In the world of allergies, there are a few common culprits to which many sufferers can relate. But what of those whose allergies fall ouside of the mainstream – for example, allergic to…meat?

 Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board found an interesting study by our friends at ABC News Health. Please click: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesFood/meat-allergies-12-unusual-allergic-reactions-revealed/story?id=9975777

Getting Rid of an Epinephrine Auto Injector

If you or someone you love has a life threatening allergy (anaphylaxis), chances are you have at least one EpiPen on hand at all times, many stored at home, and perhaps even a few at facilities or schools you may frequent regularly. An EpiPen is an auto injector (spring activated needle) which expels epinephrine (adrenaline), and should be handled with care.

How to use, care for and store an EpiPen may be common knowledge among those who require one, however, disposing of EpiPens can prove taxing, and potentially nerve-wracking. With a needle many inches long chocked full of a foreign agent, many anaphylactics have a small collection of expired or faulty EpiPens sitting in their homes, without a clear idea as to where or how to correctly dispose of them. Here are some of your options – and preparations you should make – when it comes time to dispose of an EpiPen.

If possible, return your EpiPen to the plastic case it came in and screw the large green lid on as tightly as possible. If your EpiPen has been used, carefully avoid the exposed needle at the head of the injector while placing it back inside the plastic case. You may want to do this over a napkin or paper towel in case any solution left in the injector drips out of the syringe.

Call the following professionals to confirm that they will assist you in properly disposing of your EpiPen. Health care professionals vary greatly in their services, so take the time to pick up the phone before assuming any of the following will relieve you of your epinephrine injector:

Your pharmacist disposes of their own stock of expired EpiPens and will often take yours as well. They also know their customers, (perhaps they even filled the prescription in the first place) and will not be suspect of you when you walk in with a tube full of adrenaline. Bonus for you: You can get a new EpiPen prescription filled at the same time to replace the one you’re throwing away and save yourself a trip.

Your doctor’s office will have a ’sharps’ disposal, and will sometimes take auto-injectors as well.

The local hospital, the emergency room or allergy clinic in your local hospital may all accept an EpiPen for disposal as they themselves will be disposing of their own used sharps and needles daily.

Medical Labs, especially those where blood work and needles are a staple will sometimes take EpiPens for disposal.

Always ask if the facility charges a fee for disposing of your EpiPen. Many do. Often, it’s well worth the extra couple of minutes it takes to call the next professional on the list to get the service for free.

If all else fails, you can dispose of your EpiPen in your household garbage. Especially in cases where the EpiPen has been used, use extreme care and ensure that the injector is completely secure in its plastic case. Place the EpiPen directly into a garbage can that cannot under any circumstances be accessed by a child.

Executive Director Mireille Schwartz was recently interviewed by Los Angeles Magazine.

LA Magazine: Why is this the year of Allergy Intelligence?

Mireille Schwartz: An empowered, educated food allergic individual is his/her own best defense. New, emerging strategies and prophylactic medication allow each person to manage their own health better and work with their Immunologist to create Action Plans they can each live with.

LA Mag: Why are we hearing that folks can indulge in mini-amounts of, say, peanut butter and build up a tolerance to cure themselves of allergic reactions?

MS: Patently untrue. There are studies in controlled environments – medical facilities – wherein test subjects can ingest miniscule amounts of a protein allergen and MAYBE increase their tolerance over time. These medical experiments are not designed to “cure” food allergy, rather the goal is to manage a severe anaphylaxis (life-threatening allergic reaction) by reducing the number of histamines released in an allergic crisis. I’m hearing good things about these studies, and time will tell how effective they are. For the time being my best personal advice is to strictly avoid food-allergens and hope that the body either outgrows the allergy or settles down and the allergic reaction becomes less severe. Always carry your Epi Pen and antihistamine, and practice with friends & family until you know how to utilize these life-saving tools.

LA Mag: Do you personally live with food allergy?

MS: I do and I don’t! (Laughs) I used to have a family member with severe food allergy to Peanuts and Tree Nuts, but with several years of strict management and avoidance our issue has settled down and gone away. The way my Board and I function is to design individualized strategies for food allergic Bay Area youths – what works for one person may not work for another. But we stick with it and customize comprehensive action plans for each and every child until we find a way that works for not only the youth but also for the entire family.

LA Mag: Do you feel compelled to provide this service or is it a labor of love?

MS: It’s what I was put on this earth to do. I can’t differentiate, but I know what you’re asking. And the answer is: both. Any one family I can help is reason enough to do what I do. 

Executive Director Mireille Schwartz and Boardmember Damion Matthews

We want to direct your attention to this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle that gives some very useful advice for how to travel safely when you or a loved one has a food allergy.

The article reviews Selectwisely.com, which helps liberate travelers who have food allergies and other health concerns.

Our appreciation goes out to the Chronicle for recognizing the importance of food allergies, and sharing this useful resource.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/24/TRVR18P0HC.DTL&type=travel

This is an amazing opportunity to help build awareness and fund research to improve the health of millions of people affected by food allergies. FAAN is a national nonprofit whose mission is to raise public awareness, to provide advocacy and education, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis.

Approximately 12 million people, or 4% of the U.S. population, suffer from food allergy! Over 380,000 California children under the age of 18 years cope with food allergies daily. One in every 25 kids in a school can have a potentially fatal reaction to a food allergen.

