To which we suggest a modern twist: Don’t kill any of your guests.

For the gracious host, it’s simply good etiquette. Sandra Beasley, author of the upcoming “Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales From an Allergic Life” (Crown Books, July 2011), had to refuse most childhood birthday cakes because they could have killed her.

She stood on the sidelines at her best friend’s 10th pasta-making birthday party when she saw that the ingredients included eggs, which make her throat swell shut.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that people with food allergies want the whole event to accommodate their allergies,” Beasley said.
“We will martyr ourselves rather than eat anything. A lot of people don’t consider how socially embarrassing it can be. When I get hives around my eyes, people think they’ve made me start to cry. It doesn’t make for a fun picnic.”

If your child doesn’t have allergies, there’s a good chance one of your child’s friends does. And that child will eventually appear at your home for a birthday party. About 4% of children have food allergies, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC reports that the eight most common food allergens in the United States, which account for more than 90% of the country’s allergies, are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.

Before you freak out that your cake could kill someone, know there is help. Most of your guests don’t need every dish to be allergy-free. They just need a few options. Many supermarkets now have more options, and so do cookbooks. (If the mere presence of a particular food could harm a child, a parent should tell you.)

Pure Knead bakery owner Michelle Kelly gets a lot of business from parents of kids with allergies and parents who buy just a few cupcakes for their birthday guests with allergies.

Kelly started her Decatur, Georgia, company a year ago after she couldn’t find safe food for her now 7-year-old son, who is allergic to gluten, dairy and soy.
“We have so many parents who bring their children here,” said Kelly, whose bakery is free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts and shellfish (another common allergen). “I put out samples of four or five products, and the kids all look at their mothers tentatively for permission. They get to have that ‘bakery experience’ here.”
Let’s think of those little guests, those kids who don’t get to sample cookies at Costco or cupcakes at the local bakery. That’s a little kid you’re asking to choose his health over that pasta or creamy ice cream. Imagine that with a few changes, you could be the superhero parent that will make these kids feel less like outsiders in your home.

Start with the invite
Veteran children’s party planner Linda Kaye suggests including a sentence asking that the RSVP include any dietary restrictions. “This is a gracious way of saying that you would like to be sure to include something in the refreshment menu that would be allergy free,” said Kaye, owner of Linda Kaye’s Birthdaybakers Partymakers in Manhattan. “It’s a thought very much appreciated by parents who have children with allergies.”

Easy food fixes
Depending on the allergy, consider serving some nondairy sorbet or gluten-free pastries. Provide easily identifiable foods like pretzels or watermelon that won’t be obscured in trail mix or fruit salad. (This will help smaller kids who have a hard time knowing what’s safe.) Save any packaging from prepared foods so parents can read the list of ingredients for allergens.

Accept help
If contacted by the parent of an allergic child who wants to bring a safe dish, accept it graciously and place it amid the buffet. Do not stress that it doesn’t match your food theme. Inclusiveness is more important. You might even allow that child to go first so they can be sure to get some of their special dish.
“I always come with a cupcake or something else that I make or get at a bakery,” said Seattle mom Becky Moore, whose 8-year-old son has allergies to eggs, peanuts and sesame seeds.
“When people say ‘Don’t worry about it, I’m making the cake with the egg replacer stuff,’ I totally appreciate it.”
Building trust

Don’t assume that kids who are old enough to be dropped off will always make the right choices. Have a quiet conversation with the parent about a child’s allergies in front of the child at drop-off.

Children are taught to trust their friends’ parents, but kids with allergies know that some adults don’t understand their allergies. So make sure you understand what to do or tell the parent if you don’t.

Party games
If you have a piñata or games with prizes, include nonfood prizes. (With the CDC reporting that 17% of
children are obese and childhood obesity is on the rise, not every reward needs to be food anyway.)

Party favors
If any guests have severe allergies, make sure the gift bag snacks are wrapped, so they don’t contaminate nonfood treats. Or consider going food-free in the gift bags. Beasley couldn’t play with a toy that had been contaminated.

