It’s rare that you hear of someone dying from food allergies, but when it happens, it usually reaches national news. Why? Because food is something we eat every day – several times a day – and everyone should be aware of the dangers of food allergies. Some foods such as peanuts contain very strong allergens that are in the food and released into the air as well. That’s why someone with severe food allergies must be extremely careful where and how they dine out.

Food Allergy Deaths

There are approximately 150 deaths related to food allergies in the United States each year. Food allergies are responsible for more deaths than insect bites as well as reactions to medicines.

Some food allergy deaths could have been prevented if proper medical attention was given when the allergic reaction occurred. Unfortunately, someone who is dining out or eating at home alone can have an allergic reaction without anyone around who knows the cause. With severe reactions, the person may not be able to speak or move at all. When the paramedics arrive, they do not know how to treat the patient.

Non-deadly allergies can still cause unpleasant symptoms such as cramps, light-headedness, itching and rash, hives, headaches, swelling lips, tingling mouth, shortness of breath and wheezing. Even these symptoms can seem urgent when they’re really not, so emergency personnel might attend to someone with these symptoms as well.

Keeping in Touch with Your Food Allergies

Prevention is always best with food allergies, especially dangerous ones. When dining out, ask the waiter if the food you’re about to order contains the ingredients that might cause an allergic reaction. Also, check food labels and labels on drinks and condiments while grocery shopping to be sure it’s safe before eating. Keep a list of the foods you’re allergic to with you in your wallet or purse as a reminder when dining out.

If you’ve already experienced a severe food allergy attack, ask your physician about a self-injecting epinephrine to keep with you for emergencies. This could save your life!

Help Medical Emergency Workers do their Jobs

Another way to be prepared is to have all your medical emergency information with you in one place along with your identification. Keep this information in your purse or wallet so emergency workers will know how to diagnose and treat you when they arrive.

Special wallets are now available called Medical Alert Wallets that have all your medical information and allergy details inside. Emergency workers easily recognize these because each Medical Alert Wallet has a “Medic Alert” symbol and a free Medical Information Card with each wallet. They come in nylon, vinyl, and leather. Several styles are available such as bi-fold, tri-fold and neck wallets. Families can use these for every member of the family so everyone will be protected if a food allergy reaction or any other medical emergency occurs.

With a little preparation and a Medic Alert Wallet, you’ll have peace of mind when dining out or eating at a friend’s house. Food allergies do not have to control your life!

Allergy & Other Ailments

Lucky for me, I’m not allergic to wine. I’ve self-tested with hundreds of bottles and I can confidently declare that I would definitely know by now. Definitely.. But, many others aren’t that lucky; some people have wine allergies, an allergy that hinders their ability to savor one of life’s greatest pleasures.. This allergy leaves people with an empty wine glass, an empty wine cellar, and a unyielding impulse to look up to the sky and scream, ‘Make me allergic to diary, make me allergic to cats, make me allergic to my siblings, but please don’t take away my Cabernet.’

While no one wants a wine allergy, those who have one are forced to take it seriously. This is particularly true if they are allergic to sulfites, compounds often used as a means to preserve wine by helping it to avoid oxidation and spoilage. Unfortunately for those with allergies, sulfites are added to a vast majority of wines. Because of this, checking the label doesn’t just become a matter of hoping to find the best tasting wine, it also become a matter between being well and being ill.

When someone who is allergic to sulfites drinks wine containing this compound, they run the risk of experiencing an allergic reaction – an allergic reaction to wine makes a wine hang over look like a walk in the park. Some people may experience sneezing, or hives, while others may have difficulty breathing and need emergency medical attention. Sulfites can also cause anaphylaxis, the most severe of allergic reactions.. During this kind of reaction, a person’s blood pressure dangerously drops and their bronchial tubes narrow, making it increasingly harder for them to breathe.. If left untreated, this can lead to death in a matter of minutes. For these reasons, many people with sulfite allergies avoid wine altogether: not even the greatest wine in the world is worth compromising health.

However, luckily for those affected by sulfites, organic wine has come to the rescue, wearing a red cape and giving those allergic to regular wine a second chance.

Organic wine doesn’t necessarily mean ‘sulfite free,’ a tidbit of information extremely important to those sensitive to even the most minute levels of sulfites. In fact, wines are rarely sulfite-free; sulfites occur naturally in wine. However, conventional wines go above and beyond the naturally occurring sulfites, adding many more sulfites to their finished product. Organic wine, on the other hand, tend to believe that the naturally occurring sulfites are enough – they don’t want to compound the situation.

The true definition of organic wine depends on where the wine is produced. For wines produced in America, the National Organic Program, the federal agency overseeing the production of organic food, has mandated that any wine claiming to be ‘organic’ must not contain any added sulfites. Wines merely claiming to be made with ‘organic grapes,’ however, aren’t subject to these regulation.. Along these lines, wines that are produced outside the US are governed under their own regulations: these wines generally have added sulfites, but the amount is roughly a third of the amount found in conventional wine. Thus, for those with sulfite allergies, it’s important to read the label very carefully.

Drinking organic wine isn’t just limited to those with sulfite allergies – it’s not a secret club people are allowed into by submitting their medical records.. Many people simply find organic wines better tasting, healthier, and good for the environment.

Organic wine is composed of grapes that are grown in an organic vineyard with organic farming techniques. Essentially, this means that the grapes were grown in a manner void of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides and full of natural fertilizers.. These vineyards also contain cover crops between their vines and work to attract beneficial insects, insects that will feed on harmful pests. Though no scientific provides credence, there is strong speculation that drinking organic wine instead of conventional wine decreases the chance of a hang over. This has led many people down an organic path, a path paved with the healthiest of soil.

