Walk For Our Future! :)

A few food allergy statistics from FAAN:

 Though reasons for this are poorly understood, the prevalence of food allergies and associated
anaphylaxis appears to be on the rise.
 Peanut allergy doubled in children over a five-year period (1997-2002).
 Research suggests that food-related anaphylaxis might be underdiagnosed.
 An increasing number of school students have diagnosed life-threatening allergies.
 More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25, or 4% of the population.
 The incidence of food allergy is highest in young children – one in 17 among those under age 3.
 About 3 million children in the U.S. have food allergies.
 The CDC reported that food allergies result in over 300,000 ambulatory-care visits a year among children.
 Eight foods account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g.,
walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.
 There is no cure for food allergies. Strict avoidance of food allergens and early recognition and
management of allergic reactions to food are important measures to prevent serious health consequences.
 Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction.
 Most people who’ve had an allergic reaction to something they ate thought that it was safe.
 Food allergies are life-altering for everyone involved and require constant vigilance.
 Early administration of epinephrine (adrenaline) is crucial to successfully treating anaphylactic reactions.

These are my three girls, each with her own special set of food allergies. FAAN will be hosting their annual walk for food allergies in Portland Oregon this year on August 28th and I am so excited! I have lived in Oregon for 8 years and have never been to Portland. I've heard they have many allergy friendly restaraunts there. I'm still trying to figure out the logistics of how to do this, since Portland is 3 hours away and my group has now grown to 8 people, but somehow I'm going to make it happen. If you live near Portland and are interested in joining the walk, please visit their website at http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/TR/2010Walk/2010Walks?fr_id=1700&pg=entry. If you live anywhere else in the US and want to find the walk nearest to you the complete list can be found here http://www.foodallergywalk.org/site/PageServer?pagename=2010Walks. I hope to post more about this and about my groups name when I get a little more organized.