Extra credit
Make or buy a “safe” cake or cupcakes if you have a bakery nearby. You could also make a delicious Sandra-friendly chocolate cupcake that kids and adults all might like. Here’s a recipe, courtesy of Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats in Washington, D.C., which made it for a wedding Beasley attended.
Going the extra mile creates a lot of love for parents who are always striving to give their kids a “normal” birthday party experience. Pure Knead’s Kelly can still remember one friend’s graciousness toward her son.
“
The birthday child was having a dog-themed party,” she said. “They had a cake made in the shape of their dog’s head, and a separate cake for my son made in the shape of a dog’s bone with an icing bow on top. It was amazing for my child. It was amazing for me as a parent.”

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/05/24/dont.kill.birthday.guest/index.html?hpt=C2

Most of us eat multiple ingredients with every bite of food we take. So stomach cramps from eating spaghetti and meatballs could be the result of tomato allergy if you used tomato sauce, egg allergy or gluten intolerance from the pasta . . . even food poisoning. Not all reactions to food are allergic reactions. In addition, food allergy symptoms can start two minutes or two hours after you eat a certain food – making it difficult to pinpoint what caused the reaction.
Food allergy tests are important diagnostic tools but aren’t enough to close the case. If you test negative to a food allergen, that diagnosis sticks. But positive results are a different matter. According to Robert Wood, MD, in Food Allergies for Dummies®, “Up to 60 percent of all positive food skin tests turn out to be incorrect (false positive).” Why the confusion? Two possible reasons are

• Your immune system has a small amount of IgE antibodies – your defenders against invading allergens – to a food but not enough to cause an allergic reaction.
• You are allergic to a related food or environmental allergen (like pollen). This situation is called cross reactivity.
Blood tests can be thrown off by the same scenarios. Before you take platefuls of food off your menu – and miss out on meals packed with nutrients and health benefits – use a food diary to help confirm or rule out a food allergy.

Dear Diary
Just as food journals have helped dieters around the world cut calories and fat, a food diary can help you focus in on possible food allergies. Keep a small notebook handy in your purse, briefcase or backpack to make quick journal entries at each meal. Items to include:
• What you eat and drink
• Symptoms you think may be the result of a food allergy
• What you were doing at the time your symptoms started

Look Out Stomach, Here It Comes
To root out the cause of food allergies, you’ll need to transform yourself from casual diner to food detective. The suspect could be your breakfast cereal, steak dinner or even that pack of breath mints. If it goes in your mouth, it should go in your food diary! Include all the ingredients, how your food is cooked (such as grilled vs. fried in peanut oil) and the amount you consume.

Hidden ingredients like flavorings, dyes and preservatives can cause allergic reactions in some people. When food labels start to look like chemistry lists, it may be easier to just cut out and save the labels. Borrow a pocket folder from your child’s school supply stash to keep labels handy and in one spot.
Most restaurants are becoming quite food allergy aware these days. When dining out, look for places that offer ingredient lists and ask the restaurant manager for labels from packaged foods used in any of the dishes you’ve been served. It may be easier to dine-in or limit your diet to foods with few ingredients until you solve your food allergy mystery. And if you find that you haven’t had symptoms since you stopped eating at your favorite Italian restaurant . . . that tells you something!

If you’re eating with family or friends when symptoms strike, ask around – did anyone else eating the same food get sick? Think back to the time before you started having food issues. Had you been able to eat a suspect food without problems? How often did you eat it? Jot down notes to share with your doctor. It will help with your diagnosis.

Symptom Savvy
While you’re keeping track of what goes in your mouth, add suspected food allergy symptoms that come up. Allergic reactions can range from annoying to life-threatening – and move quickly from one to the other. So take note of any possible symptoms, including
• Tingling or itching in and around the mouth
• Swelling of the tongue and throat
• Flushing of the face or neck
• Rash
• Eczema (if symptoms get worse after eating)
• Hives and swelling
• Vomiting
• Abdominal cramps
• Diarrhea
• Wheezing
• Difficulty breathing
• Drop in blood pressure (feeling faint or weak)
• Loss of consciousness
Include when symptoms started and when you felt them go away, whether you were drinking alcohol when the symptoms occurred (which can increase your body’s absorption of a food allergen), whether you took any medications to treat symptoms and any other medications you were taking at the time. Get immediate medical help for severe symptoms.

