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A children food allergy can be devastating news for parents — just ask the Ringstroms. Five-year-old Blake Ringstrom suffered allergic reactions to so many foods that he went from a pork and navy bean diet to being fed through a tube implanted in his stomach.

“We felt like we were grasping at straws,” says Blake’s mother, Becky. “He wasn’t getting better, he wasn’t growing, he was still kind of sick all the time… the itching was constant.

We had to put socks over his hands so he wouldn’t make himself bleed.” However, thanks to the Food Challenge, Blake is now able to eat most sit-down meals with his family.

In another case, five-year-old Ashley Garcia came to the emergency room after eating an ice cream cone with nuts, which made her parents fear that she had a life-threatening children food allergy to peanuts.

Her father recalls, “By the time we got there, her eyes were bloodshot red and it seemed like there was a whole other layer of skin. She broke out in a rash.” After some consideration, the Garcias agreed to a Food Challenge, despite the risk that she may suffer those terrible food allergy symptoms again.

“If it’s going to happen, this is probably the best place for it to happen,” they concluded. Over time, Ashley was finally able to eat a whole Reese’s peanut butter cup without reacting.

There are many stories of children food allergy patients to consider. Some parents at wit’s end say their lives have been changed by Food Challenge testing. However, this test is not for all child food allergies.

Kids who have severe asthma, are otherwise sickly, or who have lost consciousness during an allergy attack generally are not good subjects for testing. Also, the test can be very time-consuming (six hours at a shot, once a week for months on end) and, as a result, very expensive.

Other parents prefer to buy cookbooks with food allergy recipes and buy specially made products to work around the restrictive diet. In the end, it’s best to speak with an allergy specialist to determine the best course of action.

To read more Knowing About Children Food Allergy Patients

The U.S. News & World Report says the number of children with food allergies has increased 18% since 1993, and the number of kids who needed emergency treatment for food allergy reactions has tripled in that time.

An estimated 6 to 9% of all U.S. children have a food or digestive allergy. At the same time, the incidence of eczema and skin allergies has also gone up. Health care professionals are quickly looking to find a reason for this increase in children food allergies, as well as environmental allergies.

To detect children food allergies, the doctor will ask parents about their child’s food allergy symptoms and may ask them to keep a food diary to monitor the reactions. The doctor may ask parents to remove suspected foods from the child’s diet one at a time to rule out certain allergies.

There will be a blood test to look for Immunogloblin E antibodies. A negative result can help rule out food allergies, although a positive result doesn’t necessarily mean the child has the allergy.

A skin prick test involves placing small amounts of suspected food allergens on the skin of the child’s forearm or back and pricking the skin with a needle to allow the substance to get beneath the skin. If there is an allergy, a raised bump or small rash will appear.

Perhaps blood tests for children food allergies fail because they cannot distinguish between similar proteins in different foods. For instance, a child with an allergy to peanuts may also test positive for kidney bean, green bean, pea and soy allergies.

Similarly, a child with a milk allergy may also test positive for a beef allergy. Dr. David Fleischer tells parents the best indicator may be simply to note whether the child has tolerated a particular food in the past.

In some cases, intolerance to a specific food develops over time, which is different than a serious, life-threatening allergy. Also, many food allergies (such as milk, eggs, soy and wheat) can be outgrown, so food challenging tests should be done again over time.

To read more Testing For Children Food Allergies

Food allergies and children have been making headlines recently. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that food allergies are on the rise, with around 3 million children suffering with a shellfish, milk, egg, wheat or peanut allergy.

This is an 18% increase since 1997, the center reports. As a parent you may feel alarmed and wonder what you can do to prevent this fate from befalling your precious baby. While there is little evidence, aside from old wives’ tales that allergies can be prevented, researchers are finding better ways to identify allergens and possibly treat them.

An August 2009 food allergies and children headline reads, “Milk May Be Safe, Even Encouraged, For Some Children After Treatment For Milk Allergy.” This is big news, considering that milk is the most prevalent kid food allergy, researchers from John Hopkins said.

The follow-up study tracked 18 children (ages 6-16) whose severe milk allergies had eased or disappeared. Their allergic reactions grew milder and milder over time.

“We now have evidence from other studies that some children once successfully treated remain allergy-free even without daily exposure, while in others the allergies return once they stop regular daily exposure to milk,” says Robert Wood, M.D.

