2010 Food Allergy Awareness Walk Photos

Thanks to everyone who came out to help raise awareness for food allergies this year!

How Asthma Makes Me Feel - Video

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) asked children to tell us—in pictures and in their own words—how they felt during an asthma attack, and how they felt when they could breathe again. What they told us was enlightening—and heart-rending.

We collected their drawings and stories to share in this video. Read more about this project here:
http://www.aanma.org/publication/special-pubs/how-asthma-makes-me-feel/

Cold Urticaria

The allergy fun just never ends! Brody has developed cold urticaria, or basically an allergy to cold. This started back in January when I got a call from school saying that Brody was in the nurse's office because his face was red, blotchy, and itchy. Sounded like a mild allergic reaction of some sort to me, so I told the nurse to give him benadryl and I jumped in the car and drove over to the school (only 5 minutes from my house) to see what was going on. By the time I got there, the nurse said the redness had already subsided a bit. Mostly at this point his chin was still covered in little bumps and itchy. After giving Brody the third degree about everything he touched and ate that day, we decided that this was probably the result of cross-contamination in his classroom. He is in a nut-free classroom and always eats his own snack from home, but with all of Brody's other allergies, unfortunately it isn't out of the question that something like this could happen on occasion. Especially since many of his classmates eat cheesy-type crackers for snack most days. I discussed this with his teacher and she said she would try to be much more on top of making sure all the kids wash their hands after eating their snacks. And that was that...or so I thought.

In February we took a family trip to Florida where one day was spent at Daytona Beach. The water was FRIGID so we had no intention of swimming, but we thoroughly enjoyed wading in the ocean just up to our mid-calves to pick shells for souvenirs. The boys were also sitting in the cold, wet sand building sand castles. After about an hour I noticed that Brody's legs and hands were looking very blotchy. By the time we got into the car to leave he was complaining that he was very itchy and the blotches definitely looked more hive-like at that point. I think his hands were even slightly swollen. The only explanation we could come up with at that time was perhaps someone with a shellfish allergy and very sensitive skin would react to swimming in an ocean, obviously full of shellfish. I gave him benadryl and the hives completely went away within an hour.
In June Brody and his brother had some friends over. They decided to turn on the hose and take turns spraying each other. Of course water out of a hose is always very cold. After a while Brody came into the house and showed me his hands and feet. They were covered with hives just like when we were at the ocean. At this point it suddenly dawned on me what was going on. I had heard of cold urticaria before, but never gave it much thought. Since Brody was soaking wet and shivering, I told him to go into the bathroom and strip off the wet clothes while I grabbed him something dry to put on. When I walked into the bathroom I realized that most of his body was covered in hives and he was scratching at them like mad. I whipped out the benadryl, called my husband to grab the camera so we could document what was going on, and wrapped Brody in a towel to warm his skin back up. When I spoke with the allergist a few days later, he agreed that it sounded like a case of cold urticaria.

So back to that day at school where his face was hivey...Brody finally remembered that right before this happened he had been outside for recess where he joined in a snowball fight and he ended up with a face full of snow! A-ha...mystery solved!

Here is a blurb from the Mayo Clinic website about cold urticaria:

As strange as it sounds, it's possible to have an allergy to cold temperatures. Doctors refer to this as cold urticaria (ur-tih-KAR-ee-uh). It's also sometimes called cold allergy or cold hives. With cold urticaria, exposure to cold temperatures causes redness, itching, swelling and hives on your skin. As much as possible, people with cold urticaria should avoid exposure to cold air as well as cold water. For example, swimming in cold water is the most common cause of a severe, whole-body reaction — leading to fainting, shock and even death.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-urticaria/DS01160



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Food Allergy Action Plan

FAAN has released a revised food allergy action plan to be completed by your child's doctor. It has separate sections for "severe symptoms" vs. "mild symptoms".


http://www.foodallergy.org/files/FAAP.pdf



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MedicAlert EMIR

Does your food allergic child have a MedicAlert bracelet? If so, how long has it been since you last updated your child's Emergency Medical Information Record (EMIR)? Have any medications changed? How about dosages and/or frequencies? What about emergency and physician contacts? Any newly developed food, drug, or other allergies? All of this valuable information is stored in your EMIR and can help save your child's life in an emergency. With the new school year fast approaching, now would be a good time to update your child's EMIR because in an anaphylactic emergency every second counts!

www.medicalert.org

New Bisquick - Gluten Free!

