Oh, no. Holiday travelers beware! This news comes straight from corporate Holiday Inn headquarters:
“Holiday Inn has over 3,000 properties across the world and each one is getting a facelift with improvements in bedding, landscaping, and believe it or not, a Holiday Inn scent. Every hotel is now obliged to plug in a lobby 'scent machine' producing a mild aroma of ginger, white tea, citrus and musk. The cheaper Holiday Inn Express sites will be pumping out a scent of sweet grass and green tea.”
www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/09/26/new-logos-for-holiday-inn-hilton-worldwide/#
It’s enough to make me gag, along with this warm and fuzzy little article posted below:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/realestate/commercial/26inn.html
All I can say is: What are they thinking??? Who are they fooling???
First, good hotels – just plain old regular hotels that want to stay in business – should continually improve their product if they want to attract and keep our business. They should be well-lit outside. They should be neatly landscaped. The beds should be comfortable and the pillows as well. So, what do they want? Applause?
But hotels lobbies should not smell, nor should franchise owners be obliged to make their lobbies smelly unless they want to dramatically limit the number of people who will even consider using a Holiday Inn hotel. When hidden scent generators send chemical cocktails wafting through the air, sinuses and airways will suffer. And after a long day on the road or in the air, the last thing we want to do is choke in a scented hotel lobby or nurse a headache or tight chest all night because someone thought it might be a good idea.
I mean, where are you going to go? How will you book another hotel at the last moment? And will you get the same rate? How many times will you need to walk through that lobby during your stay? Is that where the free breakfast will be served? Where is the scent piped in from? At the lobby desk? Will Holiday Inn reservations clerks notify potential customers that they scent their lobbies?
What if you have asthma and you work there? Will you be conveniently dismissed because you miss too much work due to asthma? Will you have to file for workman’s compensation or unemployment? Will your health insurance rates go up when you file for COBRA?
Whose bad idea was this? Leaves me to wonder if the scent machines were simply a cheaper alternative to changing out musty carpets and drapery or mold growing behind the wallpaper.
To be honest, I’ve never made a hotel reservation thinking how nice it would be for the lobby to be chemically infused with imitation molecules that leave a slimy feeling in my nose, mouth and throat and that grip my chest. The real kicker is that the cheaper hotels get only two scents and one of them is green tea (why not just serve some) and the other is sweet (freshly mown) grass?!
I want my hotel to be a respite, one where the people who work there are happy for my business. I need their smile more than a scented reminder that I have asthma and will need to reach for my inhaler before handing over the credit card. It’s not too much to ask for clean bedding, a comfortable bed, a clean bathroom and clean air filters, clean ductwork and no mold. And every bit of this can be accomplished without ever using a scented cleaner.
I know because I’ve experienced the PURE Room hotel room now installed in many hotels across the country. Once you’ve tried one, nothing else compares. When making hotel reservations, don’t just ask for a non-smoking room and a scent-free lobby - ask for a PURE Room. It’s what every hotel room should be: clean and odor-free.
By way of disclosure, PURE Room advertises in AANMA’s quarterly magazine, Allergy & Asthma Today but has no idea I’ve written this blog. Please share this blog post with your friends and let Holiday Inn know what you think about their stinky plans.
Safe travels,
Nancy
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
ACAAI Meeting Yields Real World News...And The Saga of the Stinky Sink
Sandra, Marcela, Carol and I just got back from the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.
Sandra Fusco-Walker, AANMA's Director of Patient Advocacy and I attended many meetings relating to preserving and increasing patient access to the medications our physicians prescribe (don't you just hate it when you pick up a script at the pharmacy and it isn't what you and your doc discussed?), to diagnostic and monitoring testing, and of course access to our allergists (they go beyond the diagnosis and symptom treatment to address the problem at its core).
There are a lot of justified concerns among sister organizations that the current health care reform tornado sweeping through Congress will leave many of us breathing its dust. We encourage you to be in contact with your members of Congress. I just wrote my Senators and asked them to take the time necessary to do this job right. Our system isn't completely broken but it might wind up that way if we rush legislation.
Carol Jones, RN AE-C presented a poster on the impact of the CFC to HFA Transition on people contacting AANMA's Patient Support Center. She'll be sharing results in an upcoming issue of The MA Report newsletter (are you on the email list to receive it? If not, sign up at editor@aanma.org). She also worked at our booth along with Marcela Gieminiani, AANMA's Director of Programs and Services. Marcela also directs AANMA's Hispanic Outreach Publications and Services (HOPS) - a busy lady.
