Food Allergy Living Blog Tagged Results

We shared our top 4 Tips for Celebrating Halloween Without a Food Allergy Scare. But with Halloween coming up this weekend we wanted to share a round-up of all the great “Halloween with Food Allergies” tips we’ve seen recently. Here is some more great advice from our favorite blogs and advocacy groups!

Tips for a Food Allergy Safe Trick or Treating

• Kids With Food Allergies recommends pre-positioning safe candy at friends houses along with other advice for safe trick-or-treating and school parties.

• Gina Clowes of Allergy Moms has 15 Halloween Safety Tips in her latest newsletter. She recommends pulling a “switcheroo” and buying two of the same treat collectors, letting your little one trick-or-treat, but then swapping their loot out with the safe version once you get home.

• Over on Go Dairy Free, Alisa Fleming answers a question about dairy-free candy options.

• The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network has ten tried and true tips for keeping your child safe on Halloween. We love their idea of having children leave any unsafe candies for the “Good Witch”, who collects them and leaves safe treats instead!

Have you read any great ideas for having a safe, but fun, Halloween? Be sure to share the links!

- Sarah

A new study released this week showed that more than 30% of kids with food allergies reported being bullied, teased or harassed because of their condition. This statistic is frightening, but if you have a child with food allergies it might not be that shocking. While not all kids with food allergies have been subjected to extreme cases, like the one described in this MSNBC article, many have been made fun of for eating different foods and not being able to participate in certain activities.

One way that parents and communities can start to combat this growing trend is to increase awareness and understanding of food allergies among other children, parents and even teachers. In addition to advocating for new policies and legislation to protect children with food allergies, you can also encourage your child’s school to host assemblies and awareness days. The Food Allergy and Anaphylactic Network (FAAN) has found that starting the conversation encourages friends and other students to help keep their classmates with food allergies safe.

Has your child faced teasing or bullying because of their food allergy?

- Sarah

We had such a great time last year attending the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in different cities around the country, that we are doing it again! These walks are organized by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network to raise public awareness, to provide advocacy and education, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies (such as peanut, egg, soy & dairy) and anaphylaxis.

Here is a list of the FAAN Walks Neocate will be participating in:

• Houston, TX - September 11
• Philadelphia, PA – September 12
• Baltimore, MD – October 2
• Charlotte, NC – October 2
• Long Island, NY – October 10
• Tampa Bay, FL –November 13

For a complete list of cities and to register for a walk in your area or donate money, visit the FAAN website. Are any of your families attending a walk in your city or organizing a team? We’d love to hear about your plans! And if you are going to be attending any of the walks mentioned above, make sure you stop by the Neocate booth and say hi!

- Sarah

Back to school is near. This is the perfect time to prepare if your little one has food allergies. Last year Nita provided some great tips to help you prepare for the first day of school. In addition to those, I wanted to share a great article I came across on www.FoodAllergy.org . It discusses how to best handle the education of food allergies for teachers and other school mates. The article talks about an educational awareness program called PAL: Protect a Life from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. The PAL program provides educational brochures, posters, and even certificates to give out to other children who have shown they are a PAL.

Communication and education is the most important aspect for a child going back to school with food allergies. Hopefully this will provide you with some ideas on how to best educate your little ones new classroom on living with food allergies. If you have any creative strategies to help prepare for a safe school year, we’d love to hear about them in the comments!

- Christine

As we near the end the month of May, our series on Hidden Food Allergens is wrapping up. Mallory and Nita wrote great entries with tips and ideas on how to best avoid hidden dairy, soy and gluten allergens in food. Usually, there is a long list of items to avoid, so as Mallory mentioned, it’s helpful to print out your own list, laminate it, and take it with you on your grocery trips. It’s nearly impossible to memorize all those potential allergens you need to look out for on the product label. Having a list handy will cut back on the time you spend examining labels and make it easier for you to get what you need from the store and get on with your day!

Always remember, if you are uncertain whether a produce may contain an allergen, call the manufacturers and ask! The more educated you can be, the better.

Belonging to a food allergy social group or network can also allow you to share experiences and learn from other families who are in similar situations. Some groups you can join are the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), Facebook and/or Twitter groups dedicated to food allergies (including the Neocate Facebook page), Kids with Food Allergies (KWFA), and the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI). For example, if you just found out (from the manufacturer) that a certain food, surprisingly, had some traces of a particular allergen, you could share that information with others and help prevent accidental exposure from happening to another family.

