Canberra Parents Lack Allergy Awareness: Study

Education is one of the most important points when it comes to any allergy. The facts below are startling and I am left wondering if these numbers are similar in other countries.

Nearly four per cent of ACT kindergarten children have a peanut allergy and while the regions schools are well prepared to cope with this, some parents are taking inappropriate action when dealing with their childs allergy, according to a new study.

The research was a co-operative study by the Academic Unit of General Practice and Community Health at The Australian National Universitys Medical School and ACT Health. It surveyed 3851 children in the region to discover the prevalence of peanut and nut allergies, what management systems were in place in schools and how parents viewed and reacted to their childs allergy.

 
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Planning to fly the allergic skies?

Travel nerve-racking for parents of allergic kids
BY KIM GRAY, CALGARY HERALDMARCH 16, 2009
Peanuts are a part of snacking culture on planes, but they can be deadly for some people.

Spring break is upon us and families countrywide are preparing for travel.

For most, jumping on a plane with the clan in tow is a relatively uncomplicated, even fun, event.

But for those with a child who has life-threatening allergies (a. k. a. my husband and I), the notion of flying long distance in what is essentially a pressurized metal tube with re-circulated air 12,000 metres above the ground, well, it’s another matter entirely.

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Health Day – Exposure to Peanuts May Build Tolerance to Allergy

More great news from the research front! This one includes a larger sample of people. An even larger study is hoped for soon.

Remember: “This is not something to be done at home”

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) — Exposing children with peanut allergies to a carefully administered daily oral dose of peanuts helped them build tolerance to the point where some of them appear to have lost their allergies, a new study found.

However, the researchers, from Duke University Medical Center and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, cautioned that the approach is still experimental and should not be tried by parents on their own.

“This is not something to be done at home,” said Dr. Wesley Burks, chief of the division of pediatric allergy and immunology at Duke and a co-author of the research. “It truly is an investigational study.”

But the children in the study did build long-term tolerance, with the researchers documenting key immunologic changes reflecting a lack of allergic response.

Burks and his colleagues were expected to present their findings Sunday at the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology meeting, in Washington, D.C.

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Sheffield, UK girl (8) takes part in peanut-flour trials

I love hearing about these studies. It just opens up so many possabilities for people to not have to worry.

Hopes of a normal life for nut allergy victim Charlotte

Published Date: 13 March 2009

A Sheffield girl is taking part in a groundbreaking medical trial that could cure her of a nut allergy that currently threatens her life.

Charlotte Kirkland, aged eight, is so allergic to peanuts and other nuts that she has to carry medication in case she falls ill. She can’t have ice-cream, sweets or cakes unless her parents, Wendy and David from Stocksbridge, have carefully checked all the ingredients on the packet and are confident they contain no traces of nuts or nut oils.

Now it hoped that she may eventually be able to lead a normal life as a result of trials at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where doctors are using a new technique to built up children’s tolerance. By the end of the programme they should be able to eat the equivalent of five peanuts a day safely.
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ALLERGY ALERT – Undeclared peanuts in JAPANESE STYLE SESAME MOCHI

OTTAWA, March 4, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to peanut proteins not to consume the Japanese Style Sesame Mochi described below. The affected product contains peanuts which are not declared on the label.

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Herbal Remedy Could Halt Peanut Allergy – US News and World Report

It’s interesting that a Chinese Herbal Remedy may hold a key to stopping peanut allergies!

Herbal Remedy Could Halt Peanut Allergy

Tests in mice were successful, and human trials are under way

Posted February 13, 2009

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) — A new herbal formula based in ancient Chinese medicine may be able to control allergic reactions to peanuts and other foods, researchers from New York City’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine report.

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It can get nutty at 30,000 feet

There are a few versions of this story floating around the net these days. I can tell you that flying with someone with a nut allergy is scary. Our recent trip to Disney Land was well looked after (On the flight there they prohibited handing out nuts and on the flight back they asked passengers to not eat nutty snacks) but I am sure we are the exception.

Many airlines still don’t have policies on in flight food allergens — but should they?

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Tiny study suggests peanut allergy can be overcome

This is a very small study, but it’s a start. Hopefully this will trigger a larger study to make this more reliable.
 

Doctors in Britain are closer to finding a cure for severe nut allergies, according to a study published Friday.

A research team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge exposed children gradually to tiny amounts of peanuts over six months to build up their tolerance.

It is the first time such a desensitization program has been used to treat a food allergy.

Four children — who risked fatal anaphylactic shock from contact with traces of peanut — took part in the study published in Allergy.

The children were initially given a dose of five milligrams but by the end were able to tolerate 880 milligrams — equal to five peanuts.

“We’ve shown it works. We’ve shown it can be done safely. Now we’re at the stage where we need a larger trial and perhaps a control group, so that we can show it has a large effect,” said Dr. Andy Clark, the study’s lead researcher.

The research provides hope for the one in 50 young people in Britain with a nut allergy, he added.

“Every time people with a peanut allergy eat something, they’re frightened that it might kill them. Our motivation was to find a treatment that would change that and give them the confidence to eat what they like,” Clark told the Guardian.

Thirteen-year-old Carl Morris took part in the study.

“I got pretty scared when I was eating things with traces of nuts, but now I can just freely explore different foods that may have killed me before,” he said.

Kate Frost is the mother of a nine-year-old boy who participated in the study.

“It’s very hard to describe how much of a difference it’s made, not just in Michael’s life, but for all of us,” Frost told the BBC.

“A peanut allergy affects the whole family. You can’t go out to a restaurant. If your child goes to a birthday party, he takes a packed lunch.”

It’s estimated that more than 150,000 Canadians suffer from peanut allergies. About two per cent of people can have an anaphylactic reaction to an allergen, and peanut allergies account for 50 to 100 deaths in the United States every year.

via Tiny study suggests peanut allergy can be overcome.

Chef Ming Tsai’s Groundbreaking Food Allergy Law Passes in Massachusetts

Massachusetts Chef Ming Tsai helps to pass new regulations to assist restaurant goers with food allergies.

This is a fantastic push to assist people looking for places to eat that are allergy aware.
Some points are that the restaurants are required to post guidelines on preparation of food for visitors with food allergies. As well as informing the visitors to inform the waiting staff that there is someone in the party with food allergies. Educating the staff about food allergies via video is also a new requirement.

There can never bee too much information about this and as we move towards making the public aware that food allergies are more than a “fad” and that there are peoples safety at risk this will help to ensure our families are better taken care of.