Food Allergy Awareness Week

Gov. Nathan Deal proclaims this week (May 13-19) as Food Allergy Awareness Week in hopes of highlighting and educating people about food allergies. He recently signed the proclamation at the Gold Dome.

A food allergy is an immune system response. It occurs when the body mistakes an ingredient in food — usually a protein — as harmful and creates a defense system (antibodies) to fight it. Food allergy symptoms develop when the antibodies are battling the “invading” food.

Food allergies are a potentially life-threatening medical condition that afflict as many as 15 million Americans including almost six million children.

Symptoms of a food allergy can range from mild to severe, and the amount of food necessary to trigger a reaction varies from person to person and can even be triggered by just a trace amount of an allergy-causing food. Symptoms of a food allergy may include:

• Rash or hives
• Nausea
• Stomach pain
• Diarrhea
• Itchy skin
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Swelling of the airways to the lungs
• Anaphylaxis (a severe or life-threatening allergic reaction)

Food Allergy (FA) Kids of Atlanta, a non-profit organization, created to support families who manage food allergies, has a list of scheduled events parents and kids can get plugged into this week, including a play date, school training presentation, grocery store tour, family fundraiser and more.

Food Allergy Kids of Atlanta offers local meetings, trainings and events for Atlanta metro communities. Membership is free. For more information, visit the Food Allergy Kids of Atlanta Web site, Facebook page, or call 404-512-7983.