So keep those Hidden Food Allergens lists handy and keep an eye on those labels! What other actions have you done to help avoid those hidden allergens? We always appreciate hearing your advice!

- Christine

Twelve million Americans have food allergies, including one in every 17 children under the age of 3. To raise awareness and educate others about food allergies next week, May 9 – 15, has been designated as Food Allergy Awareness Week.

Created in 1997 by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, Food Allergy Awareness Week has been formally recognized by the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you don’t see your state listed, be sure to request a proclamation from your state governor.

This year’s theme is “Respect Every Bite” and encourages people to remember that just one bite of food with an allergen can cause anaphylaxis. Here are some great suggestions from FAAN for ways you can spread the word about food allergies:

• Post information about Food Allergy Awareness Week on Facebook and Twitter. For example,you can sharethe “Respect Every Bite” video from the FAAN YouTube channel:

• Host a small fundraiser in your community, such as:
  • Allergy-friendly bake sale
  • Yard sale
  • Lemonade stand
  • Car wash
  • Dinner party with family and friends

• Host a fundraiser at school, such as:
  • Collection jar in the classroom
  • Guessing jar contest
  • Wacky Pajama Day at school
  • Movie Night at the school

Are you doing anything in your community to raise awareness about food allergies this year? If so, we would love to hear about it!

- Sarah

We know that the diagnosis of a food allergy or GI condition can sometimes be overwhelming for families. Fortunately, there are many great support groups out there that can help you find your footing with resources, advice and stories from other families going through similar situations. Here are a few that we have found helpful.

Allergy Moms

Founded by Gina Clowes, AllergyMoms provides support for parents of children with food allergies. The Web site and monthly newsletter features articles, food allergy recipes and the latest news and research on breast-feeding, hypoallergenic formulas, eczema, reflux, anaphylaxis and school policy.

American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)

APFED is an advocacy group for children and adults living with eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, eosinophilic colitis, hypereosinophilic syndrome, and other eosinophilic disorders. It is a great resource and provides accurate, up-to-date information on eosinophilic disorders and related problems. Not only does the organization increase awareness and educate patients and physicians, APFED also works to increase funding for research.

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)

FAAN was established in 1991 to share information vital to raising a child with food allergies. Throughout the year the group holds events to raise awareness about food allergies, including Food Allergy Walks in cities across the country. The FAAN Web site features an extensive database of allergy-friendly recipes, as well as links to other resources like local support groups and allergy camps.

Kids with Food Allergies (KFA)

Started by Lynda Mitchell, KFA is a nationwide nonprofit organization that offers online food allergy support groups, information, news, and allergen-free recipes for families raising children with food allergies. They have a new guide called KFA's Starter Guide to Parenting a Child with a Food Allergy that is especially helpful when you are first trying to understand food allergies, diagnosis and treatment. You can also subscribe to their bi-weekly newsletter for the latest updates!

Reflux Rebels

Reflux Rebels was started by a group of mothers who all had children with reflux and food allergies. Their goal is to share the knowledge they have learned from their own experiences and provide advice to families going through something similar. The Web site features some helpful quizzes that can help you get an idea of what your baby’s symptoms mean and what treatment options are out there. They also run an active message board on BabyCenter for those of you looking to ask a question or just chat with other parents navigating reflux and food allergies.

We hope you find these groups helpful! There are also a number of local support and advocacy groups out there that are ready to lend a hand too. What groups have been good resources for you?

-Sarah

Facebook might not be the first place you think to look when it comes to searching for info about your child with food allergies or other GI conditions. In fact, I was a little hesitant when someone suggested we start up a Neocate Facebook fan page. But as I’ve become more familiar with the tool, I’ve discovered that there are many great fan pages and groups on Facebook devoted to the topic of food allergies. And it really is a helpful tool for connecting to other parents that might be going through similar situations and share stories, news and advice.

Some of my Facebook favorites include:

• American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders
• Best Allergy Sites
• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
• Go Dairy Free
• Kids With Food Allergies

You can also join the discussion on the Neocate fan page. We sometimes offer coupons to Fans and parents have found that it’s a good place to share their stories with other parents, get answers to their Neocate and allergy-related questions, and keep up to date on allergy related news and more!

Do you have a favorite Facebook fan page or group? Let us know in the comments!

