O's, not X's

Are you a Careful Kisser?

How to Smooch Safely with Food Allergies This Valentine's Day

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Feb. 11 (AScribe Newswire) --

For most parents ofteens, Valentine's Day may evoke over-protective thoughts regarding their child. "I've got two daughters and I think they should never kiss anyone!"exclaimed Roger Friedman, MD, Clinical Professor of Allergy, Immunology, andPediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

All joking aside, parents of food-allergic children have even more cause to be wary of smooching. Today, 3 to 4 million children are affected by food allergies, and allergic reactions can be triggered not just byconsuming food firsthand. Kissing - ranging from passionate to a peck on the cheek - can also prompt a reaction.

"You're pretty unlikely to have anything severe happen from a kiss. But it can happen and you need to be smart," Dr. Friedman advised.
A common form of affection on Valentine's Day, kissing becomes a problem when a grandparent or date consumes an allergen before smooching afood-allergic child or teen.

"A peck on the cheek from a parent or relative will almost always only result in a local reaction such as a welt or hive; it's very unlikely to cause any severe reaction that you'd be worried about," Dr. Friedman explained.

Short of suggesting kissing be prohibited this Valentine's Day, Dr.Friedman recommends teenagers, especially, play it safe. "If you're in a committed relationship that involves passionate kissing, tell your date 'I'm allergic to nuts, please don't eat any before you kiss my face!'" he suggested.

Todd D. Green, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, agreed.

"If a date cares enough about their Valentine to kiss her or him, hopefully they'll care enough to refrain from eating the food theirValentine is allergic to that day," he said.

Kissing (and even sharing utensils, straws and cups) causes exposure to food allergens through saliva, which can contain enough allergen to cause local and systemic allergic reactions. In a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, participants ingested two tablespoons of peanut butter to establish how long the peanut allergen stays in saliva. Researchers collected the saliva of the participants at different times, and also evaluated mouth-cleansing techniques (brushing teeth, rinsing and chewing gum).

According to the study, "the most effective way to avoid causing an allergic reaction, if you're going to eat the food to which your partner is allergic, is to eat the food several hours before a kiss and have a mealf ree of the allergen before you kiss - although not eating the food at all would always be the safest approach," said Dr. Green. Though the risk of having a severe allergic reaction from a kiss is small, there is always a slight possibility, said Dr. Green. "Unfortunately you can't predict the amount of protein that will be transferred during kissing, and it is difficult to predict the reaction," he said. That said, it is better to err on the safe side.

Online support group Kids With Food Allergies offers these tips for safe smooching on Valentine's Day:
- Remind your kissing partner about your allergies;
- Suggest your partner avoid eating serious allergens, if possible;
- Ask your partner to minimize allergen exposure, such as by washinghands and face, or brushing teeth thoroughly, before kissing;
- Carry appropriate medication and know how to use an injectableepinephrine kit;
- Wear emergency medical identification (such as a MedicAlertbracelet).

For more tips on staying safe this Valentine's Day, visit http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org .

Our little Flynn's milk allergy is very much like a peanut allergy in that she's so sensitive to contact (& she even has had an airborn reaction a time or two).
Even to a kiss from Papa on the cheek, after he's drank coffee w/ cream in it. Or once when daddy ate ice cream & only 'rinsed' his hands (didn't use soap) -- everywhere daddy touched Flynn, there were burn-like marks.
If you ever want to show our girl affection, first we suggest you just give her a hug; but if you feel compelled to kiss her on the cheek, please wash your hands & face after eating the unsafe food.
Her little cheeks appreciate it!

This LADY Has Gone Nuts

If you're an allergy parent, you might not want to read this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/Neomom/Food%20Allergy/GoneNuts1-1.jpg

Just like the comment I posted on the NYT's blog,
Us allergy parents work SO hard, so hard, to make everyone (at least the people coming in contact with our kids) aware of the severity of the allergy.
One step forward.
Then, someone (who is NOT an expert nor has any REAL knowledge) like this comes along...
Two steps back.

