Brett Nasuti, the 12-year-old Children’s patient who last year became the first person in the country to take part in a milk allergy desensitization study, is featured in a Boston Globe article today about the rise in food allergies – and why doctors and researchers are so flummoxed by it.
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From the category archives:
Food allergies
Related posts:
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 3: Brett Nasuti takes his very first sip of milk.
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 4: Food shopping with the Nasutis
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 5: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai discusses his passion for food-allergy awareness
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 6: At school with Brett Nasuti
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 7: Cooking at home with the Nasutis
For kids with severe nut allergies, peanuts can be deadly.
We all know that children can be notoriously picky when it comes to food, but for kids with severe food allergies an extremely limited diet can be a life saver. Current data shows that close to 7 percent of all kids in the United States have food allergies, well over double the number reported a decade ago. This upward trend was reported in several new studies which show food allergies, especially to peanut and tree nuts are still on the rise among kids. Yet despite the wealth of information proving the increase in these cases, researches can’t seem to figure out why the numbers are growing.
“I think it’s a big puzzle that we still don’t fully understand,” says Dale Umetsu, MD, PhD, of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Allergy Program and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. “Clearly there are changes in our environment that are causing this increase but we don’t know which ones; it could be a slew of different factors.”
Related posts:
- Health headlines: Peanut allergies, obesity rehab and diabetes
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 5: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai discusses his passion for food-allergy awareness
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 6: At school with Brett Nasuti
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 7: Cooking at home with the Nasutis
- Boston Globe Magazine: Raising kids with allergies
A recent study by Children’s Hospital Boston found that children who suffer from severe food allergies should carry two EpiPens, because the dosage found in one may not be enough.
Susan Rudders, MD, of Children’s Division of Allergy and Immunology was first author on the study, which found that 12 percent of 1,200 children monitored who suffered anaphylactic shock as a result of a food allergy needed a second dose from an EpiPen to fully recover from their reaction.
Based on the findings, Rudders suggests that parents who keep EpiPens on hand for their food allergenic kids carry a second dose with them in case it’s needed during a severe reaction.
The study, done in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital, was published in the latest issue of Pediatrics. It was reported on by Booster Shots–the Los Angeles Times blog, The Boston Globe and WebMD health news.
Related posts:
- Study: Flu shots safe for most egg allergic kids
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 5: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai discusses his passion for food-allergy awareness
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 7: Cooking at home with the Nasutis
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 1: Meet Brett, whose severe allergy to milk may be cured
- This week on Thrive: Sept. 21-27
A recent study published in Pediatrics shows that when given in small, graded doses, flu vaccines made from chicken embryos are safe for most children with egg allergies. The study also found that skin test done prior to vaccination, which in the past have been used to test a egg allergenic child’s potential for reaction, are unnecessary–saving time and money for both patients and vaccine providers. Erica Chung, MD, a Children’s hospital staffer and co-author of the study recently took time to explain her findings for Thrive.
From the 1918 “Spanish flu,” to the 1957 “Asian flu,” and more recently, the “swine flu,” the influenza virus continues to emerge as a major public health concern. But with the development of medical advancements like the influenza vaccine program, we have seen a drop in the number of hospitalization and clinic visits during influenza season. Because the vaccine is developed in chicken embryos, however, there is some hesitancy about vaccinating egg-allergic children, despite the vaccine’s many benefits. [click to continue…]
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- Kids' swine flu shots recalled; lost some of their potency
- Live virus vaccine vs. killed virus vaccine: What's the difference?
- Should my child get the swine flu (H1N1) shot?
- A study reignites the question: Do current levels of BPA exposure represent a true health hazard to children?
Claire McCarthy, MD, is a primary care physician and the medical director of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Martha Eliot Health Center. Take a look at her blog archive.
What a whirlwind of a year. Since launching this blog in July, we’ve had more than 230,000 visitors, many of whom have left thought-provoking comments on our posts.
We’ve enjoyed bringing you personal stories and expert insight about current pediatric health topics, and we hope you continue reading us in 2010.
What were our readers most interested in this year? Our most widely read stories range from a video series about defeating a milk allergy to a news report about the discredited Baby Einstein videos. Did you miss any of our most popular posts? We revisit them below. [click to continue…]
Related posts:
Jennifer LeBovidge, PhD, a psychologist from Children’s Allergy and Immunology Program, was quoted this weekend in a Boston Globe Magazine article about the challenges of parenting a child with significant food allergies.
Although only about 4 percent of Americans are affected by food allergies, they seem more prevalent today than ever. We recently finished an eight-part milk allergy series where we followed Brett Nasuti, a Children’s patient who last summer became the first person ever to go through a milk exposure desensitization trial. Check out the first video in the series.
Related posts:
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 1: Meet Brett, whose severe allergy to milk may be cured
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 7: Cooking at home with the Nasutis
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 2: Dr. Schneider explains the bold, new idea.
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 6: At school with Brett Nasuti
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 3: Brett Nasuti takes his very first sip of milk.
Brett Nasuti is Children’s first patient to go through a new trial that could cure him of his severe food allergy. In this final video on our series, Brett finds out if he passes the final milk challenge in the study—which culminates in him drinking a full 8-ounce glass of milk—and if he’s cured. If he passes the challenge, there’s an enormous pizza party in store for him.
Click here to read our story about Brett, Children’s milk allergy trial and experts’ latest thinking about food allergies. [click to continue…]
Related posts:
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 1: Meet Brett, whose severe allergy to milk may be cured
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 3: Brett Nasuti takes his very first sip of milk.
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 5: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai discusses his passion for food-allergy awareness
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 7: Cooking at home with the Nasutis
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 6: At school with Brett Nasuti
Robyn Nasuti shares her tips on keeping her kitchen safe–no small feat, given that two out of her three children have severe food allergies. She also shows how she’s simplified home-made pizza night at her house.
Other videos and posts in the series
In last week’s video, we followed Brett Nasuti at school, where he runs Allergy Awareness Week to raise money for research. Brett is Children’s first patient to go through a new trial that could cure him of his severe food allergies. Hear what he and his classmates have to say.
Celebrity chef Ming Tsai, chef-owner of Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts, is passionate about improving restaurant systems so people with food allergies can eat out safely. The father of a son who has had multiple severe food allergies, Tsai talks about what he’s learned as both a chef and a parent here. [click to continue…]
Related posts:
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 4: Food shopping with the Nasutis
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 6: At school with Brett Nasuti
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 5: Celebrity chef Ming Tsai discusses his passion for food-allergy awareness
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 3: Brett Nasuti takes his very first sip of milk.
- A cure for milk allergies? Part 1: Meet Brett, whose severe allergy to milk may be cured
