Adventures of an Allergist Mommy

I had an excellent time talking to my colleague, Dr. Phil Boucher, about the topic of Food Allergy Prevention. The podcast episode is live now, just in time for Asthma and Allergy Awareness month! 🎙️ If you haven't already subscribed to his podcast (Raising Good Parents), please take a listen. I think you'll find it both educational and enjoyable. ⠀ 🔗 Here's the link: https://drphilboucher.libsyn.com/139-food-allergy-prevention-with-allergistmommy-dr-sakina-bajowala ⠀

Ever wish there was an alternative to injections for emergency delivery of epinephrine for anaphylaxis? There is a research study underway assessing the use of a nasal epinephrine spray for allergic recations, and healthy adult volunteers are needed! Celerion is seeking healthy adult males and females to participate in a research study for the development of an Epinephrine nasal spray for use as an emergency treatment for allergic reactions. STUDY DETAILS: Healthy Adults Ages 19-65 One 4-night stay at Celerion Earn up to $3,000 for participation HelpResearch.com/NasalSpray 866-213-2965

I am sharing the following information from the Allergy & Asthma Network, because I believe we MUST do better at protecting vulnerable and high-risk populations from the COVID-19 virus. Communities of color are being disproportinately affected by the virus, not only in terms of infection rates, but also death rates and economic impacts. Achieving true equity in healthcare means understanding that resources must be allocated by need, not simply spread evenly throughout the population.  If you don't agree, please don't hate - educate!!!  You may be well-served by joining this free event, for which details are provided below. All too often, Black people experience more barriers to health based on their race. Many get sick or die because of these barriers. COVID-19 and asthma, for example, are more common among African Americans. How can we work together to improve the health of Black Americans? Let's start the conversation! Virtual Conference Black People Like Me: Asthma, ...

After nearly a year of pandemic-induced isolation and loss, we have recently had the announcement of not only one, but two, candidate vaccines with impressive efficacy data.  Although this provides a glimmer of hope that we will eventually find our way out of this crisis, it is essential to recognize that there will not initially be enough vaccine available to immunize the entire population. Therefore, the vaccine will be distributed to the public in phases. You may be wondering where you or those you love lie on this index. Although this stratification is subject to change, here is what we know so far. There will be 4 major phases for vaccine distribution: 1a. High risk health care workers (hospitals, long-term care facilities, etc.) and first responders (police, fire, EMT) 1b. People with 2 or more co-morbid conditions (eg: asthma, heart disease, immune deficiency), and older adults in congregate/overcrowded settings 2. Teachers & school staff, critical workers in high-risk...

Dear Food Allergy Families, Please consider participating in the following study intended to explore the psychosocial coping needs of families with food allergy. As anyone who is living with food allergies understands, the psychological impacts of living with a potentially life-threatening condition are incredibly important, but sadly, often given short shrift in the context of limited time available during healthcare maintenance visits. Participating in this study is an opportunity to contribute to our knowledge base about the strategies families utilize to cope with the diagnosis. Thank you! -AllergistMommy ____________________________________________________ We want to invite you to participate in an exciting study researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine are conducting to explore the thoughts, emotions, and coping strategies individuals and families have and use as they manage food allergies. Led by Ruchi Gupta, MD, MPH, the goal of this r...

Sharing a recent post from my practice Facebook page, in response to concerns raised by the recent publication of a meta analysis on anaphylaxis rates during food allergen oral immunotherapy:  https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)30420-9/fulltext I hope my comments are helpful at proving some context for patients currently pursuing or consider food allergen desensitization therapy.  I am a non-alarmist by nature, and feel it is 100% possible to integrate new data without falling prey to the sensationalization of these publications by the media. It is frustrating to read in the news one day, "Researchers find CURE for peanut allergies!" (WRONG!!!) and the next day read "Experimental treatment for food allergy causes more life-threatening reactions than avoidance!" (Hmmm...a bit misleading). No nuance, no thoughtfulness, no concern for the impact of such a black & white approach to a decidedly grey issue. And why would there...

It's that time again... Back to School! I, for one, relish the newly found silence in my home in the afternoon. I am also happy in the confidence that my boys are learning and playing and enjoying school again. I like knowing that the sweltering days of summer will soon transition into pleasant autumn evenings. However, I know that back to school season brings on very different emotions for parents of children with life-threatening food allergies. These feelings range from fear and anxiety at being separated from a child with medical needs, to frustration with the necessary mounds of paperwork that constitute school health forms, and apprehension about what some might term "the little things": Will my child have someone to sit with at lunch? What if someone at the middle school starts a food fight, and throws a PB& J? How will my 5 year old handle it, when at the end of a long day of kindergarten, a classmate shares cupcakes with everyone as a birthday treat (eve...

