Allergic Reactions: More Common, More Serious

[Guest guest]

Ken Bock writes well, in plain English, and has created a book which

presents a damning etiology of the epidemics of modernity:

Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies...

by Bock, M.D.

http://www.amazon.com/Healing-New-Childhood-Epidemics-Groundbreaking/dp/03454945\

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Allergic Reactions: More Common, More Serious

By Zauzmer, The Bulletin

08/24/2007

http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=18743264 & BRD=2737 & PAG=461 & dept_id\

=576361 & rfi=6

Nuts, fish, milk, eggs - for most people, this sounds like a normal

grocery list. But for 12 million Americans, these foods and others carry

the risk of a trip to the emergency room.

Food allergies - serious and potentially fatal reactions to common foods -

are becoming more and more common in America. Roughly 1 in 25 of us suffer

from food allergies. For reasons unknown to scientists, this number is on

the rise. Four percent of U.S. adults have food allergies, but among

children under 4, six to eight percent have this condition. Between 1997

and 2002, the prevalence of peanut allergies doubled in children. Today, 1

in 17 children under 3 have been diagnosed with food allergies.

Simply touching, smelling or eating a tiny particle of the offending food

can trigger anaphylactic shock within minutes, a severe reaction that can

manifest itself in hives, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, tightening

of the throat, difficulty breathing, drop in blood pressure, loss of

consciousness, and death.

Anaphylactic reactions to foods cause 30,000 emergency room visits each

year, and 150 to 200 people die annually due to a reaction.

Food allergies are caused when the immune system labels innocent foods as

dangerous. The body creates antibodies to these foods and releases

enormous amounts of harmful chemicals when the offending food is ingested.

While a person can be allergic to any food, including fruits, vegetables

and meats, eight foods account for 90 percent of reactions - milk, eggs,

peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Most people outgrow

their allergies, but peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish are generally

lifelong allergies.

There is currently no cure for food allergies. The only treatment is

strict avoidance of the food, which can be very difficult.

Cross-contamination can cause reactions, and even touching a surface that

has come in contact with the food, smelling it, or kissing someone who has

eaten it can be dangerous. Even with assiduous avoidance of the food,

experts predict that one in four food allergic individuals will suffer an

accidental reaction each year.

Anne Muñoz-Furlong, founder and CEO of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis

Network (FAAN), explained, " Friends often think it sounds easy. If you're

allergic to milk, don't drink milk. But most of the common allergens are

foods that appear in our diets several times every day. It's an enormous

stress to think that every time you eat, it could mean a trip to the

emergency room. It's constant, there's no break. "

April first learned that her daughter, Camille, had food allergies

when she was eating a peanut butter cracker near her then-15-month-old

daughter. " I gave her a little pinch the size of a pinhead, and she

started coughing, " recalled. " I went to get water in the other

room, and by the time I came back, she was in full anaphylactic shock. "

Today, 9-year-old Camille knows how to manage her peanut, tree nut and egg

allergies. " I tell her it's okay to question an adult. I try to encourage

her to speak up for herself, " said April. Camille reads ingredient labels

for herself and knows to ask restaurants what oil they use in their food

before she eats. " I feel like a grown-up, " she boasts.

Scientists don't know what is causing the dramatic rise in food allergies

that is affecting so many children like Camille. One theory suggests that

as our personal spaces have becomes more hygienic, our immune systems have

less to do and have started attacking harmless substances such as food in

order to fill the void.

For example, as Ali Stafford, The Bulletin's food editor points out,

parents are using more and more antibacterial soaps and cleaners in their

homes, and are stricter about things like letting their children play in

the dirt and roll around with pets, or just dig up creepy-crawly things in

the mud. These types of activities used to constitute much of childhood

for earlier generations. But, today, children simply aren't getting

exposed to germs/bacteria and, consequently, they aren't building up their

immune systems and the antibodies they need to fight off foreign

substances. Paradoxically, as the home environment created by parents is

becoming increasingly less toxic, the overall environment outdoors is more

in jeopardy than ever before. Perhaps our immune systems are reacting to

these continually mixed signals.

Several studies are underway that are attempting to find a cure for food

allergies. Scientists have identified a molecule known as Interleukin-12

that is absent in mice with allergies. If individuals with food allergies

could be given this molecule, they may be able to consume the food safely.