“This may mean that some patients are truly cured of their allergy, while in others the immune system adapts to regular daily exposure to milk and may, in fact, need the exposure to continue to tolerate it,” he adds.

“Food Scientist Develops Process for Allergen-Free Peanuts, According to Lab.” The difficult part about dealing with food allergies and children is sometimes explaining to the child why he or she cannot eat something that may be so tasty.

A number of parents note that their children show positive results for having peanut allergies, so they wish to shelter them from this potentially toxic food. Doug Speight of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University reports that his work has shown 100% inactivation of peanut allergens in whole-roasted kernels and the processed peanuts showed no reaction in human serum tests from the extremely allergic.

“We are extremely pleased that we were able to find such a simple solution to a vexing problem that has enormous economic and public health ramifications, both for peanut sensitive individuals, and the food industry as a whole,” reports Ahmedna, whose product is currently being developed.

To read more Dealing With Food Allergies And Children

America has gotten a bit obsessed with the idea of food allergies in children over the past few decades.

The Centers for Disease Control announced that food allergies and incidents of food intolerance have spiked 18% in the last decade, yet many scientists believe their traditional methods for detecting a child’s food allergy, like blood tests and prick skin tests, are unreliable.

The best method for some patients is to spend the time, money and effort on gradually overcoming a food allergy through a process of gradual tolerance.

The prevailing theory is that food allergies in children can be overcome with a gradual Food Challenge test. There are three types of Food Challenges used today. During an Open Food Challenge, both the patient and the medical staff are aware that the patient is eating the suspected allergy-trigger.

A child in an open egg allergy test may be given small (but increasing) doses of scrambled eggs every 15-30 minutes until a whole egg is ingested to test his threshold. In a Single-Blind Placebo-Controlled Food Challenge, the medical staff is aware what the patient is being fed, but the patient is not.

This type of test is helpful when a patient expresses extreme anxiety about ingesting the food. A child may be given a small amount of egg concealed in pudding, for instance, until a whole egg can be ingested.

A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Food Challenge occurs when neither child nor medical staff (aside from one doctor not directly involved) knows what the patient is being fed. This ensures that there are no emotional biases or stress-related reactions.

“The Food Challenge is what we call the gold standard for diagnosing food allergy,” said Dr. David Fleischer of the National Jewish Hospital. “It is the best test for determining whether someone has a food allergy.

The problem is that a lot of people think they have food allergies; there are a lot of people that have reactions to food out there, but not every reaction is a food allergy,” he added.

It is important to get rid of food allergies in children, if possible, so these kids can enjoy healthy and normal nutritional development. Currently, there is no other treatment for food allergy sufferers other than abstinence or trying to ingest small doses in a controlled setting.

To read more Food Allergies In Children Can Be Overcome With A Food Challenge Test

By now, you’ve probably heard the story about St Patricks and snakes in Ireland. As Irish folklore has it, Saint Patrick once stood on a hilltop (Croagh Patrick) and banished all the snakes from Ireland with his wooden staff. The truth is, there have never been any snakes on the island nation.

It was said that the recounted tale of “banishing the snakes from Ireland” was simply a metaphor for spreading Christianity throughout the land and ridding the nation of paganism.

In fact, 200 years after Patrick’s evangelizing, all of Ireland was Christianized. Even though this story was a myth, there are other true tales that we do know about the life of Ireland’s patron saint.

After Saint Patrick was stolen from his home, he was transported to Ireland, where he spent six years working for a shepherd. The details of St Patrick’s captivity are unclear. Some say he was taken to Mount Slemish of County Antrim, but others believe he was held prisoner in County Mayo of Killala.

Regardless, it is known that the young man lived a lonely life — outdoors and away from people. He turned to religion for solace, but it wasn’t until his escape that he had a vision that religion would become more than just a coping mechanism — but rather, his life’s purpose.

He became a model Christian for others to emulate. Even though he was not perfect, he loved the Lord and spread His word. For this reason, Ireland celebrates this instrument of God with a feast day every year.

While there is some dispute as to St. Patrick’s date of death, it is most widely believed to be on March 17th, in or around 460 A.D. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick (County Down), along with St. Brigid and St. Columba — the other two patron saints of Ireland.

Of course, no one has exhumed the bodies to validate this claim. Today visitors to Ireland can see the Saint Patrick Visitor Centre in Downpatrick, which features interactive displays on the story of St Patrick.

