Being safe on Valentine's Day with Food Allergies...Share the love

Valentine's Day often revolves around food--perhaps a dinner date at a nice restaurant or a box of chocolates for a loved one. If you or a loved one has life-threatening food allergies, were you prepared to celebrate? Preventing anaphylaxis requires the skill to ask questions about ingredients and the confidence to say, "No, thank you" to any food with unknown ingredients.

Like most holidays, Valentine's Day is challenging for people with food allergies because of the emphasis placed on food. Many people don't realize that food allergy reactions are serious and potentially life-threatening. Avoiding the food allergen is the only way to prevent anaphylaxis symptoms. It's not always possible to avoid food allergens at all times-accidents do occur. Therefore, it's necessary for people with food allergies to be prepared and carry two epinephrine auto-injectors everywhere, every day.

ACE Teams are comprised of allergists, school nurses, nurses, physician assistants, parents and others who deliver FREE evidence-based presentations to educate people how to recognize and respond to an anaphylactic emergency. ACE Teams deliver trainings to school staff, PTAs, school boards, daycare providers, hospitals, parent support groups, EMT/rescue squads and others who need or want to be prepared in the event of a life-threatening anaphylactic emergency. The program was developed by Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) in partnership with the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) and sponsored by Mylan Specialty, LP.

Visit www.aanma.org/AnaphylaxisCommunityExperts to find out about this award-winning program.

Call me at 704-817-2022 if your community organization or school is interested in this program.