Food Allergy From a Tick Bite?

Hmmm....here's a strange one...

Some adults who have previously eaten red meat without any problems, suddenly develop an anaphylactic reaction to red meat. They literally suddenly become allergic to meat. What do these adults have in common? They've experienced a tick bite recently.

"It has changed our thinking," said allergist Saju Eapen, of Roanoke, Va. "This was not something we looked for in the past."

While not common, it has some fascinating implications into the study of how food allergies develop. Check out the full story.

Diagnose Food Allergies: New Tools

New tools are available to allergists in the diagnosis of food allergies.

Yes, it still involves a blood test, but results allow for diagnosis at the molecular level.

Allergists will be able to identify precisely those patients in danger of severe allergic reaction to allergens such as peanut, wheat, or egg and many others. The exciting news is that personalized allergy management plans can be created with this information. The plan will be uniquely specific to each person.

I think this new technology will become extremely important as it will give families, doctors and food allergic patients a specific profile of their reactivity. Right now, we receive a bunch of confusing numbers and statements. To know your child is "higher than 100 for milk" or is "really allergic to peanuts, but not as allergic to tree nuts" is difficult information to use. This new technology will help everyone know more precisely how allergic the individual is.

Check out the full press release for more information.

As the search goes on for a food allergy cure, at least we're coming up with better tools for diagnosis.

Alternative to Flu Vaccine?

For those of us concerned about the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines, there may be an alternative.

A recent study finds that the immune system can be stimulated with a combination of Vitamins C and D and the minerals selenium, zinc and silver. Check out this new choice which can be taken as a daily supplement throughout the pandemic of swine flu and for the duration of the seasonal flu.

This may be a good fit for egg allergic children and adults who can not get the vaccine. I do like the idea of natural substances stimulating the body's own immune system.

Reporting a Mislabeled Food

We depend on food labels. If the label has incorrect information, someone with food allergies could have a severe, even fatal, reaction.

Quick thinking on the part of Crystal Johnson, who discovered chocolate covered peanuts in her pecan ice cream, may have saved lives. Peanuts were not listed on the label and should not have been in the ice cream. She has a friend with a peanut allergy and knew this could cause a serious reaction. Ms. Johnson contacted FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) and the FDA (Food and Drug Association) as well as Mars, the parent company for Dove who manufactured the ice cream product. She saved the container and the FDA sent someone to her home to test it. The product did indeed contain peanuts and was recalled.

That's how it's done.

By the way, Ms. Johnson did get a letter of apology from Mar's and coupons for free ice cream. Here's the entire article.

Food Allergy Blog Carnival: November 12, 2009

Welcome to the November 12, 2009 edition of the Living With Food Allergies Blog Carnival.

Karen Blue presents
Interview with The No Biggie Bunch a series of books for kids with allergies"


Kim, The Food Allergy Coach presents
Allergen Free Baking: Baked treats for all occasions
"This is a great book for parents of kids w/ food allergies!"


Lara DeHaven presents
A Wheat-Free ?Graham Cracker? Crust


OCMomActivities presents
Goodbye beloved oats...
"I hope this is the right tone of post. :) It's about my recent discovery of my allergy to Oats."

That concludes this edition. Thank you for stopping by.

Be sure to submit your blog article to the next edition of Living With Food Allergies Blog Carnival to be published November 25, 2009.

Have a great week-end!

New Food Allergy Studies

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has just wrapped up their annual conference. Many studies related to food allergy were presented at the conference. Here are some interesting highlights:

"Use of Epinephrine for the Treatment of Anaphylaxis by US Emergency Medical Service(EMS)Personnel in the Pre-Hospital Setting"- Only 17 states require EMS-Basics to have epinephrine available, and 15 states do not require any level of EMS to carry epinephrine for anaphylaxis treatment.


"Proactive Egg Ingestion in High-risk Patients with Severe Egg Allergy" Twenty-nine severely egg allergic patients were introduced to egg in carefully controlled increments. Eighty-six percent were able to eat one fourth of cooked whole egg within 10 months.

"What Does a Patient with Anaphylaxis Do before Seeking Medical Attention?" Many people delay medical treatment of a food allergy reaction because they believe the symptoms will subside over time. Of those who sought medical care for a reaction, only 30% used self-injectable epinephrine prior to arrival for treatment. This study concluded that more education is needed as time is critical when treating an allergic reaction.

