ML Interest Tag: allergic

American Airlines Will Now Carry Auvi-Q Epinephrine Auto-Injectors

by Erica Loop

Flying with a food allergy just got safer. Kaléo, the makers of Auvi-Q auto-injectors, recently reported that the company’s epinephrine pens are now included in American Airlines’ emergency medical kits.

The pen-filled kits, which are now on-board AA’s main fleet, are a step up from the syringe and vile versions the airline (and other airlines) previously stocked.

photo: Johannes Rapprich via Pexels

Kaléo’s general manager of allergy and pediatrics, Omar Khalil, told Allergic Living, “My understanding is when American Airlines was renewing its contract and emergency medical kit options, Auvi-Q was presented to them as a way to both enhance the components of their emergency medical kits and also as a means to be ready for an [anaphylaxis] situation that could take place in the air.”

The recent collab between Kaléo, AA and emergency medical kit distributors HealthFirst and MedAire means the airlines’ almost-900 planes will have Auvi-Q 0.3 mg and Auvi-Q 0.15 mg auto-injectors.

Along with AA, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines also carry Auvi-Q auto-injectors. If you’re wondering when other airlines will get on-board with this potentially life-saving change, Khalil added, “According to our distributors, they are also in dialogue with a number of other major airlines.”

—Erica Loop

 

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This State Is the First to Require Insurance Companies to Cover EpiPens for Kids

by Shahrzad Warkentin

No one should have to suffer due to the high cost of life-saving medication. The state of Illinois just became the first to require that insurance companies cover the full cost of epinephrine injectors for kids.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker just signed a law requiring companies that provide health insurance within the state to pay for medically-necessary epinephrine injectors for cases of severe allergic reactions in children 18 and under. In the event of an anaphylactic reaction, an epinephrine injection can be a life-saving tool to open airways and minimize inflammation.

Governor Pritzker tweeted that the new law is “a big step forward in protecting our children and families.”

Parents are required to provide epinephrine injectors at schools and camps, but they expire within a short period and have to be replaced. That, added to an epinephrine shortage in the past, has added to rising costs for the medication across the country.

“With steady increases in food allergies and other serious allergic conditions, families are relying on EpiPens more than ever before,” Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison said in a statement. “We should be doing everything we can to expand access to affordable lifesaving drugs and medicines. No child with a serious allergy should be without an epinephrine injector because they cannot afford one.”

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: Quote Catalogue via Flickr

 

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This Is Why You Should Wash New Clothes Before Wearing Them

by Shahrzad Warkentin

It might sound weird to wash that pile of fresh back-to-school clothes before they have a chance to collect ketchup and grass stains, but according to experts you should always wash newly purchased clothes before you wear them the first time.

Wearing new clothes without washing them could put you at risk for developing allergic contact dermatitis, according to Dr. Susan Nedorost, a professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University and director of the dermatitis program at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “When we see allergic contact dermatitis from clothing, it’s usually from disperse dyes,” says Dr. Nedorost explained to TIME.

photo: stevepb via Pixabay

The allergic reaction can be delayed and cause a rash that can last for weeks, says Nedorost. The disperse dyes are used in synthetic fabrics, like polyester and nylon, and are often concentrated at higher levels in the fabric prior to being washed for the first time. If you’ve ever washed your new clothes only to be dismayed by the color fading, you can understand how the process works.

Sweating, combined with the friction caused by regular bodily movement, can cause the dye that would be minimized through washing to disperse onto your skin and cause a reaction. This is often the case with workout wear according to Nodorost. “If a patient comes in and has a rash around the back of the neck and along their sides around their armpits, the first question I ask is what they wear when they work out,” she told TIME.

There isn’t enough data to determine how common this type of allergy actually is, however, there are other reasons to avoid wearing your clothes before washing them. A 2014 study conducted by Stockholm University in Sweden found that, when tested, a majority of retail clothing items off the rack contained a type of chemical compound called “quinoline” which is used in clothing dyes and is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ulrika Nilsson, a member of the Stockholm University group, explains that washing new clothes “reduces the content of chemicals,” especially those like quinoline that may be residual from the manufacturing process.