On a lighter note: While at the conference, Jim Burnett, President of Ecology Works, stopped by our booth with a sample bottle of Vital Oxide. Because he knows I'm a stickler for details, he had a boatload of scientific evidence at the ready to support the miriad of claims made on the Vital Oxide label and then some!
Vial Oxide Disinfects as it Cleans Kills 99.9% of Bacteria MRSA, Norovirus, E. coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Legionella pneumophila, Aspergillus niger.
My first reaction was, "this stuff has got to stink" and since I'm extremely sensitive to some scented or chemical sprays, I was reluctant to give it the whiff test. But I did and wow! I was so impressed I read further:
...provides mold and mildew preventio, broad-spectrum disinfection and odor elimination.
I thanked Jim and tucked the sample in my bag before heading off to my next meeting. Over the next few days, I used Vital Oxide to disinfect my hands instead of the hand sanitizer I'd packed (which dries my skin terribly). At the conference, in the hotel, at the airport.
It was middle of the day when I returned home, opened the door and caught a whiff of something foul. My husband swears I was a beagle in my former life because he could smell nothing.
Following the odor up the stairs across two rooms and into the kitchen I zeroed in on the culprit within seconds. The garbage disposal. Before unpacking my suitcase, I tackled that stinky monster, wrestled with every cleaning trick in the book until it was spotless. But the smell was still there.
Remembering the Vital Oxide sample was in my roller bag, I retrieved it for the ultimate test. Could it get rid of the smell? Following instructions, I sprayed every reachable component of the disposal and waited for it to dry. After unpacking my bags, I returned to find that NO smell remained. I didn't get another foul whiff from the sink again until four days later. I Vital Oxided it, waved my arms and commanded "stink be gone" as my husband grinned and shook his head. But it worked!
I will get to the bottom of the stinky sinky even if I have to call a plumber but I figure if this product can do what commerical disposal cleaners, lemons and rock salt, vinegar and baking soda, and ice cubes could not do alone, what could it do on other things? We'll just have to wait to find out because normally, our house doesn't stink.
But seriously, we saw a lot of great products and news at the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology meeting that we'll be sharing with you over the next few blogs or so.
A post script: I sent an email to Jim about the experience and he wrote back that he had the same stinky sink issue we have and he did the same thing. Then he said, "Its funny, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on tests proving we take out hospital-grade bacteria like norovirus, MRSA, and H1N1, but the fresh clean absence of odor is always what most people are first to notice. This quick odor removal is a result of the magnetic like attraction to sulfur and nitrogen bonds. Vital Oxide "disassembles" the malodors on a molecular level - no nose numbing cover up or heavy masking fragrance."
By way of disclosure: This blog is not a paid endorsment of Vital Oxide, Ecology Works, or National Allergy Supply Company , but I sure hope they will advertise in a future issue of Allergy & Asthma Today and support AANMA's patient education, advocacy and outreach efforts. Don't you? Drop a hint at: http://www.ecologyworks.com/.
Sandra Fusco-Walker, AANMA's Director of Patient Advocacy and I attended many meetings relating to preserving and increasing patient access to the medications our physicians prescribe (don't you just hate it when you pick up a script at the pharmacy and it isn't what you and your doc discussed?), to diagnostic and monitoring testing, and of course access to our allergists (they go beyond the diagnosis and symptom treatment to address the problem at its core).
There are a lot of justified concerns among sister organizations that the current health care reform tornado sweeping through Congress will leave many of us breathing its dust. We encourage you to be in contact with your members of Congress. I just wrote my Senators and asked them to take the time necessary to do this job right. Our system isn't completely broken but it might wind up that way if we rush legislation.
Carol Jones, RN AE-C presented a poster on the impact of the CFC to HFA Transition on people contacting AANMA's Patient Support Center. She'll be sharing results in an upcoming issue of The MA Report newsletter (are you on the email list to receive it? If not, sign up at editor@aanma.org). She also worked at our booth along with Marcela Gieminiani, AANMA's Director of Programs and Services. Marcela also directs AANMA's Hispanic Outreach Publications and Services (HOPS) - a busy lady.
