Food allergies can be life-threatening

Halloween is fast approaching and trick-or-treaters will be ringing doorbells for candy. However, due to a rise in food allergies in young children, not all candy is suitable.

A food allergy a medical condition in which exposure to a food triggers a harmful and potentially deadly immune response. Symptoms of an allergic reaction may include hives, eczema flares, nausea, and stomach pain. Anaphylactic reactions can be life threatening and most commonly require an epinephrine injection; an EpiPen.

In the United States, milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and crustacean shellfish make up the eight major food allergens which are responsible for the most serious reactions. More than 5.5 million kids under the age of 18 have a food allergy, and 40 percent of those kids have two or more food allergies. Around 32 million Americans live with a food allergy, that’s nearly 11 percent of the population.

Currently, there are no known cures for allergies. But there are medical studies and potentially new drugs to help lessen the severity peanut allergies, in particular. Although not a cure, it’s a step in the right direction.

Lisa Gable
Lisa Gable, CEO of Food Allergy Research and Education, appears on Smart Talk, October 21, 2019.

Want to help? Join the Teal Pumpkin Project. This is a nationwide movement which offers alternative treats for trick-or-treaters. Place a teal pumpkin outside your home to signify you have non-food treats to offer visitors.

Joining Smart Talk to discuss food allergy awareness are guests Katie Noss, a school nurse and mother of a peanut allergy child, Lisa Gable, CEO of Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), and Dr. Krista Todoric, MD., Penn State Hershey Allergy Asthma and Immunology.

 

Dr. Todoric wanted to follow up on her comments about “leaky gut” —

“Leaky gut” is a term that is not generally used by clinicians and, while meant to describe an altered process of digestion and absorption, is generally not an accepted medical diagnosis. We, in allergy and immunology, do use the term “leaky” descriptively in association with an immunodeficiency diagnosed in infancy.

Food Allergy
Katie Noss, a school nurse and mother of a peanut allergy child, and Dr. Krista Todoric, MD., Penn State Hershey Allergy Asthma and Immunology, appears on Smart Talk, October 21, 2019.