Ultimately, a quick wash cycle isn’t much in the grand scheme of the mountains of laundry you’ll do over your parental career, so better safe than sorry.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

 

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Ask the Allergist: What Is a Food Allergy?

By Katie Marks-Cogan, M.D.

Photo: iStock

Editor’s note: Any medical advice presented here is expressly the views of the writer and Red Tricycle cannot verify any claims made. Please consult with your healthcare provider about what works best for you.

At Ready, Set, Food!, we’re committed to all aspects of food allergy education, so families can make informed decisions about their children’s nutrition and give their babies the best defense against food allergies. 

So What Is A Food Allergy?

A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly responds to certain foods that it thinks are harmful. Our immune systems defend and protect us from foreign invaders like certain viruses and bacteria.

Food allergies occur when the immune system over-defends and treats certain proteins in foods as foreign invaders. These proteins are called allergens and our immune systems make special allergy antibodies called IgE antibodies to these allergens to help fight them off. These antibodies can help our cells cause a reaction each time a person eats a food they are allergic to.

In babies, hives and vomiting are the most common symptoms of a food allergic reaction. These symptoms usually occur within seconds to minutes and almost always within 2 hours. In addition, one reaction can vary widely from the next in the same person. One cannot predict what type of reaction a person will have each time they eat a food that they are allergic to. Food allergies are most common in children, but a food allergy can occur at any age.

IgE-mediated v. Non-IgE-mediated food allergy

  • IgE-mediated food allergy is different than non-IgE-mediated (delayed-type) food allergy
    • For instance, some infants have a delayed allergy to milk which can cause blood and mucus in the stool hours to days after the ingestion of milk.
    • Another example is Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) which is a non-IgE-mediated disorder that usually occurs in young infants. Symptoms include chronic vomiting, diarrhea, and failure to gain weight or height. When the allergenic food is removed from the infant’s diet, symptoms disappear. Milk and soy protein are the most common causes

Food Allergy Testing

Validated food allergy tests like skin prick tests or blood tests look for the presence of IgE antibody. If the tests are positive, they show that a person produces IgE antibodies to food allergens. But blood and skin tests alone cannot be used to diagnose a food allergy. A person does not have a food allergy unless they also have clinical symptoms. There is also a chance that a person could have a “false positive” on their skin or blood test.

An oral food challenge which exposes a person to their potential allergenic food in small doses, slowly increasing over time with careful observation in a medical facility to watch for signs of an allergic reaction, is the only way to definitively diagnose a food allergy.

However oral food challenges can be risky, thus many times they are avoided and a diagnosis is made based on the other tests above plus the person’s medical history. A patient’s medical history (their reported experiences after exposure to the specific food) is the most important part of the evaluation for a food allergy diagnosis.

A Recent Breakthrough in Food Allergy Prevention

Thankfully, recent landmark studies (LEAP, EAT, PETIT) have proven that exposing babies to food allergens early and often can significantly reduce their risk. In addition, new medical guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) have been published supporting early and sustained allergen introduction.

Along with a team of leading allergy experts and parents, I helped develop Ready, Set, Food!, a gentle, guided system based on these medical guidelines. After over a year of research and development, we’re proud to offer Ready, Set, Food! to families like yours, making it as easy and safe as possible to introduce babies to peanut, egg, and milk in the amounts used in the landmark clinical studies, which showed the potential to reduce babies’ risk of developing an allergy to these foods by up to 80%.

 

This post originally appeared on Ready, Set, Food! Blog.
Katie Marks-Cogan, M.D.
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Katie Marks-Cogan, M.D., is board certified in Allergy/Immunology and Internal Medicine, and treats both pediatric and adult patients. She is Chief Allergist for Ready, Set, Food! She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and kids.

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Could This New Product Help Prevent Food Allergies?

By Katie Marks-Cogan

Editor’s note: Any medical advice presented here is expressly the views of the writer and Red Tricycle cannot verify any claims made. Please consult with your healthcare provider about what works best for you.

More than 1 in 10 adults suffer from a food allergy today and food allergies are even more common in children. With food allergies on the rise, it’s hard to find someone who isn’t directly or indirectly affected by food allergies. So what do you need to know about this trend?

