World Allergy Week starts tomorrow. I thought for the letter F for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge I would focus on Food Allergies.
World Allergy Week is an annual event initiated by the World Allergy Organisation (WAO). It’s aim is to raise awareness of allergic disease and related disorders, which are rising in prevalence around the world. The theme for this year is “The Global Problem of Food Allergy“.
WAO is hosting a World Allergy Week Webinar on 12 April 2019 – Food Allergy: A Global Problem that Does Not Go Away. They have a number of speakers talking about topics such as Quality of Life with Food Allergy, Food Allergy Preventation and Treatement and Unment Needs in Food Allergy. For more details and to register.
What is Food Allergy?
According to the World Allergy Week 2019 Information Sheet:
” Food allergy is an allergic emergency that typically occurs within the first few minutes to two hours and can produce the sudden onset of itching, hives (urticaria), swelling of the face, tongue or back of the throat that may be accompanied by difficulty breathing and/or light headedness and hypotension.”
World Allergy Organization, 2019 Written by: Dalia El-Ghoneimy, MD; Lamia Dahdah, MD; Cesar Galván, MD; Sakura Sato, MD
Food Allergies are common and the prevalence and severity of them has been increasing. Common food allergies include peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, milk, egg, wheat, soy and seeds.
Allergic Reactions
Our family has food intolerances and it’s okay if my husband or son have a little bit of the foods they are intolerant to. However, I’m very aware that those with food allergies have to be very careful about what they eat and that even a trace amount can produce an anaphylactic reaction in some people. This is one reason I’m passionate about how food is prepared and served at catered events.
My son has had some symptoms of allergies to food and other environmental factors on occasions. His reactions have included hives and redness around the lips. This mostly occurred after discovering his food intolerances, cutting out the foods and then when he had some of these foods again. He seems to have out grown his food intolerances to a certain extent. His main reaction would now be headaches or feeling unwell if he has too much of certain foods.
AIFA and World Allergy Week
AIFA (Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australasia) support World Allergy Week. They are encouraging people to wear a spot of red to raise awareness and fund research into allergy. There are also a number of educational fun activity sheets that you can download and use with young children.
Have you had experiences with food allergies and if so how have you managed them?
Thank you for bringing awareness to food allergies and World Allergy Week. We have dear friends whose kids’ lives are touched by food allergies and we have learned a lot from them.
– heworeflannel.com, blogging a to z april challenge