Happy Holidays!

Thank you for a wonderful year of blogging! We will be back with new and exciting blog entries after the holidays. Have a safe, healthy and happy holiday season.

- Nita, Christine, Sarah, Steven and Ulrike

Nut Bans In Schools May Be Spurring Hysteria?

I think this is a little much. The other day, I came across an article from U.S. News & World Report called “Nut Bans in Schools May be Spurring Hysteria.” Honestly, I was shocked by this article.

With food allergies on the rise, many schools are rightly making accommodations for their allergy students. The author of this article interviewed Dr. Nicholas Christakis, who feels that creating bans for certain foods, like nuts, is actually perpetuating the allergy problem.

To read the entire article, click here.

Overall, this article shows the deep misunderstanding about the danger of food allergies. It’s an extremely emotional issue, as Anne Munoz-Furlong, the CEO of FAAN, pointed out in the article, and unfortunately, someone will inevitably be unhappy with a food ban. However, in my opinion, everyone deserves to be safe!

As an allergy parent, continue to raise awareness of the dangers of food allergies and make sure your child is prepared on a daily basis with the food or formula he/she can eat and drink and an EpiPen on hand.

How do you feel about food bans in schools? I’d love to know!

-Nita

More Anaphylaxis Cases Than We Thought…

The Mayo Clinic reported in the December issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that a new study indicates that there is a “higher incidence of anaphylactic reactions then previously reported.”

The study, called “The etiology and incidence of anaphylaxis in Rochester, Minnesota,” concluded that there are 50 emergency room visits per 100,000 people per year caused by anaphylaxis — this is a 10% increase in anaphylaxis cases over a 10-year period.

Dr. Wyatt W. Decker, M.D., and his team said 1/3 of the anaphylaxis cases were from food allergies.

What does this tell us? Even with all the urgency put on food allergy education, people are still suffering. Please be watchful of any potential allergens and teach your little ones to do the same. And as always, never leave home without the EpiPen!

- Christine

Another Allergy Friendly State!

Back in May you might have seen my colleague’s entry on allergy legislation that would require restaurants in the state of Massachusetts to notify people of possible allergens in their food while dining out. New Hampshire is the next state to jump on this allergy-free bandwagon.

Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-NH) is in the process of drafting a bill to make the state’s restaurants a bit more allergy friendly.

The bill would require all restaurants to “prominently display a poster about food allergy awareness in the staff area and to include on all menus a notice of the customer’s obligation to inform the server about any food allergies,” according to an article on seacoastline.com.

Sen. D’Allesandro’s bill is very similar to the Massachusetts bill, which was passed in the Massachusetts Senate in May and is now under consideration in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

I am very excited about the continued focus on food allergies by government officials and will keep you posted on how this bill progresses!

- Nita

How To Save Money and Be Allergy Free

Right now, it seems like everyone is looking for ways to curb spending —whether that be clipping a few extra coupons or buying generic items. However, if your little one has food allergies, cost-cutting might seem a little bit harder.

Gina Clowes of Allergy Moms posted a great money saving offer on her Web site. The Center for Anaphylactic support is offering a $5.00 discount on your next EpiPen when you sign up for its automatic renewal program. This center has great resources for people with food allergies and I encourage food allergy parents to check it out here.

To read Gina’s entire entry, click here.

And if your child has a milk protein allergy, and needs an amino-acid based formula, like Neocate, you might want to look into insurance coverage possibilities for formula in your area. Click here for our blog entry on the topic.

What money saving techniques have you been using? We’d love to hear them and post them on our blog.

- Christine

It’s Officially Holiday Season…

And you’re already exhausted! Between decorating, shopping, preparing the family holiday card and attending countless holiday parties, you are out of free time! And on top of that, you still have to make sure your allergy prone little one is safe and reaction free during a time where holiday treats are unavoidable.

The good news is, you have a lot of family time coming up. Your little ones will be on Christmas break, which is a perfect time to re-enforce allergy safety. You can’t always control other people, but you can teach your child how to avoid those pesky allergy danger zones.

Here are a few tips:
- When cooking your child’s allergy free meals, have them help! It’s a great way to teach them what foods they can and can not have while having fun.

- While running out to get those last minute presents, explain to your child why staying away from certain foods matters. You can’t be with your child every minute of every day, so it’s good to make sure they are fully aware of what they need to steer clear of.

- Prepare a few quick and easy holiday games to play with your little one. It will show them that they can have a great time during the holiday season, and any season for that matter, without focusing on food.

For more on allergy-free fun during the holidays, check out our other blog entry on the topic.

How are you creating an allergy-free holiday celebration?

- Nita

"One of the Gang"

One of our favorite allergy moms, Gina Clowes, has recently released her first book called “One of the Gang.”

As an allergy parent, I’m sure you have worried about the possibility that your child might feel left out from time to time, especially at events that center around food. Gina felt the same way after walking into school one day and seeing her son sitting by himself at a school birthday party while all of the other kids had ice cream and cake together.

She wanted her son, as well as all of the other allergy kids out there, to feel like they were “one of the gang.” The book has inspirational stories from successful allergy sufferers around the country, ranging from sports figures to fashion icons.

For more on Gina’s new book, click here.

Gina is the founder of AllergyMoms.com, a great online support group for allergy parents. She has also written several guest blogs for us here at Baby Health blog. Click here to read the most recent one.

- Christine