Although more than 170 foods have been identified as triggers of food allergy, the FDA classifies 8 foods/food groups as the major food allergens in the US: milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, wheat, and soy. Sesame is becoming an emerging concern and the FDA is considering including it as the 9th major food allergen in the US (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU already list sesame as a major food allergen).

Not only do these represent the most common childhood food allergies, but studies indicate that with early introduction, there can be a significant reduction in the development of an allergy to these foods.

Milk

  • Milk allergy is the most common food allergy in infants and young children

  • Affects 2-3% of children younger than 3 years old

  • In school-age children, milk is the most common cause of reactions at school

  • Milk allergy usually presents in the 1st year of life

  • Most children “outgrow” (or become tolerant to) their milk allergy; however, outgrowing a childhood allergy may occur as late as the teenage years

Peanut

  • Affects up to 2% of children

  • Peanut allergy is more likely to be lifelong; only 20% outgrow a peanut allergy

  • Although peanut is the allergen most often associated with severe or fatal reactions, any food allergen has the potential to cause anaphylaxis.

Egg

  • Affects 2% of children

  • Egg allergy usually presents in the 1st year of life

  • Most children “outgrow” (or become tolerant to) their egg allergy

    • However, outgrowing a childhood allergy may occur as late as the teenage years

Tree Nuts

  • Affects 1% of the general population

  • Includes brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans (as well as foods made with these nuts)

  • Many people with tree nut allergies are only allergic to 1 or 2 types of tree nuts. Therefore, it’s worth working with an allergist to determine if they can safely eat other types of tree nuts.

Shellfish

  • Affects 1-1.5% of children

  • Includes shrimp, prawns, lobster, squid, crab, scallops

  • Often caused by a protein called tropomyosin

  • Even the steam from cooking can trigger an allergy

Fish

  • Affects 0.5% of children

  • Up to 40% of fish allergies don’t develop until adulthood

  • May be allergic to finned fish and not shellfish or vice versa

Wheat

  • Affects 0.4% of children

  • Often outgrown by 10 years of age

  • Often confused with celiac disease, but an allergy to wheat is different because it causes an allergic immune response to a protein found in wheat (celiac disease is in response to gluten) — people with a wheat allergy can often have other grains that are not wheat

  • Wheat is sometimes found in cosmetic products, too, so people with wheat allergies should avoid using these products on their lips.

Soy

  • Affects 0.4% of kids, normally under the age of 3; Affects 0.3% of the general population

  • 70% outgrow it by age 10

  • Found in many food products, so it’s important to read the labels

The Economic Impact of Food Allergies: Parents of food allergic children can face costs of up to $4200 every year per child according to a 2013 study, accounting for direct medical care; out of pocket cost for special foods; lost labor productivity and opportunity costs (reduced labor productivity of caregivers).

The Impact on A Child’s Quality of Life

  • Social Exclusion & Activity Avoidance – Children with food allergies, particularly milk and egg, can find many social events (e.g. birthday parties) difficult and isolating.
  • Bullying – About 1 in 3 children with food allergies has been bullied at least once, according to a 2014 study. With roughly a third of those children reported being bullied at least twice a month.  

A Recent Breakthrough in Food Allergy Prevention

Thankfully, recent landmark studies (LEAP, EAT, PETIT) have proven that exposing babies to food allergens early and often can significantly reduce their risk. In addition, new medical guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) have been published supporting early and sustained allergen introduction.  

Along with a team of leading allergy experts and parents, I helped develop Ready, Set, Food!, a gentle, guided system based on these medical guidelines. After over a year of research and development, we’re proud to offer Ready, Set, Food! to families like yours, making it as easy and safe as possible to introduce babies to peanut, egg, and milk in the amounts used in the landmark clinical studies, which showed the potential to reduce babies’ risk of developing an allergy to these foods by up to 80%.  

 

Katie Marks-Cogan, M.D., is board certified in Allergy/Immunology and Internal Medicine, and treats both pediatric and adult patients. She is a member of the scientific advisory board for Ready, Set, Food! She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and kids.