On a lighter note: While at the conference, Jim Burnett, President of Ecology Works, stopped by our booth with a sample bottle of Vital Oxide. Because he knows I'm a stickler for details, he had a boatload of scientific evidence at the ready to support the miriad of claims made on the Vital Oxide label and then some!
Vial Oxide Disinfects as it Cleans Kills 99.9% of Bacteria MRSA, Norovirus, E. coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Legionella pneumophila, Aspergillus niger.
My first reaction was, "this stuff has got to stink" and since I'm extremely sensitive to some scented or chemical sprays, I was reluctant to give it the whiff test. But I did and wow! I was so impressed I read further:
...provides mold and mildew preventio, broad-spectrum disinfection and odor elimination.
I thanked Jim and tucked the sample in my bag before heading off to my next meeting. Over the next few days, I used Vital Oxide to disinfect my hands instead of the hand sanitizer I'd packed (which dries my skin terribly). At the conference, in the hotel, at the airport.
It was middle of the day when I returned home, opened the door and caught a whiff of something foul. My husband swears I was a beagle in my former life because he could smell nothing.
Following the odor up the stairs across two rooms and into the kitchen I zeroed in on the culprit within seconds. The garbage disposal. Before unpacking my suitcase, I tackled that stinky monster, wrestled with every cleaning trick in the book until it was spotless. But the smell was still there.
Remembering the Vital Oxide sample was in my roller bag, I retrieved it for the ultimate test. Could it get rid of the smell? Following instructions, I sprayed every reachable component of the disposal and waited for it to dry. After unpacking my bags, I returned to find that NO smell remained. I didn't get another foul whiff from the sink again until four days later. I Vital Oxided it, waved my arms and commanded "stink be gone" as my husband grinned and shook his head. But it worked!
I will get to the bottom of the stinky sinky even if I have to call a plumber but I figure if this product can do what commerical disposal cleaners, lemons and rock salt, vinegar and baking soda, and ice cubes could not do alone, what could it do on other things? We'll just have to wait to find out because normally, our house doesn't stink.
But seriously, we saw a lot of great products and news at the American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology meeting that we'll be sharing with you over the next few blogs or so.
A post script: I sent an email to Jim about the experience and he wrote back that he had the same stinky sink issue we have and he did the same thing. Then he said, "Its funny, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on tests proving we take out hospital-grade bacteria like norovirus, MRSA, and H1N1, but the fresh clean absence of odor is always what most people are first to notice. This quick odor removal is a result of the magnetic like attraction to sulfur and nitrogen bonds. Vital Oxide "disassembles" the malodors on a molecular level - no nose numbing cover up or heavy masking fragrance."
By way of disclosure: This blog is not a paid endorsment of Vital Oxide, Ecology Works, or National Allergy Supply Company , but I sure hope they will advertise in a future issue of Allergy & Asthma Today and support AANMA's patient education, advocacy and outreach efforts. Don't you? Drop a hint at: http://www.ecologyworks.com/.
Monday, November 2, 2009
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Another Doctor’s Office
After hearing from many of my neighbors about how difficult it was to find the H1N1 flu shot, I called my doctor’s office. No problem. He fit me in that morning, no lines, no waiting - in and out of the office within 10 minutes.
I’d also heard that the H1N1 vaccine was supposed to hurt more than seasonal flu shot. Maybe it depends on who’s giving it. No pain and all gain for me.
A few neighbors said their docs weren’t giving the shot at all because the paperwork was onerous. So I expected it would take more time to fill out the papers than it would to get the shot. But it didn’t! So I asked the nurse what the squawk was about. She said she had no idea. I signed my name in three places on three different clipboards and headed to work.
I called my son in Atlanta, and he reported a similar experience. While at the pediatrician’s office for the baby’s well check, the whole family received their vaccines. The pediatrician was adamant. Said he’d seen what happens to the little ones who get really sick. No one was leaving his office without a vaccine as long as he could help it. I’m relieved.
Now that I’ve had both flu shots, I feel free to go to the movies, go out for dinner, spend hours in a bookstore, stand in line at Starbucks (venti decaf skim cap), shop for groceries or get on a plane without fear of seasonal or H1N1 flu or the horrible, lingering airway inflammation, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath lasting months after recovery from the virus.
