Our guest blog today comes from our friend Gina Clowes.  Gina is the mother of a son with multiple life-threatening food allergies and the founder of AllergyMoms.com.  She understands how stressful it is to manage food allergies on a day-to-day basis, so in her ebook she shares all of the coping tools and tips that have gotten her and her family through the past ten years.  She is also the author of the children’s book “One of the Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies.”

When a child is diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies, parents and caregivers often feel sad, scared and overwhelmed.  As they try to navigate safely through mealtimes, family celebrations, play dates, classrooms, birthday parties and other social gatherings, they discover that the world is divided between those who “get it” and those who “don’t”.  Many people mean well but simply do not comprehend the severity of food allergies and do not realize how insensitive their words and actions may seem to an allergic child. 

I fought tooth and nail with family, friends and others in an effort to protect my son but felt like no one was listening.  Finally I realized that in order for others to hear my message, I needed to manage my own emotions and stress level and present myself in a better way.  In Ten Things Children with Food Allergies Want You to Know, my goal is to teach others how to be sensitive to the needs of these children and families while giving them essential tools, resources and advice to safely enjoy life to the fullest.

- Gina Clowes

Not only is next week (May 13-19) Food Allergy Awareness Week, it’s also National Eosinophil Awareness Week!  That’s no coincidence, since food allergies and eosinophilic disorders are closely related.  For many of our families, both of these are important reason to celebrate next week and to spread the word.

Food Allergy Awareness Week

The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network(FAAN) established the first official “week” to increase awareness of food allergies in 1998, making next week the 15^thFood Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW).  While many people know food allergies exist, they often don’t realize how serious food allergies can be. As a Neocatefamily member, you can help spread the word!  Check out the FAAN’s resources to see what you can do to help increase public awareness of food allergies. One of our favorites: Ask your governor to issue a FAAW proclamation, if they haven’t already.  Promotional posters, brochures, and presentations are some of the great resources FAAN offers.  To learn more you can visit the FAAN Facebook page, Twitter handle, or YouTube channel .

National Eosinophil Awareness Week

National Eosinophil Awareness Week (NEAW), in its sixth year, is a bit newer than FAAW. It was created by the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders(APFED).  You’d probably get some funny looks if you asked most folks what in eosinophil is, so this is a great time of year to do just that and fill them in. We often write about eosinophilic esophagitis(EoE), but did you know that eosinophilic disorders can affect any and all parts of the digestive tract?  For many patients with an eosinophilic disorder, Neocate products are a significant (if not the only) part of the diet. Not only are people in general unaware of eosinophils, a lot of medical professionals also don’t know of the presence and impact of eosinophilic disorders. That makes next week a great time to inform friends, family, and health care professionals! You can spread the word through Facebook, by putting up a poster, or by reaching out to family and friends with a letter.

Take the opportunity next week to increase awareness of food allergies in general, and educate on eosinophilic disorders in particular. What will you do to celebrate FAAW and NEAW and promote this special week?

- Rob

[Image sources: www.foodallergy.org, www.apfed.org]

Did you know that Feeding Tube Awareness Week is happening right now? It is! This year Feeding Tube Awareness Week falls on February 5-11. You can help the Oley Foundation  and Feeding Tube Awareness Foundation  (FTAF) spread the word.

We know, many children who benefit from Neocate products have to use a feeding tube to get their nutrition.  If you’re new to tube feeding and are looking for folks who share similar stories, try the Oley Foundation’s support community or the FTAF’s inspiring stories. You can also visit the Oley Foundation’s facebook page and FTAF’s facebook page. 

The FTAF launched Feeding Tube Awareness Week last year with great success! Both organizations’ websites have some great tips for how you can help spread the word. Ideas include contacting local media outlets as well as using social media platforms. This is a great opportunity to help raise awareness of feeding tubes in your community to promote greater acceptance and understanding. 

To someone who isn’t familiar with feeding tubes, they can be strange and confusing. On one hand, parents can have a tough time adjusting to tube feeding. On another, people in the community don’t always know how to react to feeding tubes. You can help inform others about how many precious little ones’ lives have been improved and saved with the help of feeding tubes.

Is there something you’ve done to help promote feeding tube awareness?

- Rob 

[Image name: Feeding Tube Awareness Week - Image link: http://www.oley.org/Tube_Feeding_Awareness_2012.htm]

[Image name: Feeding Tube Awareness Logo - Image link: http://www.feedingtubeawareness.org/raising-awareness.html]

Cross contamination is a big concern among food allergy sufferers.  According to Kids with Food Allergies, cross contamination can be defined as “a food being inadvertently contaminated with food proteins other than those listed on the food label during the course of its being prepared, stored or served”.

