It will happen. We are all human and forget even the most important things in life. So,  what happens when you find yourself at a party without your Epipen?  The answer …How far are you from home, or where you left your Epipen?

What is an EpiPen?

If you are close to home, just head back and get it…It is that serious, of course unless you do not plan to eat anything at the party. You are never 100% safe at a party thrown by someone else..and this is why-If that person has no knowledge of your allergy for one will probably cook foods you may be allergic to, or use ingredients that contain the allergens, or may have prepared your food in the same containers and surfaces with your allergens.  Only  you  or someone else in your shoes  can be that cautious.

If your Dr prescribed an Epipen, then this means  you have a life threatening allergy, and even the most careful folks sometime end up with exposure. For some  exposure is by accident, for others is  not  knowing, and for a few is plain ignorance. There are some people who would feed their children a certain food, only to give them an Epipen. I mean, this should never ever be done and this is why – Your child could die. You may not get that Epipen on time, the severity of allergies may change and with you playing Dr daily, you may be making it worse. Would you be able to live with yourself, knowing you could have avoided this? Seriously, an Epipen should only be used for emergencies. Feed your children the safest foods for them, not what you feel bad they can’t have.

If you have travelled  out of state and realized you did not carry your Epipen, look for a pharmacy in the area and  have them transfer your Epipen  prescription from your local pharmacy and refill it  for you. If you are out of refills, call your Dr and give them the location of that pharmacy and they will call in a prescription for you.

My son has an Epipen, we get the twin pack, so I always have one in my purse and his dad has one in his diaper dude bag . Every time we go out with him, no matter how rushed we feel, we will always have his Epipen with us.

Epipens do save lives.

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Julian has the egg allergy, so what we have been doing in the past is just make sure he is taking enough Vitamin D supplements…They have always worked. He has never had the Flu. Last year his Allergist wanted him to get the Flu shot, so this year we had him get it too because of the baby.

I took him this morning to get his flu shot, and they let us go home after the shot, unlike last year they watched him for half an hour. On my way home, i have to admit i was scared. I kept on checking on him on the back to make sure he won’t have any reactions. He looked a little tired and felt weak, but didn’t have any reactions. He takes Zyrtec  (antihistamine) once a day before bed, for environmental allergies, so i made sure he took some last night, and  i do believe that helped. 

On our drive home, we were at the stop light, i turned around and he had layed his head on the side of car seat. I almost pulled over. I called him and he answered in a drowsy tone, i just drove to the MCDonald’s parking lot. I checked  him, talked to him, he said  he was fine but of course as a mom you know you are almost going mental. So I bought him some nuggets and fries.. on our way home he was chewing on the fries, so at least that calmed me a bit. He was eating, so that was a good sign.

Leaving with allergies, everyday is another story.

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When you have an allergic kid, you are always on your toes. I found out Julian had an allergic reaction to something. I went home his dad had given him Benadryl. The swelling had gone down, the mystery still remains. What did he react to, no one knows.  His dad said they were out today, and bees were buzzing around, but he doesn’t believe he was stung, but we can’t rule that out either. Everything he ate at home was completely safe, and it is foods he has been having daily.   I watched him for about half an hour to see if he would get worse, but whatever it was Benadryl was sufficient and i did not have to use his Epipen or take him in to the Dr..Thank God!

He looked a little tired and of course drowsy then from the medicine.

He woke up this morning looking fine. I have been asking him what he ate yesterday and typical 3 yr old, has no clue.  So am left to think, he may have picked something outside and ate it, or i don’t know. It does bother me when i don’t know. So far, i am going to feed him everything he ate yesterday and watch him.

The allergy mystery will continue.

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By Dr. Sanjay Gupta
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent

It started as a cough. It wasn’t the kind of cough where something is temporarily stuck in your throat. It wasn’t the kind of cough where simply clearing your throat would’ve been adequate. This was the kind of cough that hurts when you do it. A stinging pain that makes you wince and guard and hope that you don’t have to cough again any time soon. I thought I might have a fever, but of course, I was in the middle of covering a war in Afghanistan, and the conditions were… well, hot. So, maybe it was that. Problem was, the next day I wasn’t feeling any better – in fact, I was worse. I woke up in my dusty desert tent and tried to step out of my sleeping bag. Two steps later, I almost hit the deck. Incoming. Except this wasn’t due to any sirens going off, this was due to my own body simply being unable to hold myself up. I was lightheaded and freezing cold – even though it was over 100 degrees outside at that early hour of the morning.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who contracted H1N1 in Afghanistan, receives treatment.