-Nita

This week 80 kids with food allergies from around the country are gathered in Washington, D.C. to help raise awareness about food allergy at the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) Kids’ Congress on Capitol Hill. The “Junior Ambassadors” will visit with legislators to share their experiences about living with food allergies and to urge them to pass the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA) and fund food allergy research and education.

The FAAMA bill has been reintroduced to Congress after it was passed by the House in 2008, but was not taken up by the Senate before Congress adjourned last summer.

To find out more about the Kids’ Congress and how you can support the FAAMA bill, visit the FAAN Web site.

-Mallory

This fall, Neocate will be attending the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in several different cities around the country. These walks are organized by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network to raise public awareness, to provide advocacy and education, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis.

Here is a list of the walks Neocate will be participating in:

Houston, TX – September 12
Long Branch, NJ – September 12
San Francisco, CA – September 12
Chicago, IL – September 26
Fairfax, VA – September 26
Boston, MA – October 4
Baltimore, MD – October 10
Long Island, NY – October 11
Ridgewood, NJ – October 18
Philadelphia – October 31
Dallas, TX – November 14

For a complete list of cities and to register for a walk in your area, visit the FAAN Web site. Are you and your children planning on attending a walk or organizing a team? If so, we would love to hear how you are participating! And if you are going to be attending any of the walks mentioned above, make sure you stop by the Neocate booth and say hi!

-Nita

Many parents of food allergic children are involved in the movement to increase food allergy awareness and safety, but I recently read some impressive stories about two remarkable kids who are taking action in support of the estimated 12 million Americans suffering from a food allergy.

Kyle Graddy of Auburn, Alabama is a nine-year-old suffering from a peanut allergy. In September, Kyle will travel to Capitol Hill to take part in the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Kids Congress as a representative of Alabama, where he will speak with U.S. Senators about his experiences and the issues facing those with food allergies. During his visit, he will also support the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act.

"I want people to understand that while food allergies are real and can be serious, that kids with allergies are just like other kids,” says Kyle about his activism.

Another youngster making headlines is Denver, Colorado’s Sophie Matthews, also age nine. Sophie suffers from allergies to dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and fish. To spread awareness about food allergies, she started a group at her school, Kyffin Elementary, for food allergic kids and their friends. The group, “Kyffin Pals”, discusses experiences with allergic reactions and learns how to recognize one in a friend. The group also participates in activities like a “pretend grocery store” where they practice reading labels for allergens and a tour of a real ambulance, to make any real trips to the hospital less scary.

Sophie is also the Child Ambassador for Denver’s Food Allergy Walk, and enjoys creating allergy safe recipes.

It’s great when anyone works to raise awareness about food allergies, but I am especially amazed by kids who are taking control of their challenges and making a positive impact on the rest of the world. I encourage all allergy parents to help their kids take part in raising awareness of food allergy issues.

I’m sure these children aren’t the only ones with amazing stories about living with food allergies. Please share your children’s stories with us!

-Nita

Great news! The House of Representatives recently approved a food-safety bill that aims to improve safety standards on food production in the U.S.

Although the bill wasn’t aimed at allergies specifically, it tackles some big problems that have arisen in recent months due to contamination and lax safety procedures. The author of the bill, Representative John D. Dingell, says it “will fundamentally change the way in which we ensure the safety of our food supply.”

The most important part of this bill? It gives the FDA a lot more power to recall food if the manufacturers haven’t followed safety procedures. This should help parents of food allergic children, who have to worry about food contamination even more than the rest of the general public. The bill also aims to prevent contamination problems before food is distributed, which means people won’t have to get sick to prompt a recall and inspection.

Now more than ever it is important to bring policy matters related to food allergies to the attention of lawmakers. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA) has been reintroduced to Congress. To find out how you can ask your representatives and senators to help, please visit the Food Allergy Awareness Network Web site.

What other food allergy-related issues do you hope Congress addresses soon?

-Mallory

The Food Allergy Awareness Network (FAAN) is working once again to push the Senate to enact the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act (FAAMA). FAAMA outlines voluntary national guidelines to help schools manage students affected by food allergy and anaphylaxis.

As some of you might already know, FAAMA was passed by the House in 2008, and earned support from 42 Senators. Unfortunately, FAAMA was not taken up by the Senate before it adjourned.