Keep an eye out in your local grocery store for the new Gluten Free Bisquick coming out summer 2010!


The ingredients for the Gluten-Free Bisquick are:

Rice Flour, Sugar, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Modified Potato Starch, Salt, Xanthan Gum

Also be sure to check out the Betty Crocker website for lots of gluten-free recipes!
http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/bisquick/glutenfree.aspx

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EpiPen and Asthma Inhaler Carriers

August is almost here and that means only about a month is left before the kiddos head back to school again. Before long it will be time to renew all of your child’s medications to be left at school including inhalers, Benadryl, and of course EpiPens! Does your child self carry their EpiPen while at school? My son started self-carrying both his EpiPen and his inhaler when he started second grade. Both he and I felt much more at ease knowing that his medication was on his body at all times. He wears one EpiPen in a MediPouch around his waist while the second EpiPen is kept in the nurses office. His inhaler is either worn in a Med Ready Tote or in a sealable pocket if he is wearing cargo-style shorts/jeans. Of course by no means is self-carrying the EpiPen the same thing as self-administering. Although now at age 10½ I do believe my son could self-administer the EpiPen if need be, adults should always be trained in what signs/symptoms to watch for and how to administer the medication. Having a child know how to administer an EpiPen is one thing, but being able to do it in the face of anaphylaxis is an entirely different matter!

If you are considering letting your child self-carry, you may be wondering what type of carrier to purchase. I’ve been keeping a running list of all EpiPen and asthma inhaler carriers as I find them on the web. I have not, however, checked to see if all of these carriers will be able to hold the newly designed EpiPens as they are slightly larger, so you will need to check into that yourself before placing an order. I hope this list will be helpful to you and your food allergic child as you gear up for the start of another school year!

EpiPen Carriers

@RiskRescue
http://www.atriskrescue.com/kit.html

Adorn handbag and messenger bag
http://www.adorndesigns.com/

Allergy Haven
http://www.allergyhaven.com/c/epi-pen

AllergyKids
http://www.allergykids.com/product.php?proid=11&sub_catid=

AllergyPack
http://www.allergypack.com/

Ana-Tote
http://www.allstarsales.ca/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d17.html

E-belt
http://www.ebelt.ca/products.asp

Epi-Access
http://www.epiaccess.ca/en/single.htm

Epinephrine Mate
https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/shopwelcome.shtml

EpiPuppy
http://www.epipuppy.com/

FRIO wallets (keep medications cool)
http://www.coolerconcept.com/pages/prod2.htm

KozyEpi EpiPen and Puffer Pouches
http://www.kozyepi.com/index.htm

Medipouch
http://www.medipouch.com/

Omaxcare Leg Buddy & Asthma Pal
http://www.omaxcare.com/

Safety Sack
http://www.safetysack.com/

American Adventure Products
http://www.americanadventureproducts.com/old-backup/epipen.html

Peace of Mind Allergy Solutions (Custom made EpiPen carriers)
http://www.peaceofmindallergy.com/index.php

Take In Case
http://www.takeincase.com/

ActiveAide
http://www.activeaide.com/us/

LivALittle
http://www.livalittle.ca/epi-pouch.asp

Protectube (waterproof case)
http://www.achooallergy.com/acc-protectube.asp

Concealed EpiPen (Waist Pal, Waist Buddy, Leg Buddy)
http://www.concealedepipen.com/index.html

Waterproof bags
http://www.rei.com/product/752383

http://www.aquapac.net/usstore/aquapac-us-store-1-0.html

http://www.allstarsales.ca/index1.html


Inhaler Carriers

Med Ready Tote
http://www.medreadytote.com/buy.shtml

PuffaPouch
http://www.puffapouch.com/

Asthma Pod
http://www.asthmapods.com/

Respire
http://www.respirecases.com/index.aspx

Forget-Med-Not
http://forgetmednot.com/

Inhaler Wallet
http://www.lifesolutionsplus.com/inhaler-wallet-p-468.html

Belt or Pocket Sized Inhaler Case
http://www.redflarekits.com/pc/10030/pac/Belt+or+Pocket+Sized+Inhaler+Case

The Azmate
http://www.theazmate.com/index.html

Glow Cap
http://www.glowcap.co.uk/

Inhaler Mate
http://www.inhalermate.com/index.php

The Doser
http://www.doser.com/index.html

Mitzy
http://www.mitzy.com.au/