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

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

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
 

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

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