Parents,

I want to remind you of the seriousness of food allergies. I have included an attachment from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Many scientists believe that the number of people with food allergies is rising, as is the number of foods to which they are allergic. In the past, more often than not, children were only allergic to one or maybe two foods, whereas now it’s very common to see children allergic to two or three or more foods. On the basis of random phone surveys, the Food Asthma and Allergy Network estimate that about 4% of the US population—about 12 million people—are allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish (www.foodallergy.org). However, there is probably under-reporting. In comments on the US Food & Drug Administration’s 2005 Food Safety Survey, FAAN stated that, “Accurate and reliable data on food allergy and anaphylaxis is lacking, and it is generally believed that the limited data now available represents an under-reporting of food allergy-related reactions and deaths” (FAAN, 2005). The attachment tells you what symptoms to look for and what actions to take.  Please take the time to read it. If you have an adolescent with allergies and have not supplied me with an allergy action plan signed by a health care provider and an epinephrine pen, please do so.

Thank you,

Nurse Anne