Would you like to be on Good Morning America?

I know many of you allergy parents out there have had issues with the insurance coverage for your child's specialized formula.

Good Morning America would like to hear your story. The show is currently asking parents to submit stories about the struggles they have faced when dealing with insurance companies. If you are interested in sharing your personal story, click here for more information.

Insurance Legislation in the News

For those of you who have been following the legislation in Maryland, click on the links below to see two great news pieces on this topic:

Gazette.net
http://www.gazette.net/stories/062608/mounnew144809_32358.shtml

WBAL
http://www.wbaltv.com/health/16719296/detail.html

Also, here is an interesting article about a little boy with EE in Chicago – the great news is that there is now insurance coverage in Illinois for children with this disease!

Summer Camp on a Special Diet

When I was a kid, my summer days usually consisted of riding bikes, running through the sprinkler in my underwear and mischief I won’t mention in case my kids ever read this. Nowadays, summer camps are the thing. And it’s not all KumBa Ya. A kid today can go to camp for everything from soccer to pottery to fashion. Which is great because camp is a great opportunity for kids to make new friends and explore interests they might not have time to during the school year.

But when you’re a food allergy family, summer camp presents some challenges. As a parent, how do you keep them safe when they’re away from home?

Just like we talk about at back-to-school time, communication is key.

• Talk to the camp officials before you even register your child to ensure that they have what you need – a heathcare professional on site; places to store special allergen-free snacks, supplements or medical foods, medical supplies; a good attitude and willingness to understand your child’s condition/needs, etc.

• Talk to a trusted friend (well, actually the trusted parents of your child’s trusted friend) about camp plans. If they have similar interests and both would like to go to the same camp, having a reliable buddy system can give you and your child some valuable peace of mind.

• Talk to your child, encouraging him/her to have a fun new experience but making sure he/she knows how to protect himself from exposure to an allergen. And make sure he/she takes that EpiPen® everywhere – out on the soccer field, up in the mountains or at the potter’s wheel.

• Talk to the counselor when you drop off your little one and go over all the details with him/her one last time before you leave. Don’t worry about looking like an overprotective Mom or Dad – this is important.

Oh, and when they get home, bring out the garden hose. ‘Cause camp is cool, but running around in the back yard in your bathing suit is still fun.

Be well,
Dr. Y

Double Check Labels and Expiration Dates Please!

Milk in bottled water! CVS selling expired baby formula! Recently, there have been a few news stories that are quite shocking.

As an allergy parent, you’re a pro at reading food labels. However, most people wouldn’t think to check the label on a bottle of water. Now, you might have to. Click here to check out the article on Allergy Moms. Apparently, Special K Protein Water contains milk!

Some people are big on checking expirations dates. However, others don’t think twice about it. This is causing a big stir in New York where both CVS and Rite Aid have been selling expired products. Click here to read the article from Reuters. The expired products being sold included milk, eggs, baby formula, cold medicines, allergy treatments and other over-the-counter medicines.

It’s important to remember to be a conscious consumer -- especially when shopping for your little one! If a bottle of water has milk in it, I wonder what else does?

- Sarah

My daughter’s life an…inconvenience?!

I know, a harsh title. But that is what I thought of after reading the article, “A Plea for My Daughter,” in this month’s Newsweek magazine.

If you haven’t read the article, check it out. Rebecca king found out 6 months ago that her five-year-old daughter, Lydia, has a severe peanut allergy. Luckily, she came across the allergy as an “accident.” She had taken Lydia to an allergist for asthma, but walked out with the peanut allergy diagnosis.

Rebecca is going through what many allergy parents go through on a daily basis; understanding why saving your child’s life is an inconvenience to so many others. You feel guilty because you have to lecture a parent every time your child goes to a party. But that guilt doesn’t outweigh your child’s safety, not by a long shot.

There is a lot of backlash that comes from other parents who don’t really understand food allergies. Which I find really surprising because I feel pretty confident that if Rebecca’s daughter was at a pool party and she started to drown, any adult there would dive into that water to save her. And not one would talk about being “inconvenienced.” So, why all the eye-rolls and blasé attitudes about foods that threaten her life?

Maybe I have too much faith in humankind, but I have to think that it comes boiled down to a lack of understanding. So, the next time a parent rolls their eyes or becomes annoyed with you, try to take the time to sit down and chat with that parent. Maybe better awareness will make him/her think twice the next time he/she hears “my child has a food allergy.”

-Sarah

Summer is Here! Let’s Eat!

Not so fast. School might be out, but with camp, fairs, carnivals and trips to Disney World…summer is not the time to let your guard down about food allergies.