If your Halloween ended up like hours, a short time spent trick or tricking resulted in a ridiculous quantity of candy. Luckily for me, the risk of finding shellfish in my boys' candy stash is exceedingly low. The same sense of relief does not extend to the families of kids with other food allergies, such as milk, egg, peanut or tree nuts. So, what's a candy-overloaded family to do? Here are a few ideas: 1. Let mom and dad eat it. Just kidding. Not really. :-/ 2. Invite the "Switch Witch" over for a visit! She takes the candy, and leaves a cool toy in its place! 3. Send your candy to our troops serving abroad! Your donated candy will be included in care packages. Operation Gratitude does a great job: http://opgrat.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/halloween-candy-for-the-troops/ 4. Ask your local dentist or allergist about Halloween candy buy-backs! Maybe your kids will make a few bucks... see below for a picture of a few of my patients visiting their dentist during a...

I just received notice that as of January 1, 2014, the Express Scripts formulary will be removing a number of medications from its repertoire of covered drugs. This means that patients under the Express Scripts plan will have NO COVERAGE for these prescriptions, and will be required to pay full price at the pharmacy. The list is long, and heavy on medications commonly used by patients with asthma and allergies: Asthma medications: Advair diskus Advair HFA Alvesco HFA Flovent Diskus Flovent HFA Maxair Autohaler Proventil HFA Xopenex HFA Allergy medications: Auvi-Q Beconase AQ Omnaris Rhinocort Aqua Veramyst Zetonna As insurers continue to seek ways to cut costs and boost the bottom line, they will negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to obtain lower pricing. Those companies that play ball get to keep their drugs on the formulary. Those that don't, get dropped. The losers are the patients who will be required to switch from medications they have been taking ...

I am proud to be from Illinois, where we already have excellent guidelines in place for the protection of food allergic children, and also have a stock epinephrine law on the books. I am also so pleased that my state's U.S. Senators have teamed up to co-sponsor a bipartisan bill designed to keep the children of America safe from severe allergic reactions. Read on to learn more! Courtesy of the Allergy and Asthma Network - Mothers of Asthmatics : Your Chance to Weigh In On Stock Epinephrine Legislation The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, which would encourage states to require that schools keep lifesaving epinephrine on hand, is now in front of the U.S. Senate, bringing it one step closer to passage. You can make a difference by contacting your Senators today to ask for their support. S. 1503 was introduced by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and co-sponsored by 23 other senators. The companion bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Roe, MD ...

The following message is courtesy of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. A formerly available epinephrine auto-injector (Adrenaclick) is back on the market, as is an authorized generic for this specific device. It is likely that insurance companies and pharmacies may encourage substitution with this generic product, as a way to decrease expenses for both insurers and patients. Please read the message, and be alert to the possibility of device substitution. _________________________________________ Be Aware of Authorized Generic Epinephrine Autoinjector Dear Colleagues: It has come to our attention that Lineage Therapeutics, Inc. recently launched an authorized generic version of Adrenaclick® under the name  epinephrine injection, USP auto-injector . This product being marketed as a generic epinephrine autoinjector is an “authorized generic” of the Adrenaclick autoinjector only. We want to make you aware because the availability of this product ma...

Allergy & Asthma Network - Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) is partnering with the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) to produce six video vignettes on "Why see an Allergist?" and they need your help! AANMA is looking for people who fit the following criteria and are willing to participate: Newly diagnosed or undiagnosed patients with symptoms of allergy and/or asthma  Patients diagnosed with at least one of the following conditions:  Children with seasonal allergies  Food allergy  Pregnancy and asthma  Teenager with asthma  Pet allergies  Rhinitis  Required to send a homemade, 60-second video of your story to AANMA by March 15, 2013  Willing to participate in a pre-interview via telephone with video production agency  Able and willing to participate in a one-day commercial video shoot in downtown Chicago in April 2013  The video vignettes will be utilized in social media outlets to raise...

As a mother of 2 boys, I sometimes feel outnumbered. Therefore, I was delighted to be invited by the local Daisy Scouts to a meeting which focused on being kind and considerate. Using the topic of food allergy as an example, we were able to address the issues of safety, inclusion/exclusion, bullying, how to be a good friend, and more. The girls offered up a whole host of ideas about how to celebrate special events without being food-centric, just in time for Valentine's Day! In this one group of Daisy Scouts, there were allergies to milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts and fish! It was lovely to see the girls talk about how they pack special lunches so they can sit with their food-allergic friends and how they don't ever share food. One adorable little one demonstrated, arms outstretched, how she would come between a bully and her food-allergic pal! We did a drill of how to call for help if a friend is experiencing an allergic reaction, and familiarized ourselves with autoinjectabl...