Though not widely available, organic wine has recently begun to gain in popularity. Sommeliers are finally beginning to get the hint as bottles of organic Pinot Noir approach, tapping their fingers and impatiently saying, ‘Ahem.’ Still, organic wine remains harder to find than conventional wine – many restaurants do not serve it and some liquor stores have either no collection or one that is minimal.. But, rest assured, there are places to find it, and soon they’ll be more..

Online is a great place to start, booming with shops that will ship organic wine to your house. Organic food stores – such as Whole Foods – have also jumped on the organic band wagon, obviously needing a ride from drinking too much. Along these lines, there are certain liquor stores that do carry a large selection of Organic wines.. To find one in your area, try calling around, doing an Internet search, or going to http://www.wine-searcher.com.

It might take a little research, but you’ll be rewarded once you are cradling that bottle of organic wine in your hands with a straw in your mouth. Then, it will all be worth it…naturally.

Allergy & Other Ailments

Allergy & Other Ailments

Oxymetazoline: "rescue" treatment for food allergy? – Mind and …

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Allergy & Other Ailments

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Allergy & Other Ailments

Allergy & Other Ailments

Allergy & Other Ailments

Learning to Live Positively with a Latex Allergy

Your child has a latex allergy: Perhaps a mild allergy; perhaps a life-threatening one. Either way, you now have to help your child live with it. Of course, to do so, you need to be able to live with it. You’ve done all the research. You know to avoid balloons and bananas. You’ve latex-proofed your house. Have you grieved?

While it might seem selfish, knowing that your child can never go near latex, is the death of a dream for you-the dream of your child living a safe, problem-free life. You have the right to grieve for his or her loss. Grieve over the fact that your child can never blithely go to a birthday party because balloons are integral parts of that experience.

So what should you do after you finish grieving over your child’s latex allergies? That one is simple. Get mad.

“It won’t do any good,” you say. No, it won’t change your children’s latex allergies, but you’ll probably feel better once you’re done being angry. Just like grieving, this should only last a few days. Go ahead and be mad that your child is “different”. Rant in private that it’s not fair that your child has to worry about things other children don’t. Maybe throw a few (soft) things because you’re upset that you have to explain over and over and OVER to people that latex allergies are real and deadly, and because you’re tired of repeating the list of foods your child must avoid in addition to rubber bands.

When you’ve allowed yourself to go through the mad stage, it’s time for acceptance. It should be a bit easier now to accept that your life will be as fully affected as your child’s life. Now you and your family can learn to help your child cope with this life-altering allergy.

How do you deal with the fact that your child isn’t invited to a fast food restaurant for a birthday party because all the kids will be in the ball pen-the balls are rubber, and your child can’t participate. Explaining to your child that he or she is being left out for their own safety is heartbreaking for both of you.

Children with latex allergies react to the changes and limitations in their lives in different ways. Some just accept it and move on. Others may accept it while they are young, then lash out at the world when they are older and more fully comprehend their limits. If your child struggles with the emotional pain caused by their allergy, you may need to guide them through the stages of grief, anger and acceptance. Children will often stuff their frustrations deep inside because they are trying to be “good”, so you may have to talk with your child and give him or her permission to express sadness or anger at the difficulty this allergy brings with it.

A great way to help a child with latex allergies cope is to involve them in protecting themselves and other children with the same problem. You’re probably becoming a bit of an activist already, possibly fighting a school board to make sure that your child’s class (and preferably the entire school) is latex-free, or asking toy shops to have lists of latex-free toys on hand. Let your child get involved too. Bring them along when you go before the school board and let them speak about their own need for safety and how latex affects them. Involving your child helps them feel like they are taking back some of the control over their life that their allergy took away.

When your child stands up for him or herself, they are standing up for every child suffering latex allergies, or anything else that makes them different. Speaking out about their problem not only helps your child cope, but makes a positive contribution to the community. And with as fast as latex allergies are growing, especially among adults in the healthcare field, awareness of the problem needs to increase quickly.

It seems like an uphill battle to educate other people about the danger of latex allergies. There will always be another parent to explain things to, another toy shop to educate, another battle to fight. But the effort is far from useless. You and your child will connect with people. You will both make a difference, because even tiny victories help make the world a safer place. Most importantly, you are teaching your child to be pro-active and not let their allergy rule their heart and soul.

Latex allergies will create daily wear and tear on you and your loved ones. It’s important to make sure you don’t let yourself get run down. Take care of yourself so you can withstand the coming years of helping your child maneuver through the dangers of a latex-filled world.

Reach out to others in a similar situation. Perhaps you won’t find anyone else locally who is dealing with latex allergies, but they are on the rise, as are wheat and peanut allergies. Why not band together and pool your energy as well as your resources? Talking to others who have been there and done that will help both you and your child. If for no other reason, when they say that they understand they truly do.

Finally, though being pro-active in spreading the word about latex allergies and encouraging change to a safer environment is good, don’t let your life or your child’s life become consumed by their allergy. It’s very important to spend time doing things and discussing subjects that have nothing to do with latex. Planning activities that are safe may take a bit of advance work, but it will be worth it when your child is able to completely relax and just be a kid like everyone else.

About The Author

Nadine O’Reilly, M.A. is a NJ school psychologist and Coordinator of Special Services. She creates 100′s of accommodation plans for disabled children each year. Visit www.access4allergickids.com for information on how to protect your child in school.

This article was posted on January 17, 2006

Allergy & Other Ailments

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Allergy & Other Ailments