Of course, it is summer...you and your children should go to the pool, have picnics and play in the sun! You just need to do these activities as food-conscience as you do all the others throughout the year.

Here are a few tips:
•Call ahead if you are attending an event – It can’t hurt! Find out if they are going to have an ingredient list available. If not, pack your child his/her own tasty summer snacks.
•Bring food substitutes – If you are going to be outside all day where safe food won’t be available, make sure to bring food allergy snacks or nutritionally complete drink boxes like E028 Splash.
•And as always, be prepared – make sure that Epipen is always close by.

For all those taking summer trips to Walt Disney World, click here to check out a blog from Allergy Mom. It has some great tips specifically for taking a safe summer trip to the Disney parks.

Any plans for safe summer food fun? I’d love to hear them!

- Sarah

Airlines + Food Allergies = Stress?

Let’s face it. Traveling with children at anytime can be a little stressful. The planning, packing and pricing is hard! Add a child with allergies, and even the coolest, most collect supermom can get a little stressed.

Of course, stories like this one don’t help:

“Tehmina Haque did take the necessary precautions before taking a flight from New York to Los Angeles with her 4-year-old son who is allergic to peanuts. For months, she was assured peanuts would not be served on the American Airlines flight, but on the day of, the flight attendants changed their mind and served the peanuts anyway. Tehmina is now suing the airline company.”

For the full story, click here.

I know this is a frustrating and scary article for food allergy parents. Even Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families, deals with these food allergy issues. His daughter has a peanut allergy, and he recently spoke at a hearing to examine the impact of food allergies on children and families, and said:

“(W)e fly a lot, obviously, going back and forth to Connecticut a lot, and without naming any particular airlines, the difficulty sometimes of getting them to understand that peanuts — calling ahead of time, stopping at the gate before you get in, getting on the plane, invariably the flight attendants have not been told by anybody, so they then look at you with annoyance.”

But there are steps you can take to make airline travel easier with your allergy prone little one. Check out About.com for a checklist to prepare for flight travel. I really like the idea of taking an early morning flight because the flights are cleaned overnight, removing much of the allergens from the day before.

And for all you medical food/formula parents out there -- With all of the strict rules about carrying liquids onto planes, here are a few extra tips regarding bringing formula like Neocate on a plane:
• You can still carry baby formula (and breast milk) in carry-on baggage, as long as you’re traveling with a baby or toddler;
• Security officers will not taste the formula;
• Juice and all other liquids are prohibited;

Overall, bring only as much formula as you need to get your little one to your final destination. Pack the rest (in powder form) in your checked luggage. This should help minimize the stress!

-Sarah

Allergies, Asthma, Eczema…OH MY!

Last night, I was reading the June issue of Parents magazine and came across a pretty great article called “Forbidden Foods” by Jan Sheehan. Since this topic is my focus at work, I like to believe I know a lot of about it! And I have to say, this was a very informative article for allergy and non-allergy parents alike overall. However, it did leave out a few milk allergy specifics I think people should be aware of.

The article outlined the current “allergy explosion” and what parents need to be on the look-out for when it comes to allergies. One side bar I really liked was the “Is it really an allergy?” section. This is often a mistake parents make when deciding whether to take their children to the pediatrician. Just in case you’re not sure of the symptoms for each, here they are:

Food Intolerance
Upset stomach; Gas and bloating; Abdominal cramps; vomiting; Diarrhea.

Food Allergy
Skin redness and itching (a definite sign that is on the rise!); Rashes or hives; Red, watery eyes, Nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing; Vomiting; Diarrhea; Swelling of lips, face, or throat; Wheezing; Severe breathing difficulty; Loss of consciousness.

As you can see, many of the symptoms overlap. To be on the safe side, I would take your child in to see the pediatrician if he/she is experiencing any of the above symptoms.

Now on to a few things it was missing. When speaking of the formula options available for children with food allergies, it only mentions soy formulas and hydrolysate formulas. Since children with milk allergies are often allergic to soy, the AAP does not recommend switching to soy if your baby is showing sings of a milk allergy. Click here to get more information on the possible risks with soy formulas.

Also, switching to a hydrolysate formula often isn’t enough for babies and kids with milk protein allergy – they need an amino acid-based formula like Neocate, which is made up of protein broken down to the absolute simplest form (amino acids), making it gentler on the tummy of a milk allergy baby.

So, some good info here. But just remember to talk about all your formula options with the pediatrician when you have a food allergy baby.

Here’s a link to a few more articles by the same author on the Parents website. Check it out!

-Sarah