NEW: Adverse Reactions to Vaccines is a special supplement to Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (October 2009, Volume 103, Number 4, Supplement 2) just released by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI). World-renowned allergists and immunologists wrote and edited this supplement for primary care physicians and allergist/immunologists who encounter patients (or parents of patients) like those of us with an elevated risk or history of adverse reactions to vaccines. Find out more at Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) in my blog post, To V or Not to V: This Is the Question.
I’d also heard that the H1N1 vaccine was supposed to hurt more than seasonal flu shot. Maybe it depends on who’s giving it. No pain and all gain for me.
A few neighbors said their docs weren’t giving the shot at all because the paperwork was onerous. So I expected it would take more time to fill out the papers than it would to get the shot. But it didn’t! So I asked the nurse what the squawk was about. She said she had no idea. I signed my name in three places on three different clipboards and headed to work.
I called my son in Atlanta, and he reported a similar experience. While at the pediatrician’s office for the baby’s well check, the whole family received their vaccines. The pediatrician was adamant. Said he’d seen what happens to the little ones who get really sick. No one was leaving his office without a vaccine as long as he could help it. I’m relieved.
Now that I’ve had both flu shots, I feel free to go to the movies, go out for dinner, spend hours in a bookstore, stand in line at Starbucks (venti decaf skim cap), shop for groceries or get on a plane without fear of seasonal or H1N1 flu or the horrible, lingering airway inflammation, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath lasting months after recovery from the virus.
NEW: Adverse Reactions to Vaccines is a special supplement to Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (October 2009, Volume 103, Number 4, Supplement 2) just released by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI). World-renowned allergists and immunologists wrote and edited this supplement for primary care physicians and allergist/immunologists who encounter patients (or parents of patients) like those of us with an elevated risk or history of adverse reactions to vaccines. Find out more at Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) in my blog post, To V or Not to V: This Is the Question.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Allergy-Free Fall Holidays
Fall holidays conjure a cornucopia of delectable visions: homemade pumpkin pie, candy corn, turkey with savory stuffing and glistening cranberry sauce. But indulging in these special-occasion treats can be risky for the 12 million people in the U.S. with food allergies.
The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and its allergist members -- doctors who are experts at diagnosing and treating allergies and asthma -- know that food allergies don’t have to get in the way of holiday fun. ACAAI offers the following tips to protect you, your child and holiday guests with food allergies:
1. Tricks and treats: Purchase treats that your child can enjoy safely, and swap them for treats with allergens after trick-or-treating. Send candy your child can consume to school parties or send non-food goodies such as Halloween stickers.
2. Be the class baker: Volunteer to provide the snacks for holiday parties at school to ensure there will be foods available that your child can enjoy.
3. Inform your guests: Let guests know that you or your child have dietary restrictions, and offer to let them bring holiday themed plates, cups or napkins, rather than food.
4. Give your host a heads-up: If you’ll be attending holiday festivities away from home, let your host know about your food allergy. Offer to bring safe foods for you and others to enjoy.
5. Don’t overlook the turkey: Basted or self-basting turkeys can include common allergens such as soy, wheat and dairy. Your safest bet is choosing a turkey labeled “natural,” which by law must be minimally processed and should contain nothing but turkey and perhaps water.
6. Hang on to food labels: If you’re the host of a holiday feast, keep the ingredient labels from the food you’re serving for allergic guests to review before digging in.
7. Carry medications: Always have emergency medications on hand just in case unrecognized food allergens are hiding in holiday treats.
8. Discuss strategies with your allergist: An allergist can help you prepare for the holiday season and suggest allergy avoidance techniques to keep you or your child safe. Your allergist also can help you and your child become “label detectives” so you both know what ingredients to watch out for.
For more information about allergies and asthma, and to find an allergist near you visit http://www.allergyandasthmarelief.org/.
This information was posted by Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA).
The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) and its allergist members -- doctors who are experts at diagnosing and treating allergies and asthma -- know that food allergies don’t have to get in the way of holiday fun. ACAAI offers the following tips to protect you, your child and holiday guests with food allergies:
1. Tricks and treats: Purchase treats that your child can enjoy safely, and swap them for treats with allergens after trick-or-treating. Send candy your child can consume to school parties or send non-food goodies such as Halloween stickers.
2. Be the class baker: Volunteer to provide the snacks for holiday parties at school to ensure there will be foods available that your child can enjoy.