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3 Things Every Parent Should Ask Themselves Weekly (Your Partner Will Thank You)

By Brian Jory

When kids have their say, they want their parents to be happy—together. The sweetest gift two parents can give their children is to have a meaningful, passionate relationship with one another. Easier said than done, for sure. Kids’ needs can’t always wait and parenting demands seem endless. So it’s easy, maybe even normal, to put mom and dad duties up front and stash our couple needs in the trunk and forget about them. Of course, putting love, romance and sexual desires away doesn’t make them go away—it only makes them get weird and cranky.

When you have kids, keeping your relationship healthy requires a pro-active shift in mental thinking. Parenting is a side-by-side venture, the two of you rubbing shoulders together to focus on your children. Coupling is face-to-face, sitting across from one another, looking one another in the eyes to appreciate and adore each other all over again. This doesn’t happen by accident. You have to make it a routine to think about yourself, your partner and your relationship. When or where you do this reflection doesn’t matter—car, beach, pillow at night—but how often you reflect does. An occasional reflection won’t get you far; it works best when it becomes a habit.  So whether you’re trying to stay on course or get things back on course, here are three questions worth thinking about on a routine basis.

“What is it like to be in a relationship with me?”

Are you acting like the kind of person that you would want to love? Are you bossy, arrogant or lazy? Judgmental? Do you take more than you give? You don’t need to lay a guilt trip on yourself or over-focus on your faults, but it is surprising how much energy we spend thinking about how our partner treats us compared with how we treat him or her. A large part of being happy in a relationship is understanding how our partner sees us and being honest with yourself. It’s not an option, it’s essential to look at yourself through the eyes of your partner and make adjustments when possible. You may worry that this kind of self-reflection would make you codependent or weak, but the opposite is true: Self-awareness is a strength. Being honest with ourselves makes us confident and independent. It puts the power back in our own hands. Thinking about how you can make things better is never a mistake and often helps.

“Am I seeing my partner in the best light possible?”

Are you over-focusing on your partner’s flaws and overlooking his or her strengths? Do you see only shady intentions when your partner is trying to do the right thing? Nothing he does is right; everything she says is suspect? Psychologists call casting dark shadows “negative attributions,” and these attributions say more about us than they do our partner. We see what we want to see and sometimes hurt and anger lock us into negative views of our partner that are not only unfair, but aren’t even true. You can’t look on the bright side all the time—conflict, frustration and criticism may be legitimate and shouldn’t be ignored–but the ratio of positive to negative attributions has to lean heavily in the direction of positive. It’s the ratio that matters and being aware that we see what we want to see will help get the ratios right.

When couples come to me for a first session of counseling, I don’t go straight to their problems. I ask them to focus exclusively on what is going right in their relationship, what each is doing well. I ask each to say something positive about the other: This is difficult for some couples—especially when it flies in the face of their raw emotions. If you find yourself constantly projecting the dark side on your partner, take responsibility for figuring out your own feelings before you unleash on them. Acknowledge what they are doing well—there must be something. Appreciate it. And thank them before you start to dwell on their flaws and mistakes. Seeing the best in your partner will not only improve your relationship, but it will bring out the best in you, too.

“Do I care for my partner in ways that matter to him or her?”

The Golden Rule says we should love others as we love ourselves. That’s fine, but wouldn’t it be better to love your partner in ways that matter to him or her? Flowers and candy? Ugh, not if she’s allergic or doesn’t eat sugar. This is one of the most common problems couples run into: Assuming they know what their partner likes\wants\needs based solely on what they feel comfortable giving. It’s lazy love—the kind of love that meets your needs but frustrates and disappoints your partner. It can happen in any area of coupledom—parenting, finances, sexuality, handling the in-laws—and it only has to happen in one area to bring the whole relationship down a notch.

The list of assumptions we make about our partners goes on and on—often unchecked or never discussed. And why do we do it? Because it’s easy to love the way you want to love; it takes effort to love someone the way they want to be loved. Giving our partners what they need and desire is never easy. It means we have to grow. Change. Think twice. Reconsider. Do something we wouldn’t normally do. You can’t be everything to your partner; you can’t meet their every whim or desire. You can’t even be everything they need; none of us is that perfect. But you can always try. It’s making the effort that makes the difference. There is a view of love out there that says love is easy. Sorry; I don’t see it that way. We never know what love is until loving gets tough. If it’s really that easy, is it really even love?

