cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
Food for Thought: What Hurricane Sandy Can Teach Us about Food Allergy Preparedness - Centers for Disease Control
Elizabeth O’Connell knows that only way to prevent a food-allergy reaction is to avoid the problem food. For her that means having to interpret precautionary language, like “may contain,” and double check ingredients labels in a race to keep up with her teenage son.
Elizabeth’s now teenage son has had a severe food allergy for as long as anyone can remember. A food allergy occurs when a person’s immune system wrongly reacts to certain foods as if they are harmful to the body.
The symptoms and severity of an allergic reaction differ for every person, and can change for a person over time. The most severe type of reaction is an anaphylactic reaction. Anaphylaxis is a sudden and severe allergic reaction that may cause death.
Elizabeth’s son is at risk to have anaphylaxis reaction any time he eats peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and sesame. Milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts account for 90 percent of serious allergic reactions in the United States.
That anaphylaxis can happen within minutes of an exposure is a frightening reality, but after years of taking every precaution, Elizabeth was confident in her preparations. That was until Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Elizabeth O’Connell knows that only way to prevent a food-allergy reaction is to avoid the problem food. For her that means having to interpret precautionary language, like “may contain,” and double check ingredients labels in a race to keep up with her teenage son.
Elizabeth’s now teenage son has had a severe food allergy for as long as anyone can remember. A food allergy occurs when a person’s immune system wrongly reacts to certain foods as if they are harmful to the body.
The symptoms and severity of an allergic reaction differ for every person, and can change for a person over time. The most severe type of reaction is an anaphylactic reaction. Anaphylaxis is a sudden and severe allergic reaction that may cause death.
Elizabeth’s son is at risk to have anaphylaxis reaction any time he eats peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and sesame. Milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts account for 90 percent of serious allergic reactions in the United States.
That anaphylaxis can happen within minutes of an exposure is a frightening reality, but after years of taking every precaution, Elizabeth was confident in her preparations. That was until Hurricane Sandy in 2012.