Questions And Answers About Allergies And Your Child

The authors provide authoritative, practical answers to your questions about childhood asthma, treatment options, post-treatment quality of life, coping strategies for both patient and caregiver, and sources of support.

Manage your food allergies with this easy-to-follow question-and-answer guide. Posing the questions that anyone with food allergies will think to ask—and then some—Food Allergies provides practical, emotional, and scientific guidance on the topics that affect your life. Allergy expert Scott H. Sicherer addresses the full spectrum of food allergies, from mild to life threatening, from single foods to food families, clearing up misconceptions along the way. He explains how exposure to foods can bring about an allergic response, describes the symptoms of food allergy, and illuminates how food allergies develop. He also recommends tests for diagnosing both food allergies and chronic health problems caused by food allergies—such as eczema, hives, and respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. Food Allergies thoroughly explains how to prevent exposure to a known allergen at home, at school, in restaurants, and elsewhere and what to do if exposure occurs, including how to handle an anaphylactic emergency. Dr. Sicherer also reviews food reactions that are not allergic (such as lactose intolerance), advises how to get adequate nutrition when you must avoid dietary staples, and discusses whether allergies ever go away (they do—and then sometimes they return).

The number of children with allergies is astounding-nearly one child in six is said to suffer from some sort of allergy. The problems of these allergic children can be as mild as occasional attacks of hay fever or as severe as disfiguring eczema and life-threatening bronchial asthma. In addition to the obvious health problems associated with having allergies, affected children may experience recurring colds, painful ear infections, and other allergy linked conditions, all of which cause frequent school absences. Childhood allergies affect school performance adversely; they may be instrumental in reducing attention span, and they are certainly a major social, psychologi cal, and financial burden for children and their parents. This book is a complete guide to childhood allergies presented in simple jargon-free language. It provides parents with comprehensive, up-to-date, and practical information and advice on how to help their allergic children. It identifies the many allergic symptoms, tells what they look like, how prevalent they are, what causes them, and what to do about them. It outlines steps parents can take to help their children understand, manage, and control their allergies. Its goal is to help parents and children cope effectively with a major childhood problem.

For children with food allergies, eating—one of the basic functions of life—can be a nightmare. Children who suffer or become dangerously ill after eating peanuts, seafood, milk, eggs, wheat, or a host of other foods require constant vigilance from caring, concerned parents, teachers, and friends. In this empathetic and comprehensive guide, Dr. Scott H. Sicherer, a specialist in pediatric food allergies, gives parents the information they need to manage their children’s health and quality of life. He describes why children develop food allergy, the symptoms of food allergy (affecting the skin, the gastrointestinal tract, and the respiratory system), and the role of food allergy in behavioral problems and developmental disabilities. Parents will learn how to recognize emergency situations, how to get the most out of a visit with an allergist, what allergy test results mean, and how to protect their children—at home, at school, at summer camp, and in restaurants. Informative, compassionate, and practical, this guide will be indispensable for parents, physicians, school nurses, teachers, and everyone else who cares for children with food allergies.

Empower Yourself! If you are among the 58 percent of Americans who suffer from allergies, or have a friend or relative who does, this book offers help. 100 Questions & Answers About Allergies gives you authoritative, practical answers to the most common questions asked by patients and family members about these common illnesses. This easy-to-read book is a comprehensive guide to understanding symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, over-the-counter therapy, sources of support, and much more. Including actual patient commentary, this text is an invaluable resource for anyone coping with the physical and emotional turmoil caused by allergies.

A revised and updated version of the definitive peanut allergy book. Since the publication of The Peanut Allergy Answer Book in May 2001, there has been much additional research published in the field of peanut allergy and anaphylaxis in medical literature. This research includes new diagnostic tests, new vaccines and therapies, and new information on the history of peanut allergy. In addition, there has also been a great increase in public awareness of the societal impact of peanut allergy, such as in schools and other child-care facilities, in restaurants, and in the food and restaurant industry. This attention has led to the publication of guidelines for schools in the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis, to legislation such as the Food Allergen Labeling Consumer Protection Act of 2006, and proposed legislation for restaurant guidelines for food-allergic consumers. The incidence of peanut allergy has doubled in the past five years and continues to increase so the impact of this medical problem, particularly in young children, is enormous. The Peanut Allergy Answer Book, 2nd Edition,. contains 50% of new and revised material, including a new foreword and introduction, as well as new chapters such as, "Why has peanut allergy increased so much in the past 5-10 years?"; "What is the difference between being peanut-sensitive and peanut-allergic?"; "What is the Hygiene Hypothesis?"; and "Can skin contact cause an anaphylactic reaction?"