During Manufacturing and Production:

One way that cross contamination may occur is during the manufacturing of a food. For example, when a safe food is manufactured on the same equipment as an unsafe food, there is a chance for trace amounts of the unsafe food to end up in the safe food. For those with food allergies, even trace amounts of an allergen can lead to serious allergic reactions.

Although the Food Allergen Labeling and consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) requires manufacturers to clearly list the top 8 allergens on the food label, this rule does not account for cross contamination. Sometimes you will see “may contain (allergen)” or “made in a facility that also produces (allergen)” on a label but the manufacturers are not required to list this information. If you have any doubts, call the manufacturers and ask about the possibility of cross contamination. If your child’s allergies are severe and the manufacturer can’t guarantee it is safe, its probably not worth the risk.

By the way, this is why we are proud to say that Neocate is the only amino acid-based infant formula prepared in a 100% milk-free manufacturing site, eliminating the risk for cross contamination!

At Home:

Cross contamination can also happen in your home. Kids with Food Allergies provides some helpful tips on minimizing this risk: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=65.

Eating Out:

Eating out can be intimidating for those with food allergies because you have less control over how foods are handled and efforts to minimize cross contamination. For helpful tips, check out this article from Food Allergy Gourmet.

Food Safety for Everyone:

The risk of cross contamination is not limited to allergy sufferers. Cross contamination of bacteria from foods (such as raw meat, seafood and eggs) is a concern for everyone. To keep you and your loved ones safe, follow these tips from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Have any of your children experienced an allergic reaction as a result of cross contamination?  Any advice to offer other parents?
 

-Mallory

Hi everyone! 

We get lots of questions from Moms (and Dads) about elimination diets.  This is why, in addition to the information we have here on our blog and website, our nutrition specialists and bloggers decided to address that very topic on our NeocateUS YouTube channel.  So if elimination diets seem a little confusing to you, check out our video for more answers!

Also, for more elimination diet information and resources check out some of our previous blog entries:

• Elimination Diet FYI
• Elimination Diet vs. Elemental Diet
• Resources for Your Elimination Diet
• A Mom’s Journey with TED (Total Elimination Diet)

Furthermore, if you enjoy receiving information from Neocate via video please let us know by posting a comment on our YouTube channel and liking our videos.  As we continue to work on more informative videos we would love to hear from you!  

So, what kind of other videos would you like to see our Nutrition specialists create? 

-Sarah 

Parents often ask us if their second child has an increased risk of allergies if their older sibling has them.  So, in today’s post, we’ll discuss the genetics of allergies.

The exact cause of allergies is unknown, but researchers suspect that they are most likely caused by a combination of both genetics and environmental factors.

Genetic Factors:

“Atopy” is a term used to describe the genetic predisposition to develop allergies or allergic diseases.  Allergies and allergic disease may include eczema, asthma, food allergies, etc.  

Studies show that if one parent is “atopic”, at least 30% of their children will have allergies[i]. If both parents are atopic, this value goes up to 50%.  Although a familial history of allergy puts you at an increased risk of developing allergy, you will not necessarily develop the same type of allergy or allergic disease as your family member[ii].  Atopy describes a predisposition for allergic disease in general.  The presentation and type of allergic disease may vary from family member to family member (for example, a parent has an allergy to pet dander and their child has an allergy to milk protein).

Environmental Factors:

Not all individuals with a genetic predisposition for allergies will go on to develop them because the environment plays an important role too.  It is difficult to know how much is determined by genetics and how much is determined by environmental factors because family members are often exposed to the same environmental factors.  Research on identical twins raised in different environments has shown that there is some discrepancy in the development of allergies despite a shared genetic predisposition.  This suggests that although there is a strong genetic component, environmental exposure is quite influential as well[iii].

What can you do?

You cannot modify a genetic predisposition for developing allergies (at least not yet!), you can alter the environmental exposures, which influence the development of allergies.  External environmental factors like smog, car exhaust, pollen, etc are difficult to alter unless you move to a different location. However, it is possible to reduce the indoor environmental  factors in your home. Whether or not this is effective in preventing allergies in those predisposed to them is still unclear but it certainly couldn’t hurt.  There is also a great deal of interest in whether dietary modifications, both for the mother during pregnancy and for the infants during the first year or life, can protect infants predisposed to developing allergic disease.  At this point, there is not enough  evidence to make a strong recommendation on preventive practices. However, research shows that introducing foods (anything other than breast milk or formula) during the first 4 months of life is associated with the development of allergies so refraining from this is one more way you may be able to protect your little one from developing allergies.