3. Inform your guests: Let guests know that you or your child have dietary restrictions, and offer to let them bring holiday themed plates, cups or napkins, rather than food.
4. Give your host a heads-up: If you’ll be attending holiday festivities away from home, let your host know about your food allergy. Offer to bring safe foods for you and others to enjoy.
5. Don’t overlook the turkey: Basted or self-basting turkeys can include common allergens such as soy, wheat and dairy. Your safest bet is choosing a turkey labeled “natural,” which by law must be minimally processed and should contain nothing but turkey and perhaps water.
6. Hang on to food labels: If you’re the host of a holiday feast, keep the ingredient labels from the food you’re serving for allergic guests to review before digging in.
7. Carry medications: Always have emergency medications on hand just in case unrecognized food allergens are hiding in holiday treats.
8. Discuss strategies with your allergist: An allergist can help you prepare for the holiday season and suggest allergy avoidance techniques to keep you or your child safe. Your allergist also can help you and your child become “label detectives” so you both know what ingredients to watch out for.
For more information about allergies and asthma, and to find an allergist near you visit http://www.allergyandasthmarelief.org/.
This information was posted by Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
AANMA Inhaler Poster in the New York Times!
What fun to pick up a copy of the New York Times... and there on the front page of Sunday's Metropolitan section, is a photograph of a school nurse and a student... and right there, hanging on her wall, is AANMA’s Inhaler Poster!
The article was about school nurses being on the front lines of H1N1 containment and featured Nurse at P.S. 70 in Long Island, NY. I love that she hung the poster at the student’s eye level. Click here to read the article.
Yeah Nurse Akhtar! And thanks to our sponsors who made it possible for us to develop, produce and distribute the poster:
- The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)
- AstraZeneca
- ExxonMobil
- Teva
- Children's Hospital Boston
- EMNet
- Center for Pediatric Emergency Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center
Yeah Nurse Akhtar! And thanks to our sponsors who made it possible for us to develop, produce and distribute the poster:
- The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI)
- AstraZeneca
- ExxonMobil
- Teva
- Children's Hospital Boston
- EMNet
- Center for Pediatric Emergency Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Eggs, Flu, Young
Eggsactly thirty years ago, my daughter, Brooke, was diagnosed with food allergies – egg being one of the foods producing dramatic hives and wheezing. Getting the diagnosis wasn’t easy. Oh, the symptoms were quite evident but in those times, food allergies were more or less considered a disease of neurotic moms and there just wasn’t much direction or advice in the medical literature.
So each flu season, I faced a quandary. Flu shots contain trace amounts of egg protein. Should I waltz my daughter to the doctor for a shot that could make her sick -- or risk the ravages of the flu that could mean months of lingering asthma symptoms? The more questions I asked, the more controversy I found… that is, until we consulted with an allergist who, after testing Brooke, said it would be possible to give her the shot in gradual doses over the period of an hour or so. Eureka!
Fast forward thirty years, and parents of children with asthma and egg allergy face the same question, this time with an H1N1 twist. The good news is that H1N1 flu vaccine is prepared in the same manner as the seasonal flu vaccine.
Here’s a primer of sorts if your child has confirmed or suspected egg allergies and has asthma. You can also find more information from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI).
1) Consult with an allergist.
2) Tell the allergist about symptoms that your child experienced when eating or touching eggs – raw (found in lemon meringue pie, for example), cooked, in baked goods, etc.
3) Mention any history of life-threatening egg allergy symptoms such as difficulty breathing, throat swelling, wheezing or fainting. These usually indicate the need for additional testing before administering the H1N1 vaccine.
4) The allergist will use skin prick testing: a small droplet of egg protein and another droplet of the H1N1 vaccine are placed on the skin. A tiny prick is made underneath each droplet.
Negative test results indicate that no allergic reaction occurred during the first phase of testing. In the second phase, the allergist will inject a small droplet of the diluted vaccine into the skin.
If your child still shows no signs, symptoms or skin reaction, your child can get the full dose of H1N1 vaccine but then must wait a full 30 minutes at the allergist’s office before leaving. That way, if your child shows symptoms such as hives, flushing or shortness of breath, the allergist and nursing staff are prepared to recognize and treat it.