To read more The Life Of Saint Patrick

Everyone knows of the Irish holiday called St. Patrick’s Day, which is widely celebrated around the world. However, few people can delineate the authentic Irish customs and traditions from the newer, more Americanized traditions.

Truly, Irish-American St. Patty’s Day celebrations are still valid, but it’s fascinating to see how old customs have been reinvented in the modern era. The next time you sit down to that corned beef and cabbage dinner, you’ll know the real reasons behind why you’ve chosen that particular food.

“Traditionally in Ireland, the feast of St. Patrick is a celebration of the Christianization of Ireland,” says Ninian Mellamphy, a professor at the University of Western Ontario who came over from Cork, Ireland.

For many years, the Irish holiday was commemorated by attending mass and honoring the missionary who converted much of Ireland from paganism to Christianity in the fifth century. “It was a quiet celebration of our culture,” he adds.

“There was no sense of the carnival.” Rather, the “carnival” of beer drinking, Irish music, parades and parties began when homesick Irish immigrants got together to celebrate their origins.

The Americanized version of Saint Patrick’s Irish holiday has made it back to Ireland, says Mary C. Kelly, a professor at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. “It used to be a very church-focused event, but in the last 10 years, it has become much more commercialized and Americanized.”

She says this probably has to do with an eagerness to lure tourists during a chillier, rainier time of the year. “It’s a reflection of the fact that the Irish have become very wealthy in the past decade,” Kelly explains.

She also believes Irish who have tried their luck abroad and returned back home are bringing a lot of their American traditions back with them, where it’s intermingling with the Irish culture.

“Some would be aware that they’re bringing what you might even call a new culture back there. Others wouldn’t, they would see it as their own personal interpretation.”

To read more Irish Holiday On St Patricks Day

There are 32,000 children with food allergies in Utah alone. Pat Flynn, the principal at Trailside Elementary in Park City, just recently imposed a school-wide ban on nuts for their 500 students. “It comes down to the safety of the kids,” Flynn explains, “and I don’t care if it’s one or eight.”

So far, several other districts are proposing similar policies and the Utah Food Allergy Network is looking for some sort of uniformity across the state. “Some kids could die within minutes,” adds network director Michelle Fogg.

Since 2008, kids with severe allergic reactions have been allowed to carry epinephrine injections with them. While you can’t count on a school ban to protect your child, you will need to consider various lifestyle changes and coping mechanisms to help your family through these changes.

Sometimes children with food allergies begin to feel depressed or ostracized when other kids tease them for being unable to eat certain foods. It’s important that you sit down with your child and talk about these feelings.

A good way to get into a discussion is to read one of the books written about food allergies. Nicole Smith is the author of several helpful children’s food allergy books, such as Allie the Allergic Elephant: A Children’s Story of Peanut Allergies; Cody the Allergic Cow: A Children’s Story of Milk Allergies; and Chad the Allergic Chipmunk: A Children’s Story of Nut Allergies.

For other wonderful books to go over with your child, please visit www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/books-child.html. By reading these books, children will learn how to avoid dangerous situations and stay safe just like their favorite characters in these memorable stories.

A good place to learn more about helping children with food allergies cope is www.allergicchild.com. This website is focused on helping kids who have food allergies to live the healthiest and most normal lives possible.

Parents can sign up for free monthly newsletters with expert columns and may also read e-books; How to Send your Food Allergic Child to School; How to Help Your Child Succeed with Food Allergy and Behavior Manifestations: Giftedness, Autism & Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; How Do I Keep My Food Allergic Child Safe; and Traveling and Eating Out with Food Allergies.

Allergy information is important in the early stages of your child’s diagnosis, but it is through support networks that you will learn to endure.

To read more Finding Information About Children With Food Allergies Online

Before this St. Patrick’s Day 2010, you should learn a little about Ireland’s history so you can really wow your friends. While the story of St. Patrick is often up for debate, scholars can agree that he was sold into slavery as a teenager, where he became a sheep farmer.

Upon his escape to France, he experienced an inspirational vision, became a priest and later became the second Bishop to Ireland. He is noted for establishing schools, churches and monasteries around the country.

In his preaching, he often used three-leafed shamrocks as a metaphor of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Trinity, which is why it is so much a symbol of Ireland today. Once you’ve brushed up on your Irish history, here are some other ways to celebrate.