Ido Bachelet, a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,

has developed a drug called RECEPTRA which, in mice, has successfully

blocked mast cells, the cells responsible for causing anaphylactic

reactions as well as asthma and colds. Virginia Commonwealth University

and Luna Innovations, Inc., have been researching the capability of

buckyballs, 60-carbon nanoparticles, to block mast cells, as well.

The only study that has progressed to testing in humans is " very

promising, " said Muñoz-Furlong. Researchers at Duke University have been

able to successfully give allergy patients increasing amounts of the

allergen orally to increase their tolerance of it.

Scientists claim that food allergies could be cured in the next five to

ten years with $50 million a year in research. The National Institute of

Health funds about $10 million a year, leaving private charities striving

to fund the rest.

In the meantime, experts recommend that parents with a history of

allergies should avoid feeding their children potential allergens until

their immune systems have developed. At-risk infants should not consume

milk until they are at least 1 year old; no eggs until age 2, and avoid

nuts and fish until age 3. However, this precaution has not yet been

conclusively proven to prevent children from developing allergies.

April's advice to parents of children with food allergies is, " Do the best

you can to get all the information - read, read, read. " She also advises

joining a support group. Camille's advice to other kids with allergies is,

" Don't feel left out just because of your allergy. "

FAAN's motto states, " Until there is a cure, education is the key. " The

organization works to educate students across the country about food

allergies and to advocate for laws that make life safer for patients. Some

initiatives that FAAN lobbies for include requiring all ambulances to

carry the vital emergency medicine epinephrine and allowing children to

carry their medicine in school rather than keeping it locked in the

nurse's office, since every second counts in an anaphylactic reaction.

" When we look at fatalities, " said Muñoz-Furlong, " the delay in getting

the medication was usually the decision between life and death. "

Another law desired by FAAN would create voluntary guidelines for schools

across the country for keeping food allergic students safe. " Right now,

every family has to start from scratch, " explained Muñoz-Furlong. " These

guidelines are very practical. " They include staff training, plans for

working with parents and doctors, and suggestions to avoid the focus on

food as a reward for good behavior or as a medium in art and science

class.

" On a child's birthday, instead of bringing cupcakes, he can get to read a

story to the class, " proposed Muñoz-Furlong. " Not only does it help kids

with food allergies and other conditions like diabetes, it benefits all

children in avoiding obesity. "

Many schools have created nut-free lunch tables or classrooms, which have

sometimes encountered opposition from parents who do not " believe " in food

allergies. In one school, a father even smuggled a peanut butter sandwich

in his daughter's lunch and told her to, " smear it on the walls. "

Muñoz-Furlong claims these shocking and malicious actions are decreasing

as food allergies become more and more common. " It has started to touch

almost everyone.

Everyone knows someone with food allergies, so people are becoming more

understanding. Still, we've seen that children are much more willing than

their parents to help keep their friends safe. "

Muñoz-Furlong reminds parents, " If one child in a class has a reaction,

they all suffer. They've seen someone get sick; they worry about their

friend. Parents should protect their own children from that trauma, as

well as protect the child with food allergies. "

" My friends at camp and school help me stay safe, " said Camille. " They

know to tell me to stay away from them if they've eaten something with

nuts. " Adults aren't always so understanding, April revealed. " Sometimes I

have to remind my friends and relatives. I don't mean to scare them, but I

really have to be straightforward - she could die. They'll remember you;

they say here's that freak lady, but I don't care what they call me as

long as they keep my child safe. "

Entertainment media can also be insensitive in its portrayal of food

allergies. Movies such as " Hitch, " " Monster-in-Law " and " Drew " and

TV shows such as " The Simpsons, " " That's So Raven " and " Ugly Betty " have

all included food allergies in their plots in ways that are disturbing to

people with food allergies. " It's a double-edged sword, " commented

Muñoz-Furlong. " On the plus side, it gets visibility. It shows Hollywood

understands this is a big issue. But we only wish they would be more

sensitive and more accurate. And when allergies are made fun of, or used

as a tool to harm someone, we are very concerned that children can imitate

this behavior. You wouldn't make fun of someone having a heart attack. You

shouldn't make fun of someone having a food allergy reaction. "

Other corporations have been very cooperative. Many airlines have stopped

serving peanuts on flights, and several baseball parks have had special

peanut-free sections at certain games.

" With 1/25 of the population allergic to foods, it behooves all of us to

work towards a cure, " commented Muñoz-Furlong.

*

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