Did you know that The American Academy of Pediatrics advises women to avoid consuming peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding in order to reduce the risk of their children developing a life-threatening peanut allergy? What a joke! Did you actually believe that by consuming peanuts you are increasing the chances of your baby developing peanut allergies? There is no supporting evidence available, that means that the message was not communicated correctly. If you have no history of peanut allergies, then eating peanuts during pregnancy isn’t a harm but a good source of folate and protein. This message should be considered by individuals with a history of allergies in the family. You should not consume peanuts or peanut products during pregnancy or while breast feeding if you have a history of allergies. Whether you consume the peanuts or not, if allergies run in the family (especially eczema and asthma) your baby has a higher chance of developing peanut allergy. This message was communicated in response to accidental deaths of newborns of mothers who weren’t aware of their history of allergies in the family. During pregnancy and while breast feeding the best thing to do is to stick to the elimination diet to avoid consumption of harmful allergens. Once the baby is born you can take her to get tested and make decisions based on the results.
Is Consumption of Peanuts During Pregnancy Safe?
September 4th, 2009Children with Milk Allergy May be Able to Safely Drink Milk
August 25th, 2009Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s conducted a study on 18 children with severe milk allergy and concluded that they are capable of consuming milk and dairy products after being exposed to the allergen. The study begun in 2008 and lasted 17 months. A group of children that had severe milk allergy were exposed to the allergen and continued the exposure till the immune system was able to accept it. Another proof that exposure to the allergen builds tolerance! Don’t run home now and attempt this with your allergic child. Keep in mind that this experiment was conducted under specialist’s supervision and exposure was scheduled and carefully administered. This is exactly how I built Dylan’s tolerance to most of his allergens (except shell fish and dogs), by exposing him to small amounts of the allergen till he was able to tolerate bigger amounts. The most important part of the treatment is to continue the exposure to the allergen, that way tolerance is maintained.
iEatOut Gluten and Allergen Free Application for iPhone/iTouch
August 24th, 2009The Apple application store has once again proven to not just dispense mind-numbing games, but to help the masses. Based on the award-winning “Let’s Eat Out!” book series, the iEatOut Gluten & Allergen Free™ iPhone™/iPod® touch has 86 menu options and also teaches about the food preparation techniques restaurants typically practice. Launched earlier this month the application contains information compiled during a six year research and is well endorsed by the celiac/coeliac food allergy association. This is an ideal solution for allergy sufferers who are on the go and have little time to search for restaurants that are allergy free.
Allergic Reaction to Caesar Dressing
August 7th, 2009A beautiful day at the beach turned into my worst nightmare. Just when I thought that I had Dylan’s allergy under control the entire world came down this past Sunday. Almost every weekend I take Dylan to South Beach (South Pointe Park) – a family oriented part in South Beach. It has been a fun place to go especially by the park since it’s recently built and has an area with sprinkles for the kids. It was the most beautiful morning, with clear blue skies and a few waves to catch. Dylan was playing on the shore with my dad for over an hour, while I snuck out to catch some waves on my boogie board. Later I joined my parents and Dylan for some sand digging madness.
Breathing Exercises for Managing Asthma
July 19th, 2009Breathing exercises help build up chest muscles that weakened during asthma attacks. Do the breathing exercises help get rid of asthma? At some point they can, but in Dylan’s case it was a bit more complicated. The only thing he managed through the breathing exercises is to relax and diminish the severity of asthma attacks. What really worked in the long run was changing his diet and the HEPA air filter in his room. Asthmatic kids and adults usually use the upper chest to breathe. The breathing exercise helps build both upper and lower chest muscles. Once the muscles become strong enough it will facilitate breathing when the air passages are constricted. I noticed after practicing a few years ago when Dylan still had asthma attacks, the severity of the attacks diminished after two months of practice. It took a while to teach Dylan the technique. From experience I learned that the best time to start a routine was right before bed time. I would read a few books and then sit him in bed and begin the breathing exercises for a few minutes. The steps for proper breathing exercises can be learned from this video. I would love to hear some feedback if you tried this before.