Taking a Look at Food Allergies

While researching the topic of food allergy protections in schools and its effects on unaffected families, I found a large amount of information on food allergies and what we should do but very little on the effects on others. I began my research by looking for the scholarly articles that detailed the medical professions suggested handling of food allergies in a school setting. I discovered an article published in the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal titled Clinical Report- Management of Food Allergy in the School Setting by Dr. Scott M. Sicherer. In this paper he highlights both what the treatment and prevention should be for adolescent children in just about every environment including school. The article starts off with giving us a baseline for food allergies and the dangers. He notes that 1 in 25 people suffer from food allergies and the most at risk group is preschool age

The increased prevalence of food allergies in school children, the rapid onset of symptoms and potentially fatal nature of anaphylaxis, combined with the high risk of accidental exposure warrants significant action.

Contact with certain fields can be fatal for some children with allergies. This means that great care has to be taken and I system must be designed to vent children from coming into contact with their allergen (for example nuts or dairy products). Where the allergy is severe, this may affect the food that can be prepared and eating in the setting as some children can have a reaction just from being near other children who are eating food containing and allergen.

I also have to vigilantly read food labels. Reading food labels is not always as easy as it seems. Sesame seeds are not considered by the Food and Drug Administration as a major allergen, so I have to read through all the ingredients. Ingredient lists today are long, printed in small type, and filled with words Merriam-Webster probably has never heard of. So I have to pay close attention and make sure “sesame” does not get overlooked. This has transformed me into becoming a more detail-oriented person because if I miss one ingredient, it could be a life-threatening mistake.

It is common in the United States for people to have food allergies and it is increasing. The body's negative reaction to a specific food protein is what is known to be a food allergy. The most common food allergies are milk and dairy products, egg and egg products, fish and shellfish, wheat, soy and soy products, and peanuts and tree nuts (Servsafe). Different food allergies develop in people at different times in their lives depending on the allergy and the person themselves. Fish and shellfish food allergies tend to not develop until adulthood. With fish approximately forty percent of people who were in a study on food allergies said that they did not have their first fish allergic reaction until they were an adult. With shellfish, about sixty percent of people had their first reaction when they were adults. Everyone to some extent is allergic to a type of food, but fish and shellfish food allergies are two of the most common and can possibly be the most dangerous out of all the food allergies. To help people with a shellfish and fish allergy to stay safe and healthy the rest of this essay will be focused on: basic information of fish and shellfish allergies, common symptoms of the allergies, what is anaphylaxis and how to treat it, and how to

In 2009, a trial was conducted involving pediatric patients with multiple food allergies. These patients were treated for up to five allergies at a time.

“The peanut is responsible for allergic reactions in both children and adults. Over the last several decades the incidence of peanut allergy in children has dramatically increased. Now, about 1% of children in the United States have peanut allergy. Peanut allergy is probably the most common cause of death from food anaphylaxis in the United States. Peanut allergy, unlike other food allergies, is rarely outgrown, with only about 20% of patients losing their sensitivity over time. Once a diagnosis has been made, peanuts should be treated with strict avoidance” (Lieberman & Anderson, 2007, pg

800 Word Essay Food, health and medical technologies have a large impact on individuals and communities today and in the future. Throughout this paper, discussion will involve the issues that society faces regarding food and health and how we can create a healthier and safer world for our future. The food industry has a large impact on individuals and will affect wider communities in the future. The rush of today’s society has pushed food production to become more commercialized with prepackaged/premade based foods. For numerous reasons such as time, work and costs of living, people are wanting meals that are cheap, fast, easy and don’t require much effort.

Ever felt powerless at the entrance of a grocery store when you realize you don't know what you can eat. After several bouts of "food Russian Roulette" you or a family member have been diagnosed with food allergies. You find food you previously purchased on a regular basis for years is now making you or your family member ill and you feel worse when it is your child. You are now becoming an avid somewhat obsessive label reader. Processed and canned foods are contaminated with allergens. The fruit and vegetables are laced with soy wax and so now the conundrum.

Food allergies, a potentially life threatening condition that may be covered by the ADA, are a serious issue for college age students. At home, they can easily avoid their allergens. When dining out for the majority of their meals, as most college age students do, it can be difficult to avoid those allergens. The objectives of this study is to determine if there are published procedures and policies for food allergies in colleges, to evaluate practices for accommodations, and to determine if variations exist in the accommodations of students between private and public colleges. Methods used were mixed in dual-phase design. Quantitative studies (surveys, questionnaires, etc) were used to create tools necessary for the qualitative phase (interviews).

Severe food allergies can cause life threatening anaphylactic responses, which are becoming more prevalent within the United States. There has been at least an 18% increase in food allergies among children in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An increase in genetic variation cannot explain the increasing prevalence of food allergies, which leads to inquiries on whether environmental factors such as antibiotics, diet, vaccines and sanitation practices alter the composition of commensal microbiota, causing allergen sensitization. Twenty years ago, the “Hygiene Hypothesis” spread light on the adverse effects that have occurred due to the effort to reduce the population's exposure to infectious diseases.

Most people are not aware of how bad food allergies are or how they affect you if you do not have someone you love with them or you do not have them yourself. This is a battle faced everyday in life with all different kinds of foods. These children feel as if they are not “normal” because they do not get to eat what other children eat and really enjoy, such as peanut butter. It is a tough lifestyle for the parents and children having to search and make sure that nothing will make their child have a reaction. Even sending your child to school is a battle because you never know what child or teacher might offer your kid something that he or she is allergic to.

Symptoms of a food allergies can often include wheezing and difficulty in breathing, along with itchy skin rashes, including hives, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain and swelling around the mouth and in the throat (common with nut allergies). These symptoms usually develop fairly quickly after a child ingests the food that they are allergic to,

A few years ago I developed a tree nut allergy. I made my Dad a cake for Father's Day using almond extract, it did not end well. It seems as though overnight I had become allergic to most things in my everyday diet. I was now part of the 1 in 13 children in the Unites States has a food allergy (foodallergy.org). That's nearly two in every classroom. Why? What had I done wrong? What we do know is that the way we produce our food has drastically changed. That question is: How exactly are all of these new "inventions" in our food effecting us?

Do you remember your days of trying to fit into the typical student stereotype during school just to be accepted by your classmates? Now imagine yourself with a life-threatening condition that must be treated immediately and left untreated could lead to death within a matter of minutes. Children with food allergies are constantly at risk for a life-threatening reaction. “Food allergies are caused by abnormal immunological responses to a food, whereas food intolerances have a non-immunological basis” (Begen). Food allergies and intolerances are classified as a food hypersensitivity where “individuals who suffer reproducible, objective symptoms whenever they eat a particular food” (Begen). The symptoms of food allergies and intolerances differ by their severity. Food allergy symptoms include: anaphylaxis, digestive problems, hives, rashes, and swollen airways to the point of not being able to breathe. Food intolerance symptoms are generally delayed, in comparison to food allergies, and include the following: diarrhea, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, cramping and pain in the abdomen. Food allergies can affect a person’s everyday life, more than you can think. Besides the physical aspect, there is a social aspect to having a food allergy. It can affect a person through having to eat different foods, sit at a different table, or being excluded from an event due to the severity of their allergy. This can be very detrimental towards school aged children through the social aspect of