POCHA of Will County is not a professional or medical organization. It is a group of parents sharing information and supporting each other. The discussions, meeting minutes, handouts, speakers, agendas, and other products of this group do not constitute medical and/or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Always discuss individual health/medical concerns with a qualified personal physician.
 

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Let Oprah Hear Us!
Oprah is looking for new topics for her show and we have a great one for her - Food Allergies! She is looking for input through the “Ask Dr Oz about your children's health!” section on her web site.  We need your help to ensure that she understands the extent of the food allergy issue. It is important that all the “Dr. Oz health questions” are submitted within a few days of each other. Hopefully the volume of questions on food allergies will demonstrate that there is enough interest to warrant a show on food allergies.

STEP 1
Go to Oprah’s web site on Friday, September 14.  Here is the link directly to “Ask Dr Oz about your children's health!” https://www.oprah.com/plugger/templates/BeOnTheShow.jhtml?action=respond&plugId=261800001

STEP 2
Complete the form found on the web site (name, address, etc.)

STEP 3
Submit your question and story to Dr. Oz. The story section allows 2000 characters (or about 8 lines of text). Do either option a, b or c.

a) Write your own personal question and story.
b) Use one of the 5 sample questions and stories attached to this e-mail or found at www.pochaofwillcounty.com (see below).
c) Use one of the 5 sample questions and stories and modify the story (text).

Helpful hints to copy text: To copy the example question and the response, open the word document and the web site page. Highlight the selected question and response. Then press the Ctrl key at the same time as the “C” button (for copy). Then move over to the web page, place your cursor in the comment section. Then press the Ctrl key at the same time as the “V” button (for paste).

STEP 4
Hit Submit

STEP 5
Forward an e-mail requesting participation to your entire address book.

Sample Questions and Stories
How do you keep a child with potentially life-threatening food allergies safe?

I have a grandchild with food allergies. The number of children having potentially deadly food allergies is exploding. Imagine that just touching a small amount of food could cause you to die. Going to the grocery store has new meaning…. even small traces of allergenic foods like a drop of milk left on a shopping cart from another child’s snack can trigger life-threatening anaphylaxis. It's a chronic illness, but it's a hidden illness, so it's misperceived by society. Landmines exist everywhere. School is not safe. Holidays are not safe. Birthday parties are not safe. Summer camp is not safe. Soccer is not safe. Dance class is not safe. How do we keep our children safe?

What is causing so many of our children to be dangerously allergic to food?

“We’re basically looking at what may be a public-health crisis, and we have to find ways to deal with it,” says Dr. Scott H. Sicherer from Mount Sinai, NY. The number of children under 5 with peanut allergies has doubled between 1997 and 2002. More than 12 million Americans suffer from food allergy today. Included in that number are 2.2 million school-aged children and one in every 17 children younger than 3. Food allergies kill more than 150 Americans each year and are responsible for 30,000 emergency room visits.

How can I assure the safety of food allergic children in my classroom?

I am a teacher with a concern. The average American elementary school today has ten children suffering from severe food allergies. There are currently no medications to cure or control food allergies. Strict avoidance of the allergenic food is the only way to avoid a reaction. It is a very challenging situation that will not go away any time soon. How do I make my classroom safe.

How is research progressing for food allergies?

My friend’s child has food allergies and it affects us too because the entire community surrounding the allergenic child is affected. Finding a cure for food allergy will not only improve the lives of allergic children and their parents, but will also lessen the burdens on school teachers, administrators, and parents of non-allergic children. Researchers are confident that a vaccine for major food allergies can be found if the research receives sufficient funding. The National Institutes of Health spends less than $10 million a year on food allergy research for 12 million people or 83 cents/person. Compare that to $53/person spent on ADHD and $70/person on diabetes. These are all important diseases that deserve their funding as does food allergies.

How does a child survive in a world where food is the enemy?

My child has food allergies and we need a cure for this epidemic. I look around at the classroom and there are several other children in the class who also have food allergies. The younger grades seem to have even more. As I speak with other parents of food allergic children, we all have the same fear, our child will die. Not because they were careless or reckless but because they came into contact with a common substance…. FOOD. How does a child survive in a world where food is the enemy?