Time Out on the Treadmill
Exercise can also be a factor in food allergies. AANMA President Nancy Sander recently sat next to a woman on a plane who had exercise-induced anaphylaxis to tomatoes – if she exercised too soon after eating anything with tomatoes, she experienced symptoms of anaphylaxis! If you think you’re having food allergy symptoms, include a note about what you were doing right before or during the time you had the reaction (like taking a walk outside or sweeping the floors).

Pinpointing Patterns
Over time (it could be days, weeks or longer), you and your doctor may start to see patterns between what you’re eating and allergy symptoms. Look for consistency: Do all milk products give you stomach cramps or do you feel ill only after drinking a glass of milk?
More than 90 percent of allergic reactions to food in the U.S. are due to 8 foods or food groups:
• Milk
• Eggs
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Soy
• Wheat

Manufacturers are now required to label allergens in these terms on food labels. You could also fall into the other 10 percent of cases ranging from avocados to yams. Your food diary can help you identify even the most unlikely of food allergy suspects.

From Diarrhea to Diagnosis
Food diaries, allergy tests, medical history . . . you and your medical care team have a range of clues to detect possible food allergies. Where do you start? In Food Allergies for Dummies, Dr. Wood suggests a visit to your general practitioner (GP) – family physician, internist or pediatrician – first. Your GP will perform a physical exam and take your medical history, which is the most important step in ruling out other causes of your symptoms. If food allergies are still a possibility, your GP can refer you to a board-certified allergist experienced in diagnosing and treating food allergies. If you have asthma or allergies, you are probably already working with an allergist, so check with your allergy team on how to proceed. In either case, your food diary will help you and your medical care team identify likely food allergy culprits and start you down the road to better health.

http://www.aanma.org/2009/02/a-food-diary-simple-and-effective/

Colds are caused by one of more than 200 viruses that get transmitted from person to person. Allergies, which are not contagious, are caused by allergens, such as pollen, that prompt the immune system to overreact.

In spring, high levels of tree and grass pollens cause sneezing and other cold-like symptoms for the estimated 60 million Americans with allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as hay fever.

There are a number of ways to distinguish between spring allergies and a cold, says the ACAAI. Colds generally evolve, starting with a stuffy nose, throat irritation and low-grade fever, followed by sneezing and a runny nose with thickening mucus that often turns yellow or green. Common allergy symptoms include sneezing, itchy eyes and nose, but the mucus is typically clear.

While colds usually last a week or two, allergy symptoms persist and can even get worse with continued exposure to the allergen causing your symptoms. Spring allergies can last six weeks or more.

Aches and fever most likely indicate a cold, while itchy eyes are strong evidence of allergies.

A sore throat and cough can occur with allergies, but most likely suggest a cold. Coughing is common in colds but can also be a sign of allergy-related asthma, especially in children. People with a persistent cough should see an allergist, the ACAAI advises.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/allergy-and-asthma/articles/2011/04/01/is-it-a-cold-or-an-allergy

“The chemicals in some of these products can trigger the nasal congestion, sneezing and the runny nose,” said Dr. Stanley Fineman, an allergist from Emory who helped gather data for the study. “With the asthmatics, there’s really good data showing their lung function changes when they’re exposed to these compounds.”

Many scented air freshener products contain harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, benzene and limonene, which are known to trigger asthma and other respiratory symptoms, as well as eye irritation, bone damage and leukemia. They also contain various other toxic ingredients like benzyl alcohol, camphor, dichlorobenzene, ethanol, naphthalene, phenol and pinene (http://mcs-america.org/airfresh.pdf).

