April 7th is the start of World Allergy Week for 2014. This annual initiative was created by the World Allergy Organization (WAO) along with it’s members to bring about more awareness of allergic disease and related disorders. The goal behind World Allergy Week is to get people talking about allergies, recognize they are a real disease and get better training programs in place. The training that is needed goes beyond just learning how to inject an Epi Pen. Society as a whole needs to see that allergic disease is on the rise and should be treated almost like a social disease, meaning it can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
The World Allergy Organization website is a great resource for ways to get involved on a global scale and I urge you to check it out. Closer to home we have Anaphylaxis Canada and they have joined with WAO to promote World Allergy Week and it’s theme “Anaphylaxis – When Allergies Can Be Severe and Fatal“. This hardcore title may seem a bit extreme, but that is exactly what we are dealing with when it comes to an anaphylactic reaction. The worst part is that anaphylaxis is prevalent in children and teens, yet schools are still not completely safe places for these kids to be. For example, even though one or two classrooms may have a ban on a particular food ( for example peanuts or strawberries) the rest of the school does not. A child who is allergic could leave their “safe” classroom and go into the unsafe library, gym, or music room for class and be completely exposed to their allergy.
The purpose of World Allergy Week has many layers, but I feel one of the most important is awareness. Please do your part to keep those with allergic disease safe and check out the World Allergy Organization or Anaphylaxis Canada for more information. Thank you.
Do you know anyone with allergic disease?
FT&PD
Suz
I’m so glad our boys are allergy free, well apart from some seasonal spring allergies we are good anyway. they are so scary!
The seasonal stuff is bad enough Jennifer. I hope they don’t get hit too hard this spring..
I’m glad allergy awareness is out there and becoming more known!!! I actually saw a commercial on tv this afternoon about epi pens……I was truly impressed!! “Blue to the sky, orange in the thigh!”. I will always remember that now! (hopefully never have to use it on anyone!!)
Thanks for your knowledge on this topic Suzanne!! Keep up the great work!!
Isn’t that commercial the best Brenda? I love that they are putting it out there on mainstream TV now. Thank you for your support 🙂
Yes, there are many children at my kids’ school with peanut allergies. This is a very important issue and a big concern. Thank you for talking about this.
Thank you Jenna 🙂
I just checked out their websites! Important information that everyone should know.
Thanks for taking the time MJ, I appreciate it 🙂
Fortunately no one in my family has severe allergies. I can’t imagine the fear a parent lives in, not being able to control the environment their child with severe allergies faces in their schools. Thank you for bringing attention to this crisis.
Thanks for your understanding Kelley 🙂
You are doing a great job Suzanne of bringing Allergies to everyone’s attention, keep up the good work. I have seen the ad on T.V. re Epic Pens and it is such a good idea to have a child doing it.
Thanks Mom <3
Glad that you are helping to bring allergy awareness. I suffer from chronic allergies. Just would like to be medicine free one day!
Thank you Darlene 🙂 A cure would be amazing, wouldn’t it?
I have 3 close friends with anaphylactic allergies (one to peanutes and one to almonds and one to tree nuts) I have allergies myself to certain foods, but they are not anaphylactic
Aren’t those crazy odds Ashley? Three friends with anaphylaxis is just nuts ( pardon the pun). It just shows you how high the percentage is of people getting them really is..
So far our kiddos are both allergy free. Unfortunately, I on the other hand have seasonal allergies and they started for me a few years ago. I was shocked to know I could just get them all of a sudden. Thanks so much for sharing!
LaQuita, it is very surprising but many people devolve allergies later in life. You just never know anymore…
We loved our peanut butter until our oldest developed an allergy. She now has an epi pen with her at all times. We’ve switched to soy nut butter instead 🙂
Mary I can’t tell you how much I miss peanut butter, LOL… We have not tried the sun or wow butter yet. I want to wait until my son is a bit older so he can easily see there is a difference between them.
Iam so thankful for this!!! I have a huge peanut allergy!
It is nice to see the world taking notice of these things Amy. Good luck to you and God bless!
We should take serious steps to improve our immune system and everyone should be aware of this !!
I agree!