The other day, my 7 year old son came home from school excited to tell me about his day. His second-grade class had just begun a unit in science about the human body. As an introduction to the unit, his teacher asked the students to name organ systems. One child called out, "the gut", and another, "the lungs". But not my child. No, my kid offered up "the immune system"! Here's the book he took from my office to read to his class: http://primaryimmune.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Our-Immune-System.pdf "Our Immune System", by Sara LeBien Obviously, I'm biased by both genetics and profession. But I couldn't be prouder. :-)

A new treatment option for peanut allergy is currently being studied in Chicago! This treatment modality is commonly referred to as the "peanut patch", and aims to induce tolerance to peanut protein by delivering small amounts of peanut allergen to the immune system through the skin. This is similar in concept to oral and sublingual immunotherapy for foods. However, in the case of the patch, the mode of delivery is hoped to result in fewer reactions during treatment, as the allergen will not be ingested. It is certainly an interesting development, which may hold promise in the treatment of food allergy. This study is recruiting children as young as age 6 years, so it may be an option for those children who are not old enough to qualify for the Food Allergy Herbal Formula study. Please read the memorandum below for further details: -------------------------------------------------------------------- ...I would like to share with you the exciting new peanut allerg...

It's been a crazy few months... My micropractice is now a little over a year old, and I've been blessed with a growing patient base. However, with more patients comes MORE WORK! I love the patient care part - could do that all day. However, I could do without some of the paperwork, data entry, inventory, etc. I pretty much stopped sleeping. So the time came to add someone to my team. The search for someone who can channel my vision for the practice into their everyday activities was not an easy one. Resumes, essay exams (yes, I actually had candidates complete an essay exam!), interviews, math quizzes, background checks... phew! Adding employees also means adding an employee handbook, policies and procedure manual, compliance programs, payroll, worker's insurance. Wait a minute - I thought getting help was supposed to reduce my workload? So, no one would blame me if I haven't been scrapbooking, right? Wrong. My 4 year old blames me, and rightfully so. This morn...

Yesterday morning, I asked my younger son to throw his dirty clothes down the laundry chute. What I witnessed shortly thereafter cracked me up: Son #2: "Bye-bye, underwear! Have a nice trip!" Son #2 (imitating the "voice" of his dirty underwear): "Nooooo! I don't want to go!" Son #2 (back to himself): "Sorry, you need to get clean. Now go, and have a nice day!" It makes me smile to witness my children engaged in imaginative play. In this day of little faces glued to tiny screens, it's so nice to see that creativity and imagination are still the best entertainment. It's a long trip for a small pair of drawers!

My younger son and I both have asthma. Although we are well controlled, we still carry rescue medication with us everywhere. Even well-controlled asthma can flare severely under the right (or wrong) circumstances. I was especially cautious during a recent family vacation to Colorado. Living in the Midwest, we were unaccustomed to the thin mountain air, and I worried that my 3 year old might have his enjoyment of the trip ruined by asthma symptoms. So when our agenda was modified to include a steep 1.2 mile hike to view a pristine lake nestled close to the mountaintop, I wondered aloud if we should leave him behind at the hotel with his grandparents. My husband (who does not have asthma) glibly replied, "Relax, he can handle it!". "Easy for you to say," I retorted. "What are we going to do if he has an asthma attack halfway up the mountain?" Dear hubby didn't need to reply. My fearless son overheard the conversation and chimed in: "I want ...

My boys spent 2 hours with me in the office this morning. Here's what went down: 1. Coloring on scrap paper with highlighters. 2. Raiding the "treasure bucket" for toys. 3. Putting stickers on each other. 4. Eating fruit snacks in the kitchen. 5. Washing hands in every sink. Singing "handwashing song" at top of lungs. 6. Reading Harry Potter. 7. Sitting on Mommy's lap in waiting room full of patients, reading picture books about fire trucks and trains. 8. Sword-fighting with wooden tongue depressors. 9. Checking oxygen saturation. 10. Using Mommy's stethoscope to listen to everything in the office. 11. Locating Mommy's stash of Mike and Ike candies. 12. Filling cups with water from the water dispenser. Actually drinking most of the water. Dumping leftover water on brother's head. 13. Helping Mommy sweep the floors between patients. 14. Making friends with pediatric patients, and playing "Cut the Rope" and "Angry Bir...

On May 20, 2012, I was pleased to offer a free asthma screening for our local community as a volunteer for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology's Annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program. This is the 16th year of the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program, the ACAAI's public service campaign to find adults and children who are at risk for undiagnosed and uncontrolled asthma. Our screening was a wonderful experience, and we were able to identify a number of individuals whose respiratory symptoms are likely to improve with comprehensive allergy and asthma care. We've been asked to return for additional screenings, and I plan to do so this summer and fall. Many thanks to Medical Device Depot for donating the spirometry turbines, without which this screening would not have been possible. If you are looking for a free asthma screening in your area, please click here to learn more!