Food Allergy Conferences Begin This Week-end

FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) is kicking off their conferences in Baltimore this Saturday, April 2. On April 16, the Chicago conference is scheduled in Oak Brook Illinois and the west coast conference will be in Anaheim California on June 11. In 2012, the Baltimore (east coast) conference will be in Tarrytown NY, so you may want to plan accordingly.

I have found these conferences to be helpful during our food allergy journey. The speakers range from doctors sharing new treatment and research information to teens talking about how they deal with food allergies every day. At lunch, attendees sit with "their zip code" in order to meet people who live close to you. Discussion of local schools and support groups often takes place during this meal.

There are special sessions for teens (ages 11-18), school nurses and adults with food allergy. Other sessions focus on 504 plans and preparing allergy-friendly foods.

Check out the schedule and consider whether a FAAN conference may help you better deal with food allergy this year.

Food Allergy Conference

FEAST (Food Allergy, Eczema, Asthma, Support Team) will hold their first food allergy conference on Saturday September 25, 2010 in Seattle Washington.



Linda Coss will  be giving the conference keynote address, “What You Need to Know about Food Allergy Management.” In this presentation she'll talk about some of the things that are in her “How To” book, such as recognizing and treating an allergic reaction, avoiding the dangers of cross-contamination, and more. In addition, she'll be discussing how parents can handle all of the day-to-day issues in such a way that their child grows up “well-adjusted” in spite of having potentially fatal food allergies.

Please spread the word about this conference. For more information, or to register, visit the conference website.

I received a related note directly from Linda:

As with all of my talks to the food allergy community, I will not be asking for a speaking fee for my participation in this conference. If you know of another volunteer-run food allergy support organization such as FEAST that needs a speaker for a conference, please let them know that I consider it an honor to be able to help other parents. All I ask is that the organization pay for my actual travel costs.

Food Allergy Conference this Week-End in Baltimore

FAAN’s Annual Food Allergy Conference Comes to Baltimore

Learn How to “Respect Every Bite” at this Daylong Educational Conference

FAIRFAX, Va. (March 17, 2010) – The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is bringing together parents, physicians, dietitians, caregivers, and others for its 17th Annual Food Allergy Conferences, the first of which will be held in Baltimore and promises to give attendees new insights and strategies about food allergies and anaphylaxis.

The daylong conference on March 27 will urge everyone to “Respect Every Bite” and feature topics such as the psychosocial impact of living with food allergies, safety at school, food allergy basics, and a research update from one of the nation’s top allergists. It is the first of FAAN’s four spring conferences, which have long been known to offer a unique opportunity for individuals managing food allergies to gain a top-notch learning experience while connecting with others who share similar challenges.

This year’s conferences, to be held also in Las Vegas (April 24), Tarrytown, N.Y. (May 8), and Oak Brook, Ill. (May 22), now offer attendees more choices in the form of multiple breakout sessions from which to choose.

“We have planned a fantastic program this year that is designed to provide everyone from parents to school nurses to babysitters with the knowledge they need to avoid food allergy reactions, which can be potentially fatal,” said Julia Bradsher, CEO of FAAN. “It doesn’t matter if someone has managed food allergies for years or is newly diagnosed – everyone will gain valuable information.”

Top food allergy researcher Robert A. Wood, M.D., will be one of the featured speakers in Baltimore. Wood is a professor of pediatrics and international health and the director of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The Baltimore conference will run from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel, 300 S. Charles St.

For more information or to register for one of FAAN’s Food Allergy Conferences, visit www.foodallergy.org or call (800) 929-4040.

Food Allergy Conferences

Have you registered for "Every Bite Counts", the annual conference sponsored by FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network)? This year marks the 17th year of this conference. A fourth location has been offered, Las Vegas. I always wondered why there wasn't a location available for those on the left coast. This new venue offers an opportunity for those who live in west to attend the conference without traveling to the East coast or Chicago.

The other exciting news about the conference is that multiple tracks will be offered. Those of us who attended in the past noted that the conference was virtually the same each year. Food allergy veterans did not need to hear about basic food allergy information. Now, newbies can attend a session for the newly diagnosed, while those of us who have been at this for awhile can attend a session about letting go and facing new challenges.

The conference also offers a Food Allergy Expo, which is new this year. I also notice that the registration fee is new as well. It's gone up. Members pay $100 for the conference. Grandparents and babysitters are $75.

Check out the information from FAAN and consider attending. It is a great opportunity to meet the big-wigs in the food allergy area and I always enjoy the luncheon, where everyone sits by zip code, allowing you to meet others in your area who deal with food allergy.

Also, check out this YouTube video for other benefits to attending the FAAN Conference.

Food Allergy Thrive Expo

Chicago hosted the Thrive Allergy & Gluten-Free Expo on Saturday and Sunday (April 18 and 19). More than 3,000 tickets were sold. Check out this Chicago Tribune article listing many of the vendors

Did you attend, or hear any news about it? I thought this would be big news among bloggers and I haven't seen much. Am I missing something?

Time to Sign Up- Food Allergy Conference

It's that time of year. FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) is holding a conference in three different locations this spring. I highly recommend going to one, especially helpful for those who are new to food allergy. Take your food allergic child if they're over age 11. Take your food allergic child's grandparent because, trust me, they will "get it" after attending this conference. Send a brochure to your school nurse as they have a special break-out session pertaining to issues at school. For more information, check here.

Check out my website for more information: www.foodallergyassistant.com

15th Annual Food Allergy Conference

I've had a chance to reflect upon my recent experiences at FAAN's (www.foodallergy.org) annual conference in Baltimore. This was my 4th trip to the conference and I found that much of the content is a repeat for those of us who are repeat attenders. It was stated at the beginning of the day that the majority of the people in the room were first time attendees. For that reason, the same overview of food allergies, its causes and symptoms, definition of anaphylaxis, etc. was presented for those new to this diagnosis. I can appreciate that. Personally, I found the afternoon sessions more helpful. There were discussions about how parents need to change their roles as they prepare their food allergic children for the challenges of life with food allergy. There was a presentation on advocating for change with updated information that I found to be useful. Some of the take-aways from this conference for me:

• Sesame seed allergies are rising and may soon be included in the top allergen list.
• After an anaphylaxis reaction, emergency rooms often prescribe 5 days of steroids- question the necessity of this.
• Help is still needed on The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA) which calls for national guidelines for managing food allergies in school. Specifically, the bills are HR 2063 in the House and S 1232 in the Senate. I am pleased to report that the house passed this bill on April 8, 2008. The Senate has yet to take action. The full Senate bill can be read here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.1232. Contact your state Senators (check here if you don't know who they are: http://www.firstgov.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml) and write, e-mail, call and ask them to support this bill.
• Progress is being made in the area of possible treatments for food allergies. Chinese herbal formulas, immunotherapy, a peanut vaccine are all being studied and show some promising results.
• Regent Seven Seas cruise lines are food allergy friendly.
• The Yellow Fever vaccine must be avoided by those with an egg allergy. Also, those with egg allergy need to avoid the flu shot and flu mist.

Every time I attend this conference, I meet some really nice people and I leave with good information and a renewed spirit about living with food allergies in our family. While I can't control my child's food allergies, I know that I can do many things to educate, advocate and manage food allergies.