Food Allergie Awareness Week

[Guest guest]

As at least 1 in 20 kids under the age of 3 have food allergies, I

thought I'd pass this on - I know I'm not the only one affected by food

allergies. This is Food Allergy Awareness Week - and FAAN, the Food

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network is offering information and materials

to help educate people. While I do have issues with this organization

for minimizing allergies other than the " Big eight " - this is still too

prime an opportunity to pass up.

 

Someone on another list I'm on stated this during a discussion about

educating others about our food restrictions:

" Educating yourself, challenging as it can be, is the easy part.

Educating those others without enough innate curiosity to pick

up a non-fiction book on a different subject once a month, or

even a fictional work for that matter, let alone a dictionary

-- well, that is dang near impossible. "

 

No one on this list fits THAT description! LOL! We all read plenty -

so I thought it worth it to forward this - so that even if you

yourselves do not have food allergies, you'll be more informed about

how to help your friends who do. : )

 

http://www.foodallergy.org/about.html

 

FOOD ALLERGY BASICS

* Food allergy is a growing food safety concern in the U.S. Physicians

are reporting an

increase in the number of food-allergic patients in the country.

 

* More than 11 million Americans suffer from food allergy, with 6.5

million allergic to

fish and shellfish alone. Millions more are affected by allergy to

insect sting, latex,

exercise, medication, and idiopathic reactions (no cause identified).

All of these

individuals are at risk for anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening

allergic reaction.

 

* Food allergy reactions result in over 30,000 emergency room

admissions each year.

 

* It is estimated that between 150 and 200 people die annually from

anaphylaxis to food;

many of these are adolescents and young adults.

 

* 2 million school-aged children have food allergy.

 

* At least 1 in every 20 children under the age of 3 has food allergies.

 

* Teens and young adults with food allergy and asthma appear to be at

increased risk for

severe or fatal allergic reactions.

 

* The majority of patients donèt have written plans from their doctor

for preventing and

treating reactions.

 

* Eight foods account for 90% of all reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs,

peanuts, tree nuts

(walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, etc.), wheat, soy,

fish, and shellfish.

 

* Trace amounts of the food allergen can cause a reaction. Patients

should be on guard for

hidden ingredients (such as milk or peanuts) in unsuspected places such

as candy, baked

goods, trail mixes, sauces, desserts, and gravy.

 

* There is no cure for food allergy. Strict avoidance of the

allergy-causing food is the only

way to prevent a reaction.

 

* Most individuals who have had a reaction ate a food they thought was

safe.

 

* Studies have shown that early administration of epinephrine

(adrenaline), available by

prescription as EpiPen³, is key to a patientès survival of anaphylaxis

shock.

 

These statistics involve estimates for the U.S. only.

 

Advocacy: Contacting your State or Federal Legislators

1) Why should I contact my state/federal legislators?

There are two primary reasons to contact your state or federal

legislators: 1) to

urge them to introduce legislation (a bill) that will improve the lives

of those

affected by food allergy; or 2) to ask that they support an existing

piece of

legislation pertaining to food allergy

..

2) How can I effectively get my point across?

a) Choose a method of correspondence with which you feel most

comfortable.

Telephone calls, faxes, e-mails, and personal visits are the quickest

way to

contact your lawmakers. Writing a personal, informal letter is also an

effective

means of correspondence, especially when written on plain stationery or

on

oneès personal letterhead; however, due to current security issues,

written letters

may take weeks to arrive at their destination. If your correspondence

is of a

time-sensitive nature, you may be better off NOT sending written

letters, but

choosing a faster method such as fax or email instead.

 

b) Identify yourself as being a constituent of the legislator. For

example, you could

say or write something such as, ôMy name is _____, and _____ is my local

senatorõ or ôI live in Virginia, and am represented in the U.S. House of

Representatives by _____.õ

 

c) Indicate both at the beginning and end of your correspondence the

precise action

you would like your legislator to take (introduce a bill, or support an

existing bill).

If your request concerns an existing bill, be sure to clearly identify

the bill number

(A303, HB279, or S66, for example); the name of the bill, if applicable

(i.e., The

Food Allergen Labeling Consumer Protection Act); and the sponsor(s) of

the bill

(i.e., Representative _____, Senator _____, or Assemblywoman _____).

 

d) Always maintain a polite tone, and be sure to thank your legislator

(or your

legislatorès staffer) for his or her time.

 

e) Remember that legislators have a very demanding schedule. As a

result, they

will appreciate it if your correspondence is brief and to the point.

 

f) Relate the experience(s) you have had living with your own food

allergy, or

helping a food allergic friend or family member manage the condition.

 

g) Along with your personal account, it is helpful to provide

statistics. Feel free to

incorporate into your correspondence some of the facts and figures

about food

allergy found on the ôFood Allergy Basicsõ sheet.

 

h) Indicate that you plan to follow-up at a later date in order to see

if any progress

has been made. Provide the legislator with your contact information.

 

3) How can I obtain contact information for my state/federal

legislators?

a) To find your state lawmakers:

- Visit your state website at www.state.(your stateès postal

abbreviation).us

For example, the website for Virginia would be www.state.va.us because

the postal abbreviation for Virginia is VA. From this site, you should

be able to locate the website for your state legislature, where you can

find

out which lawmakers (Senator, Representative, Assemblywoman, etc.)

represent your particular town or district.

b) To find your federal lawmakers (U.S. Senators and Representatives):

- Visit the United States House and Senate websites:

http://www.house.gov

http://www.senate.gov