ARTICLE: Correlation of initial food reactions to observed reactions on challenges

Three articles:



This article appeared in the June/July 2004 issue of Food Allergy News

Copyright 2004 The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network

Research Update

Correlation of initial food reactions to observed reactions on challenges

Researchers investigated whether the organ system (i.e., the skin, the respiratory system, or the gastrointestinal tract) involved in an allergic reaction, or the specific food that caused it, could help to predict what future reactions would be like. They reviewed medical records of all children seen (approximately 3,000) in the Allergy Section at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.



All of the children with a convincing history of food allergy and positive skin test results – a total of 1,769 patients – were offered an open challenge to confirm their food allergy. Researchers compared their initial reactions with the reactions that took place during the monitored open food challenge.



While it is more common for patients to have a similar reaction on re-exposure, researchers found that a mild reaction does not necessarily rule out a more severe reaction in later exposures.



Researchers also found that those with milk, egg, and peanut allergies were more likely than those with soy or wheat allergy to experience multiple-organ system reactions on subsequent exposure during the food challenge. Peanut also caused more multiple-organ system and anaphylactic reactions than it had previously.



Scientists also examined the patient records of individuals who underwent multiple food challenges. Researchers compared the foods that caused a reaction to the affected organ system.



They found that patients with allergy to egg were more likely to have reactions involving different organ systems the next time they were exposed to egg. Future reactions that involved more organ systems but were triggered by a food other than egg, were caused by a higher dosage of that food.



Source: Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, Vol. 92, No. 2.

A Great Article

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/11/12/milk.allergy/index.html#cnnSTCText

Some Non-Allergy Parents Just Don't Understand

I've been visiting a message board over at STLmoms blog.

I got drawn in & replied to a very ignorant post about peanut allergies.
A mom was "venting" because she "couldn't bring a peanut butter sandwich for my picky eater". She didn't understand why several hundred kids couldn't bring peanut butter just because of a few allergy kids. Besides she said, what would it hurt?

Of course this infuriated me. I thought, how selfish could she be? And mostly, how ignorant?!

It took me back to the days at our old church, where the Children's Director didn't want to ban milk in Flynn's class. She plainly told me, "I just can't ask that of the volunteers" when I asked her to pass a rule that the parents not bring milk into the room. I ended up volunteering on one Sunday, Jeff on another, and the on the other 2 Sundays, we had to keep her with us... bored & loud in church.
I reached the point that I couldn't understand how a church preaching about God's love was failing to show it in a very simple way. In their 2 year old class.

So we decided to look into other options....that's where we found our new church. They extended so much love to Flynn, they changed rules, passed a no-milk rule, began buying only safe snacks for her, and changed everything they could to make it safe for little Flynn to belong.

That my friends, is more like it. God's love. Jesus wasn't afraid to offend the majority, for one. Let me point out how he felt about the religious leaders...and how he overlooked their disapproval in order to heal the sick & love the rejected.

Okay, enough preaching. Back to the stlmoms board.
After the dumb mom posted her reactions & how she couldn't dream of not sending a peanut butter sandwich, a few posts followed which gently pointed out the selfishness.

Here is one. I think it is excellent:

In Nov. 2005, a mom named Lisa Turner, whose children do not have food allergies, posted the letter below on the Kids with Food Allergies (KWFA) forum. She gave permission for anyone to use it should they need it. I think it's powerful because it's written by a parent who initially was very upset that her family would have to change its life a bit to accommodate others, and then -- because she educated herself -- came around to see why it was necessary.

*******************************************


Dear Parents and Guardians:

I am writing this letter to you because your school has decided to implement a ban on peanuts, tree nuts, and/or other foods that have been associated with life-threatening allergies, and I know the initial reaction you may have regarding such a ban. I am the mother of a little girl who started school this year. About two weeks before school started I read in a local newspaper that the school she will be attending has decided to put such a ban into effect.

My first reaction was one of shock, but it quickly turned into complete ANGER! I couldn’t believe that the school would actually do something that drastic because ONE child had an allergy. Since when did the misfortunes of one dictate the rule for the majority?

I rallied support together, I wrote to the newspapers, I called television stations, and I put up posters expressing my outrage and encouraging parents who felt the same way to attend the next school board meeting and “let our voices be heard”. I even drafted up petitions to have the members of the school board removed so that a new school board could be elected, one that looked out for the needs of every child instead of just one. After all, nobody was going to tell me that I couldn’t send my picky eater to school with a peanut butter sandwich!