FAAN provides some great talking points for reaching out to your US Senators and US Representative and asking for their support as well as contact information. If you’re interested in getting involved, check out FAAN’s Web site at http://bit.ly/19x8zk.

Feel free to keep us updated on your activities and share any responses you get.

-Nita

Good news — According to the latest issue of FDA Week, precautionary allergen statements on food packages are still a top priority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) met with the FDA in March to discuss concerns that the FDA’s food safety priorities might have changed because of the peanut contamination issues. However, the FDA assured FAAN that food allergy labeling is still of the upmost importance to the agency.

Back in September, my fellow blogger wrote an entry on the allergy labeling public hearings that occurred. Anne Munoz-Furlong, FAAN Founder, said the FDA is currently reviewing the public comments they received before, during and after that meeting.

Any food allergy label updates on your end?

- Christine

Food Allergy Awareness Week is Finally Here!

Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) May 8-14, has finally arrived and we wanted to remind you about all the ways you can get involved and educate others about the serious nature of food allergies. 

Here are some easy ways that you can celebrate and help raise awareness:

At School

As we all know schools and food allergies are major hot topics and this week is the perfect time to volunteer to give a presentation about food allergies to your child's class or school.  The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) has some great presentations for elementary schools, teenagers and even corporate environments that you can download.

In Your Community

As we've mentioned before one idea to spread the word and raise money for allergies is to host an allergy-friendly bake sale!  Another idea is to create or print flyers about food allergies and hand them out at your local grocery store or mall food court.  Also, if you aren't already a part of a local advocacy organization, join one!  They are likely to be hosting their own events this week so it's a great opportunity to get involved.  But, if there isn't an organization in your town, now is the perfect time to start one!

Online

If you're on Facebook or Twitter be sure to post about FAAW.  Or, if there are any events in your area you plan to attend be sure to invite friends.  Also, don't forget to follow Neocate on Facebook and Twitter, where you will find more information about food allergies.

What are you doing to celebrate FAAW this year?  We'd love to hear about your plans!

- Sarah

This month we highlighted some of the great blogs out there covering food allergies and then some Facebook pages related to food allergies and now today we’ve decided to talk about some great twitter accounts that you can follow for even more helpful information.

• @FoodAllergy:the twitter account for The Food Allergy Anaphylactic Network (FANN) is a great source of information and resources related to food allergies and anaphylaxis;
• @kfatweets: the twitter account for Kids With Food Allergies provides information to help improve the lives of families raising children with food allergies and helps them to create a safe and healthy environment for their children.
• @AllergyEats: the twitter account for AllergyEats provides a user-friendly guide to allergy-friendly restaurants across the United States reviewed by people with food allergies, for people with food allergies.
• @Apfedorg: the twitter account for The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED) is dedicated to providing information to patients and their families coping with Eosinophilic Disorders.
• @Fooducate: the twitter account for Fooducate is a grocery advisor, helping people choose the best food for their families by analyzinginformation found in product's nutrition panel and ingredient list. 

Don't forget you can also follow us on twitter at @Neocate!  You can ask questions and find the latest news about Neocate and allergies.

Are there any other food allergy-related twitter accounts that we missed?  Be sure to share them in the comments!

- Sarah 

Our post today is a guest blog entry from Maria L. Acebal, J.D. the CEO of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN™), the trusted source for food allergies.  We’d like to thank Maria for guest blogging for us today.

Summer is almost over, and that means families all across the country are preparing to send their kids back to school.  Teachers have such an enormous responsibility in educating our kids.  If you have a child with food allergies, here is what you can do to help teachers confidently and effectively manage students’ food allergies.

• Plan ahead.  Fill out and submit all required medical forms on time and turn in medication appropriately labeled for your child.  Before you submit epinephrine auto-injectors and other medications to the school, check and record expiration dates.
• Build a team.  Managing a student’s food allergies includes not only their teacher, but also any adult who will supervise the student.  This includes, for example, the school’s principal, playground monitor, art teacher, and bus driver.  The whole team needs to be food allergy smart!  When educating the school about food allergies, make sure to include the entire team.
• Maintain open and ongoing dialogue.  “It’s all about frequent, calm, confident communication.”  I couldn’t agree more with this advice I once received from a mom in my local food allergy support group.