Even some scented products labeled “natural” contain harmful ingredients like phthalates that can build up in the liver and fatty tissue over time. Phthalate exposure is linked to low sperm counts and reproductive damage. This is why it is always a good idea, even with “natural” products, to verify all ingredients with product manufacturers prior to purchasing them.

http://www.naturalnews.com/034181_air_fresheners_allergies.html

The aim of the study was to analyze both the risk factors associated with the onset of preschool wheeze, and the alleviating agents. “Recurrent wheeze is a very common clinical problem in preschool children and there is a need for better medical treatment and improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms,” explained Dr. Emma Goksor.

Data was gathered from 8176 randomly chosen families with new born babies. This represents 50% of the total number of births in the western part of Sweden. The parents were asked to answer questionnaires when their children were six months, 12 months and 4.5 years old. The initial questionnaires included answers on administration of broad spectrum antibiotics and pregnancy relevant factors, as well as the introduction of fish meat in the infant’s diet. The last questionnaire gathered data on current health, past diseases and feeding habits. The scientists examined children that, at the age of 4.5, had more than three episodes of wheezing during the last year.

The analysis of their answers revealed that a high fish intake during pregnancy, as well as an early introduction of fish into the child’s diet, significantly reduces the risk of wheezing and allergic reactions. The increased levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids taken from fish meals is reported to cut the chances of wheezing and allergy by as much half.

The most common types of fish in the children’s diets were: white fish (79%), salmon or game fish (17%), flat fish (3%) and herring/mackerel (1%). The present study does not formulate conclusions regarding the influence of each type of fish on breathing-related problems, however. “Other studies have reported that the protective effect of fish on wheeze might be independent of the type of fish ingested,” said the scientists. Feeding children fish also reduces the risks for eczema and allergic rhinitis.

Another key finding was that administering antibiotics during the first week of life doubles the chances of developing wheezing and other breathing problems by the age of 4.5. Administration of antibiotics this early in life is shown to alter the gut flora, impair the development of immunological tolerance and increase the risk of future allergic asthma. According to the science team, the study reveals a “more pronounced effect of neonatal antibiotic treatment in children with multiple-trigger wheeze, a phenotype more prone to develop allergic (‘true’) asthma”.

Maternal treatment with Paracetamol (acetaminophen) during pregnancy can also count as a risk factor in the development of preschool wheeze. The chances of developing other respiratory conditions are doubled for children with wheezing problems. Fish has been found to mitigate some of the risks in these situations as well.

http://www.naturalnews.com/034643_fish_infants_allergies.html

The UK’s Telegraph reports that three large studies — one out of King’s College in London, one from Cambridge University, and another from Duke University in North Carolina — challenge conventional wisdom on how children develop allergies. Avoiding high-allergy foods like peanuts, eggs, and strawberries during childhood appears to actually bring about food allergies, while consuming small amounts of these foods during early development could help prevent them.

“There is a possibility that we were achieving the reverse of our intentions through this avoidance policy,” said Professor Gideon Lack from King’s College to the journal Nature. Lack added that “wrap[ping] the infant up in a sort of immunological cocoon and not expos[ing] them to proteins that could launch allergic reactions” just might be a primary reason why some children develop allergies in the first place.

A previous study conducted by Lack seems to confirm this hypothesis, having shown that Jewish children living in the UK are about ten times more likely to develop a peanut allergy than Jewish children living in Israel. Israeli children, of course, eat and are exposed to far more peanut products than children in the UK, and yet their rate of peanut allergy is far lower

For their current analysis, researchers have been tracking 640 babies, half of whom were deemed to be prone to food allergies, to see how peanut exposure affects allergy development. Based on their previous research, they had already found that repeated exposure to small amounts of peanut flour among peanut-allergy children actually eliminated the allergy in most of them by the end of the trial period, while those not exposed tended to have their allergies exacerbated.

The same holds true for children who eat very narrow and picky diets. Constantly eating the same types of foods while avoiding others can promote allergies of the avoided foods. But when children eat a multitude of varied foods starting at a young age, they tend to develop a natural “immunity” against allergies.
http://www.naturalnews.com/034367_picky_eaters_children_allergies.html

“We think we’ve found a way to safely and rapidly turn off the allergic response to food allergies,” said Paul Bryce, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of allergy-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Bryce and Stephen Miller, PhD, professor of microbiology-immunology at Feinberg, are co-senior authors of a paper published in the Journal of Immunology.