Since it is a “feast day,” consuming traditional Irish food is the ideal way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2010. Whether you have friends and family over for a sit-down meal or you hit up a local restaurant, you’ll enjoy the specialties that Irish cuisine has to offer.

Saint Patricks Day dinner ideas include corned beef, cabbage, Reuben sandwiches, Irish lamb or beef stew, Guinness and cheddar soup, shepherd’s pie, Atlantic salmon, Guinness beef tips with mashed potatoes and chicken/apple boxty. You can finish up your meal with coffee and Bailey’s Irish cream and a piece of Irish soda bread.

Irish culture is embedded in much media, so you may consider singing Irish songs, attending Irish theatre or watching an Irish movie for St. Patrick’s Day 2010.

Homesick Irish-Americans have always liked movies such as; Going My Way (with Bing Crosby), The Bells of St. Mary’s (with Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman), The Quiet Man (with John Wayne & Maureen O’Hara) and Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt’s memoir).

Theatrical performances of Riverdance are popular in March, as are Celtic music concerts. Also, don’t forget to sing along with traditional Irish folk songs like “Danny Boy” or “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”

To read more Celebrating With Traditional Irish Cuisine On St. Patrick’s Day 2010

Ireland is sometimes referred to as “the island of saints and scholars” because so many noteworthy individuals came from this relatively small land mass.

Even though many of the Irish saints were never officially canonized by the Catholic Church and many of their names and stories have been lost in the annals of history, there are still a number of people the Church commemorates as ideal examples of Christianity.

Some saints of Ireland are quite famous — like Saint Patrick — while others, such as Saint Valentine and Saint Brendan are less well known outside of Ireland. Here you can read a brief overview of the saints who contributed so much to Irish culture and religion.

Saint Fiachra, another one of the more popular saints of Ireland, lived in Ireland during the 7th Century. As a skilled herbal healer, Fiachra of County Kilkenny sought a reclusive life of contemplation, far from his cult-like followers who believed he had the power to cure venereal diseases.

Legend has it, that a country woman saw him uprooting the earth one day and told him that he was being “beguiled with witchcraft.” Instead, he saw his tilling as work from God, so he avoided all women for the rest of his days. Today he is known as the patron saint of gardening and of venereal disease sufferers with his feast day on September 1st.

In addition to Brigid and Patrick, Saint Columba is another one of the patron saints of Ireland. After an argument with Saint Finnian of Moville over his right to keep a copy of a holy manuscript, the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne (561) culminated with many deaths and the near-exile of Columba.

Saint Brendan of Birr spoke on his behalf, so he was allowed to go into exile in Scotland, where he made it his pledge to “convert as many as had been killed in battle.” Columba’s work extended from Derry, to Durrow, to Iona and he is credited with bringing the Irish faith to the east.

His feast day is celebrated on June 9th and one can see statues of him at Drumcliff in County Sligo, Ireland.

To read more Contribution To Irish Culture By The Saints Of Ireland

The 2010 Saint Patricks Day parades are traditionally held the Sunday before March 17th in America. Seattle mops the city blocks of their parade route in kelly green for the celebration.

Chicago has been dyeing the river green for the holiday since 1961, which has inspired Indianapolis to dye its canal, Jamestown to dye its river and Savannah to dye its fountains.

Boston, Massachusetts holds the longest running Saint Patrick’s Day parade, which has been operating since 1737. If you don’t mind traveling, there are many Irish festivities from which to choose.

New York City does everything larger than life and their 2010 Saint Patricks Day parades are no exception. You can expect 150,000 participants, including politicians, firefighters, military personnel, police forces, county workers, emigrant societies, bag pipers, social clubs and dance troops and two million spectators.

Generally, the parade is moved to Saturday when March 17th falls on a Sunday. Visitors can enjoy their Paddys Day celebration at Molly’s Pub and Restaurant, which is famous for their shepherd’s pie and frothy pints of Guinness.

Downtown Chicago will undoubtedly be hosting one of the biggest and best 2010 Saint Patricks Day parades. The festival kicks off with the world-renowned Chicago River dyeing, which is a beautiful sight to see at night in particular.

Pipe bands, elaborate floats, Irish dancers and Irish culture demonstrations flood the city during this week in March. Parties run nonstop in Chicago bars, pubs and nightclubs.

Live Irish music plays at Abbey Pub and Restaurant on the north side, which can’t be missed for the ultimate St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

To read more Activities For 2010 Saint Patricks Day Parades Across America