I was nauseated and my entire body hurt. I tried to explain away my symptoms with lots of different excuses. You don’t sleep much while covering a war. My bulletproof jacket didn’t fit perfectly and was very heavy. There was a lot of dust and dirt, and maybe I had what the Marines referred to as the Kandahar Krud. It turned out to be none of those things.

I remember looking over at my camera man, Scottie McWhinnie. He looked absolutely awful. He was wearing a scarf on his head, and it was completely drenched in sweat. He was coughing so loudly and frequently that I was really starting to worry about him – and about myself. We each had it, whatever “it” was. I made a command decision. As a physician reporter in a war zone, I was going to get us medical care. That prompted our visit to a battlefield hospital, not as reporters this time, but as patients.

It is worth pointing out the irony of a medical reporter getting influenza type A, which was then ultimately confirmed as H1N1. (The term swine flu is a misnomer, as this strain is made up of several different components, including swine, but also avian parts.) It really didn’t matter if I got tested, as my doctor told me. It was the only flu strain circulating and I had it, and so did Scottie. We both had high fevers, the lack of appetite, terrible sinus congestion, body aches, and yes – that hacking, come out of the blue.

I am not someone who gets sick, really ever. And this was the sickest I have ever been. I would’ve much preferred my own bed with all the comforts of home – including a wife who would’ve taken great pity on me and allowed me lots of rest and relaxation. Still, I am here to blog about it, after taking the requisite few days to stay at home and not spread my gift from Afghanistan to all my colleagues at work. In case you are curious, there wasn’t much the doctors could really do for me. Some Tylenol and a sinus decongestant (the same my wife would’ve given me). We also got IV fluids, given our inability to keep anything down. Within a couple days, I felt a lot better, and a few days after that – I was back to normal. It was a lot like… the flu – with a different name. A lot of people will get the exact symptoms I described above, and for most people, it will simply mean a few miserable days, hopefully spent in your home – and not in a war zone.

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If you have severe egg allergy then you cannot get the flu vaccine….why? 

All flu  vaccines are made by growing the flu  virus particles in chicken eggs before treating them in a way to kill (inactivate) or weaken the viruses. The flu  shots contain tiny amounts of  the egg protein, and how much is contained in every shot, depends on what brand of the vaccine you get.  There is always some amount of egg left in the shot, so people with anaphylactic (severe) allergic response to egg should never be given the flu shot.

What does  an anaphylactic reaction look like?  Your entire  body gets covered in hives, there is a drop in blood pressure, your throat may start closing out on you due to blockage of the airways.

I know it is the flu season, and also there being the swine flu it is good for you to know this.  My son has an egg allergy and chances are the little one has it too. I will take my oldest to his allergist and they will administer the flu shot there, only because last year he was able to get it without any reactions, plus we will be in the right hands, should he react to this specific brand.

This is what the Dr typically looks for, if you have had foods containing egg and have done ok i.e without any severe reactions, chances are they will go ahead and give you the flu shot.

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 There is a mom that wrote to me actually, saying that she had to quit her job to stay home with her baby due to food allergies.  She is just an example of what many families are going through when dealing with kids with extreme food allergies. If your child is getting many exposures at daycare you may have to make some adjustments, or major decisions like to work or not to , for your child’s  safety comes first.

Julian was at Spectrum Station daycare ( Kansas City) .. What i liked about this daycare is that their facility was  peanut  free .  They provided weekly menus of what they would be serving  kids for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack. If there was a change during the week, they would tell us the day before, so we can plan ahead. 

They served foods and snacks containing milk and eggs at times, but there were some meals that did not contain that which  Julian could eat. This is what we did to survive daycare…

1. I would leave 1/2 gallon  of silk soy vanilla milk for him in his class refrigerator, marked his name on the box, every week.
2. I left a box of his cereal there  as well
3. I left a box of fruit snacks there, then  everyday i would check what snack was to be served , and i would bring in substitutes.  Like when they had animal crackers, i would take his animal crackers that are milk free, same thing with pretzells etc
4. Lunch – I knew what he could have, so when they had things that he couldn’t i would just bring in his own lunch. When they had sandwiches i would bring in the bread, and they would just use the lunch meat. 
5. Talked to his teachers . We discussed what he could or could not have and sometimes they would call me if they had questions, they knew what to do if he was to get exposure.

