Allergies come in all shapes and sizes ...
Just like allergy sufferers. And they are on the rise. For many people allergies can range from sniffling and sneezing to skin rashes to gastrointestinal issues. A certain percentage, however, have more than these uncomfortable symptoms to deal with. Anaphylaxis, a serious life-threatening reaction, causes approximately 1,500 deaths a year in the United States alone. Clearly, allergies are nothing to sneeze at!
Articles for Advocacy
Having a food allergy means that you’re constantly monitoring not just what you eat but other ways you might come into contact with your allergen. Food preparation, cross contamination, and for people with an egg allergy that includes the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine does contain a small egg protein, so what does that mean if you're allergic to eggs? Is the vaccine safe for you?
Flu Vaccine for People with Egg Allergy
Summary:
CDC and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices have not changed their recommendations regarding egg allergy and receipt of influenza (flu) vaccines. The recommendations remain the same as those recommended for the 2018-2019 season. Based on those recommendations, people with egg allergies no longer need to be observed for an allergic reaction for 30 minutes after receiving a flu vaccine. People with a history of egg allergy of any severity should receive any licensed, recommended, and age-appropriate influenza vaccine. Those who have a history of severe allergic reaction to egg (i.e., any symptom other than hives) should be vaccinated in an inpatient or outpatient medical setting (including but not necessarily limited to hospitals, clinics, health departments, and physician offices), under the supervision of a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic conditions.
If you have a food allergy, how do you handle it? For some it requires developing strategies to avoid potentially life threatening allergens. By working with an allergist, an oral immunotherapy plan (OIT) should be developed. What is an OIT? Does it work for my allergy? Am I a good candidate for OIT? The answer to these and other questions can be found in a Q&A with Douglas H. Jones, MD, cofounder of Global Food Therapy, co-founder and president of Food Allergy Support Team and director of Rocky Mountain Allergy at Tanner Clinic.
Q&A: Which Patients with Food Allergy Are Candidates for Oral Immunotherapy?
By Richard Gawel
By Douglas H. Jones, MD
September 09, 2021
Patients with food allergies can avoid items that may be dangerous — or they can work with an allergist to develop an oral immunotherapy plan that would enable them to safely consume and enjoy previously dangerous foods.
Douglas H. Jones, MD, cofounder of Global Food Therapy, cofounder and president of Food Allergy Support Team and director of Rocky Mountain Allergy at Tanner Clinic, discussed factors to consider when determining if a patient with food allergies is a candidate for oral immunotherapy (OIT) during a presentation at Allergy & Asthma Network’s Global Food Allergy Summit. Healio spoke with Jones to find out more.
Having a life threatening allergy is scary. That was the advertising approach taken in 2016 by Epi-Pen maker Mylan with their “Face Your Risk” awareness campaign. ARS Pharma is taking a different approach with their epinephrine nasal spray, going for a friendly approach and the first step in that is naming of the spray, Neffy.
Meet Neffy, the Friendly Epinephrine Nasal Spray from ARS Pharma Awaiting FDA Approval
by Beth Snyder Bulik
Sep 3, 2021
Friendly epinephrine? Meet Neffy, ARS Pharmaceuticals’ nasal spray epinephrine to treat severe allergic reactions to food, medicines and insect bites.
Neffy, now awaiting FDA approval, aims to flip the script on past epinephrine autoinjector marketing that focused on fear around the severe reactions called anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is indeed scary—hives, extreme swelling, breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness and even death can happen quickly.
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