just because my life would be that much easier (and my daughter that much safer) if everyone understood the issues, if you have a moment, please read this.
Re:Just Curious...
jdavidb on 2002-05-30T20:37:30
Enzyme Potentiated Desensitization (EPD) originated in the UK, I believe, was shown to be effective. Unfortunately for USAians, the FDA cut off such treatment in the US for the time being last year.
I used EPD for five years for my non-life-threatening allergies and was quite pleased with the results.
Re:Just Curious...
chaoticset on 2002-05-31T02:57:23
I read a few descriptions about peanut allergy; perhaps combining avoidance with any desensitization therapy that becomes available will provide a little extra comfort.Re:Just Curious...
jdavidb on 2002-05-31T13:26:36
Avoidance is still recommended. People who use EPD for peanut allergy are usually doing so to make it more likely they will survive if they accidentally ingest a microscopic amount of peanut, not to make it possible to eat peanut butter wholesale.
Re:has this always been a problem?
jdavidb on 2002-05-30T20:49:11
My biological mother had such problems all of her life. When I was in about fourth grade she went to the hospital overnight from eating a frozen Mexican dinner with small quantities of peanut in the refried beans.
It's interesting how people react to the food problems of others. When my grandfather was diagnosed with diabetes, my grandmother was amazed at how people absolutely did not understand. They were offended he wouldn't eat a pie they had made, for example. Or they'd say, "Well just try a little bit." Not a good idea for diabetes, and an even worse idea for people with peanut allergies (where a small quantity can land you in the hospital or worse).
On the other hand, some people can't comprehend that not all allergies are life-threatening. I have a minor milk allergy which contributes to my asthma. Nowadays, I ignore the allergy because the effects are so minor, but as a child, I was pretty restrained on what I could eat. Ice cream at someone's birthday party was a real treat. Of course, mentioning that invariably brought urgent questions from the birthday boy/girl or his/her parents to the effect of, "You're allergic to milk? Are you going to be all right? Are you going to start throwing up or something?" They never could comprehend that all it did was make me cough, and not much, at that. (Of course, I never learned to stop mentioning it until I was past the age for such parties. Oh, well.)
Hmmm
Jason
