic disorder.” An intolerance to milk was particularly linked to ADHD.

    “ADHD, a chronic mental health disorder, is most commonly found in males, while asthma is also more common in young boys than girls,” said Eelko Hak, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Groningen. “We found there is an increased risk of ADHD in boys with a history of asthma and an even stronger risk associated with milk intolerance.”

    Hak and his colleagues point out that allergies and asthma often run in families, and that the conditions known to be closely linked. They also suggested that medicine used to treat asthma and allergies could be contributing to the rise in ADHD.

    “Further research is needed to understand why there appears to be an increased risk of developing ADHD in children with allergy and asthma,” said Dr. Gailen Marshall, editor-in-chief of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. “Medications for these conditions far outweigh the risks, and can be life-saving in some conditions. Treatment should not be stopped, unless advised by a board-certified allergist.”

  • Peanut Allergies Not the Epidemic Americans Might Think

    The shift from the customary airplane packets of peanuts to off-brand Chex mix was made in part to protect those with peanut allergies. Throughout the 90s, advocacy groups and stories about peanut allergy attacks led to a greater awareness of the phenomenon. Now, peanuts are banned from some schools and day care centers across the U.S., and some ballparks provide peanut-free seating sections.

    Miranda Waggoner, a researcher at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, this week published an article titled “Parsing the peanut panic: The social life of a contested food allergy epidemic.” The article, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, examines how peanut allergies became perceived as an “epidemic” while other allergies did not.

    “While eight foods account for over 90 percent of food allergy reactions, including milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat, the peanut allergy has arguably received the largest share of medical and social attention,” wrote Waggoner. “One physician has written that the same number of people die each year from peanut allergies as from lightning strikes, yet the perception of peanut allergy risk has invaded the common social spaces we all inhabit – airlines, day cares and schools.”

    Though peanut allergies themselves can be severe, they are also quite rare. Waggoner cites reports that show around 1% of the U.S. population has a peanut allergy. Though the cause of peanut allergies is currently unknown, researchers are now using genetic testing to find one.

    Waggoner cites increased awareness as one of the reasons peanut allergies have become so well-known. Before 1980, she states, peanut allergies were “rarely” mentioned in the media, and few statistics on the allergy were collected before the 90s. She also mentions that the “mundane” nature of peanuts may be a factor in the attention the allergy receives.

    “This was part of a broader concern about food risks, changing perceptions of food production, as well as changes in the way we think about child risk,” said Waggoner. “If you ask adults about peanut allergies when they were in school, most of them will say it wasn’t an issue. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a staple, healthy snack. It’s the classic American kid snack.

    “The fact that this sort of mundane food is under attack is really a potent moment for us as a society.”

  • Lone Star Tick Linked to Sudden Outbreak of Meat Allergies

    The lone star tick, an arachnid which gets its name from the single white dot on its creepy little back, has been linked to an recent outbreak of meat allergies that have recently plagued the East Coast and Bible Belt. When people question why, exactly, I don’t spend a lot of time outside during the summer months, I will gladly pass this article along to them. Yes, I’m a wimp and, yes, I’m a bit of a scaredy cat, but when it comes to arachnids, I don’t mess around. At all.

    University of Virginia researchers believe that something in the tick’s saliva triggers the allergy, which generally doesn’t manifest itself until about three to six hours after a savaged individual has consumed some sort of beef. Reactions range from hives to anaphylactic shock.

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    However, linking the lone star ticks to the outbreak of meat allergies is a bit difficult. “It’s hard to prove. We’re still searching for the mechanism.” explained Dr. Scott Commins, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. “It’s complicated, no doubt. But we think it’s something in the saliva.”

    Commins added that blood levels of antibodies for a sugar found in red meat, lamb, and pork spike after just a single bite from the blood-sucking arachnid. Regarding the allergy, Commins has seen over 400 cases, 90 percent of which involved people with a history of tick bites.

    What do you do if you suspect that a lone star tick may have caused your sudden, unexplained allergy to meat? Contacting your doctor might be a step in the right director. According to Dr. Commins, avoidance might be your only option. If you’ve been on the fence about becoming a vegetarian, here;s your chance to dive in head-first. The rest of you, I’m afraid, may experience more than a little frustration about your newfound food allergy.

    In short: If you’re a carnivore on the East Coast, tread carefully.