It’s the first time this method for creating tolerance in the immune system has been used in allergic diseases. It has previously been used in autoimmune diseases.

The approach also has a second benefit. It creates a more normal, balanced immune system by increasing the number of regulatory T cells, immune cells important for recognising the peanut proteins as normal.

“T cells come in different ‘flavours’,” Bryce said. “This method turns off the dangerous Th2 T cell that causes the allergy and expands the good, calming regulatory T cells. We are supposed to be able to eat peanuts. We’ve restored this tolerance to the immune system.”
Peanut allergies often cause life-threatening allergic reactions, called anaphylaxis. Each year there are between 15,000 and 30,000 episodes of food-induced anaphylaxis and 100 to 200 related deaths in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. There is no safe treatment to protect people from a severe allergic reaction to food.

When an allergic person eats a peanut, the proteins are absorbed through the intestine and can activate a life-threatening, full-body immune response. This includes constriction of the airways, low blood pressure and/or shock and can lead to loss of consciousness and death.

Using a mouse model that mimics a life-threatening peanut allergy (which the Northwestern team developed several years ago), researchers attached peanut proteins onto white blood cells called leukocytes and infused those back into the mice. After two treatments, the mice were fed a peanut extract. They did not have the life-threatening allergic reaction because their immune system now recognised the protein as safe.

“Their immune system saw the peanut protein as perfectly normal because it was already presented on the white blood cells,” Bryce said. “Without the treatment, these animals would have gone into anaphylactic shock.”

Bryce thinks more than one protein can be attached to the surface of the cell and, thus, target multiple food allergies at one time.
In the second part of the study, Northwestern researchers used the same approach with an egg protein, which was to provoke an immune response – similar to an asthma attack – in the lungs. They attached the proteins to white blood cells and infused the cells back into the mice. When the mice inhaled the asthma-provoking egg protein, their lungs didn’t become inflamed.

“This is an exciting new way in which we can regulate specific allergic diseases and may eventually be used in a clinical setting for patients,” said Miller, the Judy Gugenheim Research Professor at Feinberg.

http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/news/tricking-immune-system-may-offer-cure-for-food-allergies/16748

“ I don’t feel like I ever got a break.”

A broad area of the country had a much warmer winter than usual,” says Kraig Jacobson, of Eugene, Ore., an allergist and a committee chairman of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, which oversees a network of pollen-counting stations across the U.S.

With trees blooming earlier and more pollen in the air, allergy sufferers are feeling earlier symptoms: nasal congestion, sneezing, eye itching and watering, says Atlanta allergist Stanley Fineman, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
“They have the reaction, then get re-exposed to it, and their body is primed, or ramped up, and they get an even more severe reaction to the pollen than usual.”

Is it really an allergy?

Over-the-counter antihistamines and eye drops can bring some relief, but both Jacobson and Fineman recommend seeing an allergy doctor to determine the exact cause of the problem. “First, we have to make sure it’s an allergy, and testing can uncover that,” says Fineman.

Only about 30 percent of adults have real allergies, Jacobson says. “One of the biggest myths I hear is that ‘everybody’ has allergies. At least as many people have other forms of rhinitis (inflamed nasal membranes) that are exacerbated by the pollen in the air or an irritant basis.” People who have allergy antibodies in reaction to pollen, odor or fume at a low level have true allergies, but “even people who are non-allergic can have symptoms when pollen levels get very high.”

Once it is known exactly what sets you off, the allergist can prescribe nasal sprays and other remedies like nasal sprays, over-the-counter antihistamines, eye drops or a nasal rinse system, such as a neti pot, that rinses inside the nose.

“People come in with runny noses, congestion, sneezing and frequently have tearing or itchy eyes,” says Fineman. “It can be very debilitating. People’s ability to function can be affected.”

If these treatments don’t help, the next step is immunotherapy. These are frequent injections that help patients build up a tolerance to their specific allergens and can help lessen the symptoms. The regimen can last up to five years.

