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Bird Nests8 NoNuttin Bars* 1/2 bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips Candy decorations Crumble bars in bowl.Melt chips in microwave and combine with bars. Spoon onto waxed paper and form into 8 nests. Fill with candy decorations. We used gum balls for birdies with safe taffy cut outs for beaks. * You can substitute Rice Krispie Treat mix for the NoNuttin bars. Easter Basket Cupcakes 
Your favorite cupcakesSafe frosting Coconut or pearl sugar colored as desired Pipe cleaners Marshmallow or chocolate bunnies Jelly beans Frost safe cupcakes and dip them in colored coconut or pearl sugar. Add jelly beans or bunnies. Top with a pipe cleaner for the basket handle. We used orange Mike and Ikes topped with green coconut for carrots and Marshmallow peep bunnies! Chocolate Dipped Eggs! 
Rice Krispie TreatsEgg Molds* Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil Prepare your favorite Rice Krispie Treat mix. Allow to cool for a few minutes; then spoon mix into egg molds of any size and place in freezer to set. Melt one bag of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips with one Tablespoon of vegetable oil. Release the "eggs" from their molds. Some will prefer the Rice Krispie eggs just like this. For the chocolate lovers, dip the "eggs" into the melted chocolate mix. Place on wire rack to set. When completely cooled, wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon! (See photo at the top of the newsletter.) * You can use fancy Wilton molds but we used regular plastic eggs of all sizes for our molds! |
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By Anna McCartney
On September 29, 2003, Sabrina Shannon ate lunch at her high school cafeteria. She ordered a plate of French fries. Because she was allergic to milk, peanuts and tree nuts, Sabrina had checked at the start of the school year to be sure the ingredients in the fries and the oil in the deep fryer were safe. 
About half an hour after lunch, Sabrina started to
feel ill. She had trouble breathing, which she thought
was due to her asthma, so she took several puffs
from her
inhaler. Sabrina went to the school office to call her
mother, but her condition got worse before her mother
could arrive.When a student told the school staff about
Sabrina's food allergies, they called 911 and the
operator
dispatched an ambulance. A teacher ran to Sabrina's
locker to get her auto-injectable epinephrine, but
Sabrina collapsed into unconsciousness and stopped
breathing. School staff started CPR and administered
Sabrina's EpiPenŽ.Sabrina arrived at the hospital just 30 minutes after she went to the school office with breathing problems. She died the next day. Although her symptoms started with bronchospasm, the cause of death was anaphylaxis. Sabrina was 13 years old. What Do Your Symptoms Say? Thirty million people in the United States have asthma. Many of them also have food allergies and are at risk of anaphylaxis - a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. (Experts estimate that about 10 percent of children with asthma have food allergies too.) Symptoms of anaphylaxis can include hives, facial swelling, difficulty swallowing, abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, a drop in blood pressure, breathing problems and unconsciousness. However, according to Hugh Sampson, MD, Director and Division Chief, Early food allergy symptoms can be mistaken for asthma symptoms. Using epinephrine early can save lives. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, "Patients experiencing anaphylaxis may not have all these symptoms during a reaction." In addition, early food allergy symptoms can be mistaken for asthma symptoms. "When skin symptoms are not present and the patient is having difficulty breathing," adds Sampson, "it can look and feel like an asthma attack." To further complicate the issue, people with asthma are at risk for more severe anaphylaxis symptoms. "Individuals with food allergy who have underlying asthma are at an increased risk of more severe food-induced reactions because they frequently will have bronchospasm (tightening of the muscles in the airways) as a component of their reaction," says Mary Farrington, MD, an allergist at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle,WA. "They may not initially realize that they are having an allergic reaction to an accidental ingestion of their food allergen, but rather think they are having a sudden, severe 'asthma attack.' This confusion can lead to a delay in epinephrine use, which is critical for the adequate treatment of anaphylaxis. If patients with food allergy and asthma have sudden onset of severe asthma symptoms following food ingestion, they should presume that they had an accidental ingestion of their food allergen and immediately use their epinephrine." Dr. Farrington adds, "After epinephrine is used, patients need to be immediately evaluated in the emergency department for ongoing treatment of anaphylaxis. Some individuals will have a second episode of significant anaphylaxis symptoms following an initial improvement after epinephrine use." Unpredictable Anaphylaxis Emily Vonder Meulen, also 13 years old, died from anaphylaxis on April 13, 2006. She was