Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Information – Online TV and Podcast Blog

This is sad, but true, Anaphylaxis is becoming more widespread. This is taken from Yahoo news todayhttp://au.news.yahoo.com/071012/2/14nrc.html

This comes on the back of a fantastic TV show concerning anaphylaxis, aired here in Australia this week on the SBS show called Insight. I’m looking at getting the tape of it, and will post more details once I get the show.

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The number of Australians hospitalised for severe life-threatening allergic reactions has more than doubled in the past 15 years, a new report shows.

A major review of hospital figures has found a massive increase in anaphylactic attacks, with reactions triggered by food causing the biggest jump.

The rise was felt by people of all ages, but young children, particularly boys, were hardest hit, according to the study by the Australian Centre for Asthma Monitoring published in the international Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Researchers studied hospital admissions and deaths in Australia from 1993 to 2005 to work out trends in anaphylaxis, a severe reaction which causes parts of the body to shut down.

They also looked at rates of hives and angioedema, the allergic swelling of the face, lips and tongue.

Results showed that, as in the UK and US, admissions increased in all three conditions and especially for food-related anaphylaxis in children under five, said co-author Professor Guy Marks said.

“There was a continuous increase in the rate of hospital admissions for each of these conditions, but the nature and (cause) differed between adults and children,” Prof Marks said.

Hospitalisations attributed to anaphylaxis more than doubled over the study period.

There was also an increase in admissions attributed to angioedema among older people, which may be related to adverse reactions to medications, he said.

Among children, admissions for allergic conditions were more common in boys than girls but among adults the gender difference was reversed.

The authors could draw no direct conclusions about underlying reasons for increased rates of hospital admission for these conditions.

The increase may reflect an increase in the incidence or an increase in their severity, or a combination of these, Prof Marks said.

Bill from the USA asked me this question yesterday of which I have no answer for him.

Would someone from the US care to comment on this, just add a comment below.

As a BLS, first aid instructor, I still get mixed messages regarding Florida’s good samaritan law and the ability for rescuers to administer an epi pen autoinjector to a suspected anaphylaxis patient who is unconscious. Can you give me any info.?

Thanks
Aaron

Here is a great post by Shinga over at the blog Breat Spa for Kids. Read it first.

http://breathspakids.blogspot.com

Then read this other post that has information about the physcological aspect of it.

http://allergyasthma.wordpress.com

It summarises what I feel is a growing issue of anaphylactic school bullying with the parents of the bullies actually encouraging the behaviour inadvertantly through there own actions and thoughts.

With more and more kids falling under the allergic banner at schools than in past years and with bans on foods that are put in place by the schools, it’s only fair to say that non allergy parents negative attitudes towards allergic children will be passed down to their children which are then in direct contact with our food allergic children.

There is some good in this world, but there is also the bad, and it only takes one bad to ruin a whole lot of good, with the worst end result being fatal.

This happened to my son in pre-school of all places. You’d think the kids being that young aren’t capable. Don’t be fooled.

I think every day, “I hope my son doesn’t get food bullied today”.

Aaron