Primack had injections every two weeks for five years, and says they were effective, but required a 30-minute wait in the doctor’s office, to ensure she didn’t have rare but severe reactions such as anaphylaxis, which can cause throat swelling, nausea, and dizziness.
She stopped the shots soon after her son, now 3, was born. Between the commute to her former allergist’s office and the wait time, Primack says it just wasn’t feasible.

But her allergies remain fierce. She takes over-the-counter Zyrtec year-round, and at night takes Benadryl, which makes her drowsy. But these aren’t enough this season. “I need to get a new local allergist” and begin shots again, she says.

Jackeline Stewart of Washington, D.C., co-founder of style website lookacute.com, has dealt with an extremely runny nose, and itchy and watery eyes since February. “Pollen, ragweed, the whole nine. It’s kind of embarrassing. You want to be in a professional setting, and I have to excuse myself to bathrooms to fix myself up.”

Stewart, 27, takes a daily antihistamine plus a prescription nasal spray. Her allergies have progressed to asthma, so she also uses two inhalers daily. While shots have been recommended, “I’m not a fan of needles,” she says.

As many as half of those with significant allergies may also have asthma, though high-pollen season may be the only time of year the asthma acts up, Jacobson says.

“My doctor told me to move, but how realistic is that?” Stewart says. But “I would like to be able to enjoy going out for a walk or sit in the park for lunch without worrying about sneezing or coughing or having an asthma attack.”

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20120412/LIFESTYLES03/204120304

Q: I’m tired of fighting my allergy symptoms. What do allergy shots do? How long would I have to get them?
A: Allergy shots, also called immunotherapy, are best for people with severe allergy symptoms or those that last more than three months every year. They can also help people who can’t take allergy medicines because of side effects or interactions with other medications. The shots work by slowly increasing the dose of the substances (or allergens, such as pollen and pet dander) that trigger your symptoms, ultimately lowering your sensitivity to them.
In the buildup phase, you’ll get the shots once or twice a week for several months. Some people start to feel relief within the first few weeks, while others have to wait several months. When you reach your maintenance dose, you’ll get a shot every two to four weeks for two to five years.
While the shots don’t “cure” allergies, they should reduce your symptoms noticeably. Most people eventually discontinue them completely (although if you move to a different area, you might need a new round of shots to protect you against specific pollens there).
In most cases, allergy shots don’t cause side effects, other than redness and slight swelling near the injection site. Each injection does pose a slight risk of allergic reaction, however, so you always need to get your shot at a doctor’s office and stay on-site for about 30 minutes afterward.

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/features/should-i-get-allergy-shots

In a study of the children of 18 farming mothers and 59 non-farming mothers, the researchers believe they have proved their hypothesis that a mother’s farm exposure affects her baby’s T regulatory cells. These cells, it is now believed, act to suppress immune responses and thereby maintain immune system homeostasis to contribute to healthy immune development.
“We found that the babies of mothers exposed to farms have more and better functioning regulatory T cells,” explained Bianca Schaub, M.D., who led the research team at University Children’s Hospital in Munich. “The effect was strongest among those mothers who entered barns or drank farm milk.”

Dr. Schaub and her researchers believe that the findings represent “a potential immunological explanation of the mechanism” that produces “the protective farm effect” on the development of childhood atopic diseases.

To conduct this study, the investigators assessed exposure through detailed questionnaires. They then recorded the number of regulatory T cells (CD4+CD25+ high, Foxp3+) and their associated genes (Foxp3/LAG3) after stimulating cord blood mononuclear cells with microbial stimuli and allergens. Expression of the regulatory T cells and associated genes were significantly higher in the blood drawn from the umbilical cord of babies whose moms spent time on a farm.

According to Dr. Schaub, the findings support the “paradigm shift” from attributing allergic diseases solely to an impaired balance between anti-allergic Th1 cells and pro-allergic Th2 cells. “It may be possible that T regulatory cells are capable of preventing an allergic response at an early time point by suppressing Th2 cells.”

“It is a long way off,” she concluded, “but these findings may one day hopefully help researchers to develop an effective preventive strategy, perhaps even a vaccine, against allergic diseases.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080520090438.htm