-Mallory

 [IMAGE: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?ex=2&qu=dna#ai:MP900321102|mt:0|]

  Back in August we attended Family Entertainment Day at Camp TAG, hosted by The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, in Sandy Spring, Maryland.

Camp TAG launched in summer 2011 and is a five day, half-day camp for children ages 3-12.  The camp provides a safe place for children with food allergies and their siblings, as well as an opportunity to meet other children who share the same conditions.

While we visited Camp TAG we were able to use our FlipCam to film attendees participating in camp activities, listening to Kyle Dine perform and taste testing our new Neocate® Junior with Prebiotics, Vanilla.  We then created a video for our NeocateUS YouTube channel, so check it out and feel free to pass it along! 

Also, if you enjoy receiving information from Neocate via video please let us know by posting a comment on our YouTube channel.  We are continuing to work on more videos and we would love to hear from you!

So, what kind of other videos would you like to see on our channel?    

 Next week, from October 20 – 23, we will be attending the  North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Annual Meeting and Postgraduate Course in Orlando, Florida.  

NASPGHAN is the only professional society for pediatric gastroenterologists in North America, with a membership of over 1600 clinical gastroenterologists and scientists from the United States, Canada and Mexico with expertise in digestive, liver, pancreatic and nutritional diseases.

This is a great opportunity for us to connect with key decision makers and industry leaders, while also learning about the latest advances in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition.

To learn more about NASPGHAN and the annual meeting and post graduate course, check out their website and for the latest news updates, announcements and events follow them on Twitter (@NASPGHAN).

 [Picture from: http://www.naspghan.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=493]  

In recent years, there have been more and more news stories about bullying and the impact that it can have on children and teens. It is clear that bullying is a serious problem that must urgently be addressed in schools.

Sadly, reports have shown that children with food allergies are often the targets of bullies. As kids head back to school, we feel this is an important time to address this topic. In this post, we’ll discuss ways to prevent bullying, how to determine whether your child is being bullied and if so, how to help.

Last year, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) published a shocking study about the incidence of bullying among children with food allergies. Researchers at Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai found that:

• Over 30% of children with food allergies are reported to have been bullied, teased, or harassed because of their food allergies.
• In 86% of these cases, the bullying and harassment was repetitive.
• Over 40% of these cases involved having their allergen thrown at them or waved in their face.

As you might expect, most bulling came from classmates and peers but surprisingly, over 20% of the cases involved bullying from teachers or other school staff.

Bullying would be upsetting for any child but since kids with food allergies already deal with the daily challenge of their allergies, bullying can be especially stressful for these children. Not only does the bullying cause an emotional toll (over 65% reported feeling depressed or embarrassed), potential exposure to their allergens poses a serious, sometimes life-threatening, health risk.

So how can we stop the bullying? The most effective way is to increase awareness of food allergies and develop anti-bullying policies in schools. FAAN developed a peer education program on food allergies called Be a PAL: Protect A Life^™ From Food Allergies. This is a great way to create awareness and understanding of food allergies in the classroom. StopBullying.gov is a great website with helpful resources for parents, kids, teens and schools. As a parent, it’s important to know the signs that your child is being bullied at school kids may not tell you that it is occurring. If you find that your child is being bullied, help stop it.  If your child’s school does not have an anti-bullying initiative, work with the PTA and school system to implement one. Find more tips and resources on www.stopbullying.gov. They even have a series of cartoons to teach younger kids about bullying!

There is reason to be optimistic that we are on the right path! This week, the U.S. Department of Education is hosting the second annual Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit in Washington, D.C.!

Have any of your children been the target of bullies? How did you help?

-Mallory

[PHOTO: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48304881@N05/5240756741/sizes/m/in/photostream/]

 Back in July we attended the 9^thannual, APFED – the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders  parent conference, in Greenville, South Carolina.

 As we’ve mentioned before APFED was started by Elizabeth Mays, a mother whose son had eosinophilic gastroenteritis, to create a place where families could “come together to share knowledge, educate themselves, arm themselves with credible information, meet and support one another, raise public awareness and generate research dollars.”

The group is an excellent resource for accurate, up-to-date information on eosinophilic disorders and related problems.  Not only does APFED increase awareness and educate patients and physicians, the group also works to increase funding for research.  

We especially love attending the conference because it is a great opportunity for children affected by eosinophilic disorders and their families to learn from experts and one another.  

During the conference we filmed videos of the attendees with our FlipCam and created a video to help increase awareness about eosinophilic disorders for our NeocateUS YouTube channel.  So check them out and feel free to share them! 

Also, if you enjoy receiving information from Neocate via video please let us know by posting a comment on our YouTube channel.  We are continuing to work on more videos and we would love to hear from you!

So, what kind of other videos would you like to see on our channel?