Brian Jory, Ph.D. is the Director of Family Studies at Berry College near Atlanta, Georgia. His book, Cupid on Trial – What We Learn About Love When Loving Gets Tough, is now available on Amazon.

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If Your Child Has Asthma, They Were Probably Born During This Month, Study Finds

by Shahrzad Warkentin

When your baby is born can have an impact on many things, like size, personality and even rates of academic success. Now you can add allergies and asthma to that list. A new study shows that babies are more likely to develop asthma when they are born during a very specific time of year.

New research has found that babies born during grass pollen season have a higher risk of developing asthma later on, however, babies who spend an entire hay fever season in the womb may be protected against the risk.

The grass pollen season in the U.S. typically runs from May to August, but it can begin earlier or end later depending on which region you live in. The study found that babies born during those months had elevated levels of antibodies in the blood known as immunoglobulin E (IgE). These antibodies help protect the body from viruses, bacteria and allergens. They can also help predict the onset of allergic diseases, like asthma, later in life.

While many previous studies have already shown that babies with high levels of IgE in cord blood are at greater risk of developing allergies later on, what was different and important about this particular study is that it looked at the effects of pollen exposure during pregnancy as well. The findings showed that babies who were in utero for an entire grass pollen season had lower IgE levels.

“This was a significant finding and indicates the possible development of a sensitisation barrier. However, more research needs to be done and currently we are working on studies to identify the specific risk time periods of pollen exposure during pregnancy on asthma and allergies in children,” explained Associate Professor Bircan Erbas from La Trobe University’s School of Psychology and Public Health in Melbourne.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that being born from May to August automatically means your baby will develop allergies and asthma. “The study provides new insight that could help us predict and manage diseases like asthma – which are a significant public health burden,” said Erbas. “However, it’s important to remember there are a number of factors that can determine who gets asthma or allergies. This is one piece of the puzzle.”

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: Nita via Pexels

 

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Got a Thumb Sucker or a Nail Biter? It’s Not All Bad!

by Red Tricycle

Photo: various brennemans via Flickr

Battling habits like thumb-sucking and nail-biting is no fun at all, and our pediatricians and dentists make sure we know exactly how bad the habits are.

But according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, it’s not all bad news: kids who suck their thumbs or bite their nails may have a lower risk of developing allergies.

“The findings support the ‘hygiene hypothesis,’ the idea that reduced exposure to microbial organisms, in other words increased hygiene, is responsible for the rise in allergic diseases seen over recent decades,” said University of Otago Professor Bob Hancox, the study’s lead author.

Despite these findings, Professor Hancox and his co-authors don’t suggest that we should encourage kids to take up these habits, because their study isn’t conclusive.

Do your kids suck their thumbs or bite their nails? Do you? Tell us in the comments!

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Zucchini Bread

by scott wardell

Simple, healthy, allergy-free, and delicious, this Zucchini bread has just the right amount of sweetness. This is perfect for breakfast, snack time, or anytime! Have the kiddos help too–they’ll love mixing the wet & dry ingredients together. We dare you to just eat one piece.

Ingredients:
3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups grated zucchini
(from 2-3 small zucchini)

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Method:
1. Beat eggs until light and foamy; add vegetable oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly but blend thoroughly.

2. Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon; mix lightly.

3. Add dry ingredients to first mixture, stirring to blend.

4. Pour batter into two loaf pans, 9×5×3-inches in size.

5. Bake at 325° for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool and serve.

Makes two loaves.

Mireille Schwartz is a Member of the Board of Directors for Washington D.C. based FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network), the world’s largest leading non-profit allergy resource. On the San Francisco Homefront, Mireille is CEO of the Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board, promoting education, awareness, and provide no-cost medical care & medication to Bay Area families with severely allergic children. An expert contributor and regularly featured columnist for CNN Health, ABC7 News and Allergic Living Magazine, Mireille Schwartz has an innate understanding that food is everywhere, and our relationship to food needs to be healthy if we are to stay healthy.

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