A word of caution: A negative skin test to egg-based H1N1 vaccine does not mean you or your child no longer has egg allergies! So don’t go home and think you can serve up scrambled eggs or stop reading food labels!
OK, so what happens if the test result was positive, i.e. show that your child is allergic to the vaccine?
“If the test result is positive and the person is at high risk of complications from the flu because of pre-exising respiratory or heart disease, the vaccine still may be given using desensitization procedure,” said Sami Bahna, MD, PhD, president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), and professor of pediatrics and Medicine and Chief of Allergy and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. “This is compatible with the 2009 Policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics.”
The vaccine would be administered under the skin in gradually increasing doses at 15 to 20 minutes until the total dose is given. Dr. Bahna cautions that the procedure should be done by an experienced physician in a medical facility where measures are readily available for treating any potential reaction. The allergist is well trained and qualified for that.
A final note: FluMist vaccine is not approved for use in kids or adults with asthma, or for those with members of the immediate family who have asthma. The antiviral Relenza is known to provoke coughing and wheezing in patients with asthma. Tamiflu is a reasonable alternative but it must be used in the early stages of the flu.
And the last word: ACAAI states that even though most cases of H1N1 are mild, many of the children who have died were ones who had asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released updated data showing that the most prevalent underlying illness among patients hospitalized with H1N1 was asthma (26 percent of all adults hospitalized with H1N1 had asthma). In most cases, it appears that symptoms begin to improve and then the child’s symptoms rapidly decline. Contact your allergist now to discuss specific actions to take should your child or someone in your family develop seasonal flu or H1N1 symptoms. By all means, get both flu vaccines in a medical-care setting where reactions, if they occur, can be monitored.
Kids and adults with asthma are at high risk of complications and death from seasonal or H1N1 flu. You can find more information on AANMA's website.
So each flu season, I faced a quandary. Flu shots contain trace amounts of egg protein. Should I waltz my daughter to the doctor for a shot that could make her sick -- or risk the ravages of the flu that could mean months of lingering asthma symptoms? The more questions I asked, the more controversy I found… that is, until we consulted with an allergist who, after testing Brooke, said it would be possible to give her the shot in gradual doses over the period of an hour or so. Eureka!
Fast forward thirty years, and parents of children with asthma and egg allergy face the same question, this time with an H1N1 twist. The good news is that H1N1 flu vaccine is prepared in the same manner as the seasonal flu vaccine.
Here’s a primer of sorts if your child has confirmed or suspected egg allergies and has asthma. You can also find more information from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI).
1) Consult with an allergist.
2) Tell the allergist about symptoms that your child experienced when eating or touching eggs – raw (found in lemon meringue pie, for example), cooked, in baked goods, etc.
3) Mention any history of life-threatening egg allergy symptoms such as difficulty breathing, throat swelling, wheezing or fainting. These usually indicate the need for additional testing before administering the H1N1 vaccine.
4) The allergist will use skin prick testing: a small droplet of egg protein and another droplet of the H1N1 vaccine are placed on the skin. A tiny prick is made underneath each droplet.
Negative test results indicate that no allergic reaction occurred during the first phase of testing. In the second phase, the allergist will inject a small droplet of the diluted vaccine into the skin.
If your child still shows no signs, symptoms or skin reaction, your child can get the full dose of H1N1 vaccine but then must wait a full 30 minutes at the allergist’s office before leaving. That way, if your child shows symptoms such as hives, flushing or shortness of breath, the allergist and nursing staff are prepared to recognize and treat it.
A word of caution: A negative skin test to egg-based H1N1 vaccine does not mean you or your child no longer has egg allergies! So don’t go home and think you can serve up scrambled eggs or stop reading food labels!
OK, so what happens if the test result was positive, i.e. show that your child is allergic to the vaccine?
“If the test result is positive and the person is at high risk of complications from the flu because of pre-exising respiratory or heart disease, the vaccine still may be given using desensitization procedure,” said Sami Bahna, MD, PhD, president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), and professor of pediatrics and Medicine and Chief of Allergy and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. “This is compatible with the 2009 Policy of the American Academy of Pediatrics.”
The vaccine would be administered under the skin in gradually increasing doses at 15 to 20 minutes until the total dose is given. Dr. Bahna cautions that the procedure should be done by an experienced physician in a medical facility where measures are readily available for treating any potential reaction. The allergist is well trained and qualified for that.