One of FAAN’s main fundraising efforts is the Walk for Food Allergy, a family-friendly event that brings the community together in support of FAAN and its efforts against food allergies. In 2008, 25 sponsors and over 600 walkers in San Francisco helped earn over $110,000 for FAAN. Way to go, San Francisco!

With the support of hundreds of sponsors and over 15,000 walkers, FAAN raised $2.3 million from all 26 Walk for Food Allergy events held across the country in 2008. In the sixth year, the demand for FAAN Walks has increased to 36 cities across the nation. On Saturday, September 12, 2009, San Francisco will host its third Walk for Food Allergy in Golden Gate Park.

Mireille’s Honorary Co-Chair, Country Music star Trace Adkins, understands the serious dangers of food allergies from his experience in managing his daughter Brianna’s severe allergies to multiple foods, including to peanuts, milk, and eggs. He continues to help FAAN as the national spokesperson and to serve as the National Honorary Walk Chair for the 2009 Walks.

In 2008, Trace appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice” in an effort to raise awareness of food allergies and support FAAN. “I’m so pleased to be able to lend my name as the National Honorary Chair,” says Trace.

Please visit foodallergy.org for more information about this important organization and the September 2009 event.

A delicious selection of “Let Them Eat Cake” goodies.

For a truly allergy-conscious catering of delicious treats at your next Bay Area event, we recommend the

good folks at Let Them Eat Cake! They call themselves “The Allergy-Friendly Patisserie,” specializing in egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free, vegan deserts, and they’re just great!

Amanda Macdessi, executive pastry chef for Let Them Eat Cake!, provided all of the allergy-safe items at a recent high-profile event that the Juicy Couture store in Union Square hosted for the San Francisco Zoo’s annual fundraiser, ZooFest for Kids.

BAAAB’s Mireille Schwartz, who helped organize the event at Juicy Couture, brought Let Them Eat Cake! into it and was so happy to create an allergy-safe environment for all of the guests.

Contact Information: Let Them Eat Cake! [T: 408-716-8582]

Many people may be affected by it and not even know the cause. But now scientists have discovered both the cause and the treatments.

• Article: “Oral Allergy Syndrome May Explain Mysterious Reactions” [cnn.com]

Treatment for Peanut Allergies Shows Promise
By TARA PARKER-POPE
New York Times
Published: March 16, 2009

Children receiving daily doses of peanuts under medical supervision were able to build a tolerance.

A medically supervised daily dose of peanuts may help children with peanut allergies greatly increase their tolerance to the food, according to two new studies that raise the possibility of a cure for this potentially life-threatening condition.

The findings, presented on Sunday at a meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Washington, suggest that a treatment for peanut allergy may be developed in two or three years, said Dr. Wesley Burks, the chief of the division of pediatric allergy and immunology at Duke University Medical Center, who helped conduct the research.

An estimated 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies, including about 2.2 million children. About 3.3 million people are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts. While drugs can be used to treat an allergic reaction, there are no approved treatments for food allergies.

Because even a minor exposure can set off a reaction, many people at risk strictly avoid foods that contain an allergen or were prepared in places where nuts or other allergens might have been used.

Nearly half of the 150 deaths attributed to food allergies each year in the United States are caused by peanut allergies, according to Duke University.

The new treatment uses doses of peanuts that start as small as one-thousandth of a peanut and eventually increase to about 15 peanuts a day. In a pilot study at Duke University and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, 33 children with documented peanut allergy have received the daily therapy, which is given as a powder sprinkled on food. Most of the children are tolerating the therapy without developing allergic reactions, and five stopped the treatment after two and a half years because they could now tolerate peanuts in their regular diet. But four children dropped out because they could not tolerate the treatment.

In a related study of just 18 children, the researchers gave the treatment to 12 children and a placebo powder to 6. After 10 months, the children were given a medically supervised test exposing them to peanuts. In the placebo group, the children developed symptoms after ingesting the equivalent of one and a half peanuts. In the treatment group, the children tolerated 15 peanuts without symptoms.

Far more study is needed before the treatment can be used outside of a research setting, Dr. Burks said. The Duke/Arkansas study plans to enroll at least 80 children in the next few years to compare the treatment to the placebo.

Researchers in Britain have reported similar results in small studies in which children were given daily peanut doses to build their tolerance. The Consortium of Food Allergy Research, which includes five major research centers in the United States and is financed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is conducting similar treatment studies for both egg and peanut allergies.

Dr. Burks pointed out that the children in the studies were under a high level of medical supervision, and that parents should not try the approach on their own. “These studies do give us hope that there will be a treatment in the next two or three years,” he said. “It’s not something to do in practice or at home yet.”

It is truly an honor that the launch party for the Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board was featured in the “Outtakes” section of the March 2009 issue of “San Francisco” magazine, published by Modern Luxury.

The magazine selected a photo of BAAAB founder Mireille Schwartz blowing out the candles on a birthday cake that friend, and BAAAB supporter, Monica Maduro presented at the Epi Party in January.

The magazine’s Laura Rose writes “For most parents with a child that has a life-threatening food allergy, just making sure their child is safe every day is more than enough to worry about. But Mireille Schwarz isn’t like most parents; she understands that all children are ‘our’ children.”

Our thanks goes to Change Starts at Home for helping us spread the word about the BAAAB, and the need to get EpiPens in the hands of families in need.