I remember my daughter Nina’s first day of pre-k at an international school as if it was yesterday.  She is anaphylactic to peanuts.  I hadn’t been able to meet with the teacher until the day before school started, as she was only then arriving from her home country of Spain.  I came in with my epinephrine auto-injectors, a trainer, my Food Allergy Action Plan, and my hopes that all would be well.  I started with what to do in case of an anaphylactic emergency and minutes into the conversation, I froze when the teacher wrote down on her pad of paper, “911” — she had never been to the U.S., so she didn’t know what the number for the ambulance was!  Further into our conversation I realized that she had never heard of an allergy to peanuts before!  I felt overwhelmed when I realized I was really starting from scratch.

I am happy to report that Nina’s inaugural year at the international school was a great success.  Her teacher was eager and committed to learning about food allergies and ever-ready to go the extra mile to help Nina stay safe while feeling included in classroom activities.  That experience taught me that attitude goes a very long way; I will forever remember with tremendous gratitude this teacher from Spain who had an open heart and ready willingness to make her classroom an inviting, exciting, and safe place to be.

This year, Nina will start fourth grade at a brand new school.  I may not be as anxious as I was on the first day of pre-k, but I still have back-to-school food allergy jitters.  Thinking he’s making me feel better, my husband comments on how much easier this is than sending her off to college.  Meanwhile, my heart starts pounding … “Oh no, college!”

Whether you are a parent of a child with food allergies or a teacher with students who have food allergies, FAAN is here to help!  Check out FAAN’s Back-to-School Tool Kit at www.foodallergy.org/section/back-to-school-tool-kit.

Interested in becoming an official FAAN member?  Membership has many benefits.  For less than 15¢ a day, you can add your voice to the cause and support people with food allergies. www.foodallergy.org/page/individual

- Maria  

  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?    

Our post today is a guestblogentry from Kyle Dine, a Canadian songwriter who creates children's music that educates and entertains about food allergies.  We’d like to thank Kyle for guest blogging for us today! 

“Food Allergies Rock!” — Three words that sum up all of my feelings about the condition I have lived with since I was a toddler.  I do realize that this phrase may be a tad optimistic, especially if you have ever experienced an anaphylactic reaction, or ever witnessed your child experience these terrible symptoms.  After experiencing several severe allergic reactions in my life, I will be the first to admit that food allergies don’t always rock.  But, I’ll explain why it’s so important that you and your kids should adopt this motto too.

“Food Allergies Rock!” is the name of my most recent children’s music CD dedicated to kids with allergies.  Every song on this CD is an offshoot of this empowering phrase with its own unique message on staying safe and staying positive.

 Songs such as My Epineph-Friend, One of the Gang, and Able to Read a Label promote thinking about allergies in a fun and positive way while illustrating that food allergies don’t have to define you nor limit you in life.

It’s so easy to focus on the negatives — the doom and gloom.  But that is no way to live and no way to have a healthy attitude in life.  There is a lot of encouraging research these days with respect to someday having a treatment for allergies.  However I am personally more drawn to quality of life studies because they uncover novel strategies on how to manage allergies while living normally.

One study in particular fromThe Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, discusses how important it is for children to focus on the positives in order to become empowered over their allergies.

“clinical experience suggests that children who adopt a negative attitude toward theirallergies (eg, focus on limitations and differences from peers) may be more likely to experience distress than children who adopt a more positive perspective (eg, emphasize strengths and coping strategies).”

What are the exact reasons why food allergies rock?  I’ll let the lyrics of the song do the talking.

 “Food Allergies Rock”

Food Allergies Rock

To tell you the truth I would rather have them than not

Food Allergies Rock!

I wouldn’t trade them I’m happy with what I got

Just a few foods that I can’t eat

But none of them are in my favorite treat

I can stay safe and I can stay well

Because I stay alert after the dinner bell

I could be a doctor or an astronaut

Whatever I choose I can reach the top

So I have food allergies

But I won’t let them define me

I can read labels like I read a book

And I’m so creative when I try to cook

I can eat healthy things like fruit

For every thing I can’t, there’s a substitute

I can be brave and speak up for myself

I can find safe foods on a cupboard shelf

I can teach my friends what they’re all about

And I’ll be just fine living without.

- Kyle Dine

Kyle Dine’s music can be downloaded off of iTunes or bought from the product catalogs of The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network  and Anaphylaxis Canada.  For more information about Kyle Dine and his school wide allergy awareness assemblies, please visit his website at www.kyledine.com or connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. 

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]