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8 - The Canadian Champion, Tuesday, August 31, 1999 "Foamlownedforooer 30 yen" Dodging spectreuc of hidden thr eats in food By IRENE GENTLE The Champion Like a killer with a friendly face, there seemed notbing immediately sinister in the way little Kyle Gibson's body oejected the pork and beans he had juat chowed down on. But later it wat clear tbat tbe incident marked the first subtie volley of an allergy tbat bas been tossing out smart bombs ever since. It is estimated that up to 10 per cent of Canadians suffer from a mild food allergy, wbich can trigger diarrbea or minor stomach or * sinus upset. * But no more than two per cent are afflicted witb a life tbreatening anapbylactic allergy. Kyle's story is typical in that his first attack was a comparatively mild one. But he soon succumbed to an assault tbat rated as a five-alarn emergency. "He was covered in hives, bis bead wtt swollen to almoat twice tbe size and he was bav- ing trouble breathing," recalled bis motber, Monika Gibson. Seen as enemny She is now the provincial coordinator of the Allergy/Astbma Information Association (AAIA). - In a nutsbell, allergy prone bodies pelteive tbe protein in certain foods as an enemny substance. Antibodies aimed at battling tbe invader are tben released by tbe body's mast celis. In most cases tbe release is localized, resulting in a runny nose or itcby eyes, for example. But wben tbe mast celîs act en masse, wbat you bave is an anapbylactic attack. And it feels as tbougb tbe body is under siege, aid Andrea Kenney of tbe AAIA. "It is bonrible. Your body is tumning on you," sbe said. Symptoma include swelling of tbe lips, tbroat, tongue or face, rasbes or bives, cougbing, diffi- culty breatbing, stomacb cramps and plummet- ing blood pressure. "Once you go into anapbylaxis, tbat's tbe worst kind of reaction," said Dr. Howard Langer. "It can bappen in less tban five minutes or it can go up to 20-40 minutes." Medical help vital Tbe antidote is a sbot of adrenaline, often tbrougb tbe use of an Epi-Pen. Adrenaline "squeezes down tbe blood vessels and cuts down tbe swelling of tbe tbroat and tongue," be said. It is vital that medical attention be sougbt after every attack. For moat people, tbe first assault is rarely life tbreatening. Photo Dy UHAMAM rAriNr Parents can't be too careful, lit seema, when It cornes ta checklng food ingredients. For klda who suffer serlous food allergies, that type of scrutlny should become a lite- long habit. That' s because it generally takes more tban one exposure for tbe body to fine tune its response. said Dr. Langer. So wby do stme tiny babies swell up at tbe first dab of peanut butter on tbeir skin? tbe peanut protein before, eitber tbrougb tbe pla- centa or breast milk. Tbougb tome dlaim tbeir allergy is out of tbe blue, beredity pîsys a part, said Dr. Langer. Thse -ni sure way to Icnow if those miser- able sywnponse are caased by afood aUergy Le to be ted flat's beco-use many wJso think they have food4talleis actualy do not In sane cases, se4Wamois bas led ta> the avo iance of so many foods that malnutrition becomes a thueuL. But whea it cornez to peanut and other ana- phyvlietkc allergies, avoidance t, the oaSy answer, accordiag te informati.on frem the nutrition services armn of the Regl.on.al Niagara Heult Services DepuotaenL Dit meuis scopias eut labels carefit£Y to ensouw thatfiuod Le suie. And parents should avoid feeding very smali chi ldren allergenic foods, saiW Dr. Howard Langer. "Why teonpt your child with aliergenic foode? Yon don't wal to have a reaction If you don't have10," he saUlo *see PEANUTS on page 1 12 Main Street North, Actorr. ON L7J 1V9 519-853-1270, or 853-4700 Taklng your c a b I e f u r t h e r 'j Better safe (han -sonry Cableworks 14 Programming Schedule - August lOth - August 16th, 1999 5:30,15:30,7:3lçn Rlged In! 5:30,6:30,730pfi Ploed hl 5:30,630,7:30pmn Plîjedin! Labu Da- No Pq yn 6:OOçm Dstn TOEarth 6:00pm HamdsUp Puppeteffs tOOpîn TMeIssue ls 7:OOpm The Issue s. I7 OOpm The Ga-den Tour 7:0Ipm Iltemel i0i 8I0p MiOçn MaFgFari9M Feature of the wbofc: Milton Fall Fair 1999 Ambassador Competition - Wednesday, 8pmn T a k 1 n 9 y 0 U r c a b 1 e f u r t h e r witb a genetic tendency," be said. 'Tben at some time in your life, tbis tendency is started." But tbe problem may skip a generation. In otber words, botb parents may profesa to be allergy free wbile passing on tbe genetic tenden- cy. Since Kyle's diagnosis, tbe family bas fougbt to live outside tbe sbadow cast by tbe assassin allergy. "We as a family bave cbosen to live witb it and we like to participate in life as mucb as pos- sible," sbe said. But it basn't always been possible. Kyle, now eigbt, bas been barred from birtb- day parties by well-meaning parents wbo fear bis condition. Ground nales And be stays bebind wben neigbborbood kida gatber at tbe ice cream parlour. Since tbe tbreat of a potentially fatal attack bas a way of making a family cautious, a better-safe- tban-sorry policy bas led to tome rules in tbe Gibson family. One is tbat Kyle can't toucb food, no matter bow safe, unlets an Epi-pen is at band. Thie pens run about $75-$90 a sbot and bave a abeif life of up to two years. The Gibson family bas 10 pens spread among Kyle's scbool, Kyle bimself and assorted family members. A rule of tbumb, said Ms Kenney, is one pen for every 15 minutes it takes to get to the neareat bospital. Antibistaniines can alto reduce tbe impact of an attack, said Ms Kenney. "Wbile you are putting in your Epi-pen. you can be swallowing antihistamines," sbe said. "It isn't going to be life taving, but it can be help- fiai.", Price is vigilance The vigilance. said Ms G ibson, is never-end- ing. Lt meant scrutinizing product labels every sbopping trip. since ingredients are known to cbange overnigbt. And it means being aware of cross-contamina- tion. Cross-contamination refers to a usually safe product tbat bas been tainted by trace amounts of the allergenic substance. An ice cream scoop tbat is used for several dif- ferent flavors is an example. So are chocolate cbip cookies baked on a cookie sbeet tbat previously beld peanut butter cookies. So fan, Kyle's allergy bas not prevented tbe esas PARAMOUNT on page 10