This is what the Daycare did

1. The class had a list of all the kids and their allergies hanging by their door, so everyone coming in and going out of that class could see.
2. They always had reminders in their monthly newsletters that their facility was peanut free, and  reminded parents not to bring that in to school.
3. Most of the meals they provided came with a side dish either fruits or vegetables and it was things that Julian could have, so i only had to bring the main dish.
4. The teachers would provide daily progress cards, and they would put a note for us to bring in anything that Julian was running out of.
5. As a courtesy,  they would let me know when someone would bring a birthday cake, so i could make something for Julian.  ***** If you are a parent reading this, please let the teacher know if you plan on bringing a cake for your child to school, and have the teacher tell  all the parents in your child’s class… there is NOTHING as horrible as when all the 7 kids in class are sitting , eating, and enjoying that piece of chocolate cake and a little Julian or Mary is just sitting at the end of that table , just sit  there watching and getting told he/she can’t have a piece! It is heartbreaking. All the child is thinking about at that point is,  i am not getting this as i may  be in trouble,  that you all do not like them and that is why you won’t share. They are too young to understand they  can get sick from eating foods ***** When this does happen, your child getting left out from the party,  every mom that goes through this cries! It sucks! So please let people  know ahead.
6. Provide a First aid kit to store any antihistamines and agree to administer them when needed.

All in all, How a daycare handles your child’s food allergies determines whether you would continue leaving your child there or not.  You may still be able to work full time and have your child cared for by someone else, you just have to work very closely with them. Find out ahead of time what they will be serving, if you have questions ask.. If your child goes to an inhome daycare, same thing applies.  I would rather provide all my child’s meals rather than having to worry sick of what may happen  to them when i leave.

Know who else will be  taking care of your child in an inhome daycare. There are times the primary sitter may have to run an errand  in the middle of the day and leaves the children with someone else.  What you want to make sure is this person is not a minor and if it is an adult, they are also aware of your child’s allergies.

Depending with your situatioin, you may have to switch daycares before you can find one that works for both you and your child, or you may choose to just stay at home with your child. You do whatever it takes to protect your child.

Food Allergies are real and can be deadly, so take care of yourself and your family!

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Ranked ninth in 2008, St. Louis went to the top of this year’s list due to a number of factors, including a higher than average pollen score, continued poor air quality, and a lack of 100 percent smoke-free laws, the foundation said.

City rankings are based on analysis of 12 factors in three areas: prevalence factors (illness and mortality statistics); risk factors (such as air quality, pollen, 100 percent smoke-free laws, and poverty); and medical factors (medication usage and access to specialists).

The other top asthma capitals for 2009 are: Milwaukee, Wisc.; Birmingham, Ala.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Charlotte, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Knoxville, Tenn.; McAllen, Texas; Atlanta; and Little Rock, Ark.

The annual report is meant to call attention to the asthma epidemic in the United States and to encourage cities to improve the quality of life for residents with asthma.

Asthma, which affects more than 20 million children and adults in the United States, is one of the most common and costly diseases in the country, according to a foundation news release. Since every city has a variety of risk factors, people with asthma need to have a good asthma management plan no matter where they live.

– Robert Preidt

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Summer is now over,  we have started Julian now on his asthma control medicine, Flovent. We  give him  2x a day, morning and night. He was diagnosed with asthma his first year. When we do get to the cold season,  i cringe.. winter for us is hard on Julian. Last year was a good year for us. I could count the number of times we had to use the rescue medication, Albuterol due to an attack.

We follow the asthma action plans to the T, and that has really helped Julian. He has been on the green zone most of the year. This week i have heard him sneeze and have that dry cough in the middle of the night. I know the weather is changing.  Normally when he coughs a lot at night we would put a humidifier in his room  and if that doesn’t help we give him his albuterol.

When he catches a cold, or some type of bug, that compromises his immune system and we put him on the yellow zone right away. We give him 4 puffs of his Flovent 2x a day for 2 weeks, then give him his albuterol for wheezing or coughing as needed every 4 hours. This usually takes care of it. We sometimes give him the nebulizer treatments with Albuterol or Xopenix solution in if it is really bad. He is at the age where he can sit and we just put that mask around him. His dad actually prefers the nebulizer treatments  for the night time treatment. He props pillows for him and puts him to his bed, he usually falls asleep with it on, and of course by then it is done.

During the first 2 years he was constanly on the red zone. He was on that orapred/prednisone so often. He had so many health issues then. If he was not at the Dr for one thing  it was  another. When We started seeing only one allergist  that really helped.  Our allergist got us into an active action plan, and it has been  over a year now since he last had orapred. It used to make him look so puffy on the face. Also it made him want to eat all the time.

As our allergist would say…Keep up with the control medicine, Flovent religiously, so when you do get sick, it won’t hit you that bad as you would have already had the medicine in your system.  If you just use it when you are sick, you are not getting all the benefits of that medication. Flovent is not a rescue medication.
Stay healthy!

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