"The School Nurse's Perception of Food Allergy - A Statewide Survey" A survey conducted in Mississippi revealed that students were more likely to have food allergy action plans if the school nurse received information on food allergies from parents or a physician, or if the student attended a school in an urban area. The study showed that 97% of the nurses surveyed had at least one child with food allergy in the school. Only 30% of schools had action plans for children with food allergy.

Want more detail on any of these highlights? Read the summaries here.

The Heart of FAAN Ambassador Program

Do you know a child who should be the face of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network? Mine said, "no way", but I'm sure some of you may know a food allergic child who would be a perfect fit.

Seven-year-old Nadia DiNatale is one child who hopes to be the FAAN ambassador. She says, “It is also very important for all people to work together to help others to understand food allergies, and food allergy safety, so that people with food allergies can live safe and happy lives.”

Well said, Nadia!

If you want to nominate a child for this important role, check out the Heart of FAAN Ambassador Program page. Children need to be between the ages of 3-11 and a nomination requires a $100 tax deductible donation.

Anyone can vote for a child, with a $10 donation, through Feb. 14, 2010.

Food Allergy Community Up in Arms Over Nut Article

Chatelaine, a leading Canadian woman's magazine, recently published an article that has caused a backlash among those in the food allergy community. "It's Just Nuts", written by Patricia Pearson, makes comments like "carrying the lunch he is most likely to consume (she's talking peanut butter sandwiches here) into his elementary school is equivalent to showing up with a gun", are clearly intended to fuel anger.

The article is poorly researched and self-serving for the author who admits her child is a picky eater.

Come on, let's all play nice and be respectful to each other. It is obvious the author did not speak to school officials to find out the details of the peanut ban in her school. She did speak to one parent, who questioned whether or not her child really had a peanut allergy (diagnosed by an allergist) and whether he really needed an EpiPen® because "they are expensive", "expire" and "probably the daycare staff wouldn't know how to use it anyway".

That's the parent she chose to interview?

Over 190 comments have been written to the magazine about this article. Allergic Living magazine has also gone on the record and has sent a letter to the Chatelaine signed by 206 people who are angered over the piece.

Check out the article and feel free to leave your comments as well. The editor of Chatelaine needs to hear loud and clear that a sensational seeking article like this is unacceptable.

Egg-Free H1N1 Vaccine

FluGen, Inc. has announced a cell-based production of flu vaccine that doesn't use egg in any part of production. Great news for those with egg allergy.

Read all about it.

The company hopes to ramp up production and have vaccine ready, "in the very near future".

My questions:

Will it be FDA approved for use in the United States?

Will there be a method for getting it to people with egg allergy first as they are unable, or at risk to get, the egg-based vaccines?

I'll keep you posted on this.

Swine Flu: This Century's Scarlet Letter?

"You have H1N1," the doctor calmly told me last week.

"But I can't," I replied. "I don't feel that sick." Granted, I had just spent two days doing little more than lying on the sofa with my sore throat, cough and occasional low fever...but swine flu?

This couldn't be that. Plus, yuck. I didn't want to tell anyone I had swine flu. It would sound like I haven't been washing my hands or I've been allowing sick people to cough and sneeze in my face. I've been following every precaution. How could this happen to me?

But the doctor told me this is typical of what they are seeing. People are reporting cold symptoms of sore throat, congestion and cough. Then add low grade fevers between 100-101.5 degrees with fatigue and sometimes body aches. That's what I had.

She prescribed Tamiflu®. I rested, took my medicine and got better.

The rest of the family used Clorox Wipes® to wipe down surfaces, avoided sharing hand towels and stayed away from one another. Two of the four of us got the flu, the other two..not...or not yet.

So, it seems like this is what swine flu will look like for most of us. Common sense dictates that we need to listen to our bodies, take care of ourselves if we get sick and get appropriate medical care if symptoms get worse or can't be managed at home.

Yes, we need to take H1N1 seriously. Just like you I've heard about the deaths from this flu, particularly in children. It's scary, but for most families it's manageable. For those of us with kids with asthma or other health issues, we need to take special precautions if our kids get sick. Tamiflu® can be taken prophylactically for a period of time in the event of possible exposure to the flu. Plan ahead and talk to your doctor now about your concerns.