shopping with her mother and sister at a local mall. They stopped to get a sandwich at a restaurant where Emily had eaten before. Emily checked that the ingredients were safe for her peanut allergy and then ate her sandwich. After eating, Emily felt a little tight in her chest, so she took two puffs of her asthma inhaler and thought she was fine. She then went to the restroom, leaving her mother and sister looking at clothes. A few minutes later, Emily's mom got a call on her cell phone from a passer-by stating that Emily was having a bad asthma attack. Emily's mother rushed to the restroom and found Emily gasping for air. Emily tried to use her inhaler again, and her mother called 911. They tried CPR, but Emily died at the scene. Doctors told Emily's parents that Emily had died of anaphylaxis, not asthma. The apparently safe sandwich that Emily had eaten contained traces of peanuts. Emily was very careful about checking ingredients. She'd never had any close calls with anaphylaxis, so she didn't always carry auto-injectable epinephrine with her. Instead, she relied on her body's "early warning system" - an itchy feeling in her mouth before a reaction started - to tell her if she'd accidentally eaten something with peanuts in it. Emily's family knew that her allergy was serious - that it could make her very sick - but they didn't think of it in terms of life or death. "Even if an individual has had only mild food-induced allergic reactions in the past," says Dr. Farrington, "they may have a more severe life-threatening reaction with accidental ingestion in the future. This is particularly true for peanut allergic individuals. Because we can't predict who these at-risk patients are, we stress that all food allergic individuals carry epinephrine with them at all times. Early administration of epinephrine for severe allergic reactions can mean the difference between life and death." 
Emily's father, Paul Vonder Meulen, says, "Emily knew
the dangers of her peanut allergy. She would never
take
chances, and if she accidentally came in contact with
foods
that contained traces of nuts, her tongue would itch
and she
would immediately expel the food. Because Emily
knew
what she could not eat and because of the itch
sensation, we
did not carry her epinephrine with us at all times. That
was
a mistake. But even on that dreadful day in April, when
Emily died, we're not sure she or we would have
known to
use the epinephrine if she had it. From all the signs,
we
thought she was having an asthma attack. By the time
we
realized it was more than that, it was too late. If your
food allergic
child is having any kind of reaction shortly after
eating, we recommend using epinephrine right away.
A few
seconds could mean the difference between life and
death."When In Doubt, Use Epinephrine If allergic individuals (or their caregivers) are knowledgeable about and prepared for an allergic emergency, the risk of dying from anaphylaxis is extremely remote. If you or your child has both food allergy and asthma, talk to your doctor about an emergency action plan and ask what to do in case of sudden, severe asthma-like symptoms after eating. Reading ingredient labels and being careful about what you eat is crucial, but it is not enough. Accidents happen. Whether your food allergy reactions in the past have been mild or severe, it is important to have emergency medication on hand at all times and to know how (and not hesitate) to use it. If your child carries auto-injectable epinephrine with her at school, make sure she knows to keep it on her at all times and keeps a spare in the nurse's office. According to Dr. Sampson, "When we reviewed a series of fatal anaphylactic reactions to food and compared it to nonfatal cases, one factor that stood out was the delay in getting epinephrine and medical care in most of the fatal cases. Inhalers won't stop anaphylaxis, but epinephrine will stop either an asthma attack or anaphylaxis. So if in doubt, use epinephrine and cover your bases." Anna McCartney is co-
founder of the
Washington FEAST support group and also
serves on
the committee for FAI
Northwest.
Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) is dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. AANMA's core areas of expertise are education, advocacy and community outreach. For more information, please visit www.aanma.org or call 800- 878-4403. Article reprinted with permission from AANMA. |
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Cherrybrook Kitchen would like to give
one lucky AllergyMom subscriber a gift basket
featuring:Two cake mixes (chocolate, vanilla, or gluten free) Chocolate Frosting Mix Vanilla Frosting Mix Brownie Mix (regular or gluten free) Sugar Cookie mix (regular or gluten free) Chocolate Chip cookie mix (regular or gluten free) Pancake Mix (regular, whole grain or gluten free) Cherrybrook t-shirt (adult or child size in hot pink or bright blue) If you're an AllergyMoms subscriber, please contact us
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Coming Up
The content of the AllergyMoms newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For medical advice, please contact your physician or other qualified healthcare professional.
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