Then I went online to get some ammunition. What I got however, was something completely different. I got an education. I stumbled across a site for people with life-threatening allergies and the parents of children with life-threatening allergies. The first thing I found out was that, although rare, it is a lot more common than I had realized, but being angry I posted my question, "Do you really think that a ban is necessary?"

I used all my arguments. If a child is allergic to bees, do you keep all the kids in at recess? If a child is in a wheel chair, do you build a ramp or tear out the stairs? I mean after all, there are other allergies out there, and there is no way to guarantee that the school will be completely free from these foods, so where do you draw the line?

At first I wasn’t open at all to hear their reply, I was just venting, but then I really started reading what they had to say, and it was then that I started learning. You see… I put my daughter on the bus for the first time in her life. I was afraid she wouldn’t find her classroom. I was afraid she would forget to raise her hand before she spoke. I was afraid she would get on the wrong bus coming home, but what I wasn’t afraid of was that I would get a call from the school saying that my daughter wouldn’t be coming home; she is being rushed to the hospital by ambulance because of a common, everyday peanut butter sandwich.

It was then that I realized what these parents are going though. Some don’t have the luxury of worrying about little things. These parents aren’t trying to take anything away from our kids; they are trying to keep their kids safe. I looked back at my initial reaction so I could figure out what had made me so mad, and when I was completely honest with myself, I found the answer. I was mad because I was going to be inconvenienced. I was willing to put a child’s life in danger so my daughter could eat a sandwich, and what did that say about me? I mean, if I saw a dog attacking any child wouldn’t I do whatever I could to protect that child? And if that is the case, why am I so opposed to eliminating peanut butter from 5 meals out of the 21 she will have in the course of a week?

The fact of the matter is you don’t keep all the kids in at recess, but you don’t put a child with a bee sting allergy in a lunchroom full of bees either.

The fact is EVERY child is entitled to a “free and appropriate public education in a least restrictive environment”, translated that means the school has a legal responsibility to provide a safe learning environment for ALL children, and where do you draw the line? You draw the line when the unique needs of the community served by the school have been met.

It’s not easy to put your child in the hands of strangers when you know that many of them may have just eaten, or are bringing to lunch, the same thing that is poison to your child, and many of these parents would home school if they could, but just like you and I, sometimes that is not an option. The parents of children with life-threatening allergies don’t expect us all to learn this overnight, and they don’t expect us to shop for our children as if they had this allergy, and while they know that the school will never be completely free from these foods, one less sandwich, or one less snack containing these foods being brought into the schools, will be one less risk to their child’s life.

I am not saying that it hasn’t been a struggle at times, but you have to ask yourselves… Is convenience really more important than life?

In my book, that answer is no, so any small inconvenience I have is worth it.

Sincerely, Lisa Turner

How a Child Might Describe a Reaction

Children have unique ways of describing their experiences and perceptions, including
allergic reactions. Precious time is lost when adults do not immediately recognize that a
reaction is occurring or don’t understand what the children might be telling them.
The following text contains examples of the words a child might use to describe a
reaction.

In addition, know that sometimes children, especially very young ones, will put their
hands in their mouths, or pull or scratch at their tongues, in response to a reaction. Also,
children’s voices may change (i.e., become hoarse or squeaky), and they may slur their
words.

If you suspect your child is having an allergic reaction, follow your doctor’s instructions.

• This food’s too spicy.
• My tongue is hot (or burning).
• It feels like something’s poking my tongue.
• My tongue (or mouth) is tingling (or burning).
• My tongue (or mouth) itches.
• It (my tongue) feels like there is hair on it.
• My mouth feels funny.
• There’s a frog in my throat.
• There’s something stuck in my throat.
• My tongue feels full (or heavy).
• My lips feel tight.
• It feels like there are bugs in there (to describe itchy ears).
• It [my throat] feels thick.
• It feels like a bump is on the back of my tongue [throat].


Food Allergy News, Vol. 13, No. 2. ©2003 The Food Allergy &
Anaphylaxis Network. All rights reserved.