A final note: FluMist vaccine is not approved for use in kids or adults with asthma, or for those with members of the immediate family who have asthma. The antiviral Relenza is known to provoke coughing and wheezing in patients with asthma. Tamiflu is a reasonable alternative but it must be used in the early stages of the flu.
And the last word: ACAAI states that even though most cases of H1N1 are mild, many of the children who have died were ones who had asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released updated data showing that the most prevalent underlying illness among patients hospitalized with H1N1 was asthma (26 percent of all adults hospitalized with H1N1 had asthma). In most cases, it appears that symptoms begin to improve and then the child’s symptoms rapidly decline. Contact your allergist now to discuss specific actions to take should your child or someone in your family develop seasonal flu or H1N1 symptoms. By all means, get both flu vaccines in a medical-care setting where reactions, if they occur, can be monitored.
Kids and adults with asthma are at high risk of complications and death from seasonal or H1N1 flu. You can find more information on AANMA's website.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
In the mail at last! New issue of Allergy & Asthma Today magazine
AANMA is jumping for joy!! Allergy & Asthma Today magazine is in the mail! I feel a little like Neville (Steve Martin) in “The Jerk,” delirious upon receiving his copy of the Yellow Pages phone book at his front door. Why? Oh, my! Well…
Not only is this issue one of my top favorites, it almost didn’t get printed! This summer, our six-year-old servers collapsed and self-destructed - including our antiquated backup system. We lost EVERYTHING. Yup. Everything. Sparing you the gory details, we were able to piece things back together thanks to some very creative people at OSSI and our diligent staff. But it took time and working blind while continuing to provide members services as if nothing had ever happened.
The sleepless nights… If things hadn’t come together when they did, we wouldn’t have been able to share Juanita Rembert’s cover story, "Juanita’s Determined: Six Generations of Asthma Stop Here," and her mission to spare other urban Chicago families the same fate as her 21-year-old granddaughter, Tamika, who died of asthma while pregnant with her second child, leaving a two-year-old son with severe asthma and a grieving family with aching hearts. Learn more about the campaign “STOP ASTHMA DEATHS NOW” and how you can get involved.
Also featured is The AANMA Challenge: Planning to Win. It’s your blueprint (a.k.a. customizable written asthma action plan) to getting and keeping asthma symptoms under control. It’s a MUST-HAVE for every adult and child with asthma. Planning to Win was published with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and contains all the important details that generic asthma action plans leave out. Written by AANMA’s staff and medical advisory board, Planning to Win is for real people who are serious about shutting the door to asthma and moving on with their lives.
I am so glad we got this issue published because John Walsh, Co-Founder of the COPD Foundation, shares his inspiring story of how he and his identical twin brother learned they both had Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that leads to chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (COPD). Not all that wheezes or causes shortness of breath is asthma, even when symptoms may be very similar. Few people write or talk about it better than John.
If this issue of Allergy & Asthma Today had not gone to print, we’d be hard-pressed to tell the full story of Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill 2009: We’re on a mission…to STOP ASTHMA DEATHS NOW! We’re asking members of Congress to fix federal and state health policies – currently, some of these policies deny Medicaid patients adequate care and access to allergists and other specialists and medications consistent with NIH Asthma Guidelines. With healthcare reform debates in full swing, we need your willingness and financial support to make sure that no matter what happens in this process, people with asthma, allergies and related conditions do not suffer.
So I am thankful – yes, giddy - that the magazine is out! I am delighted our sponsors and advertisers have been patient: The American College of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms for Your Next Hotel Stay, AeroChamber Plus Holding Chamber (Forest Pharmaceuticals / Lupin Pharmaceuticals and Monaghan Medical), OcuFresh Eye Wash (at your local pharmacy without a prescription), Allergy Zone’s NIOSH N95 Disposable Respiratory with Exhalation Valve (not just for flu protection – you can actually breathe while mowing the lawn and wearing one of these), NIOX MINO, The Childhood Asthma Control Test by GlaxoSmithKline and our Asthma Awareness Day Capitol Hill sponsors: The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; ExxonMobil; TEVA; Schering-Plough; Genentech; Novartis; Aerocrine; and ImmunoCAP.
It’s incredibly wonderful to have everything back up and running, and even better knowing that through the process, good friends were by our side.
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