Ask About My Peanut Allergy

We are now in that phase of Bo's peanut allergy desensitization treatments where the dosage increases alot every two weeks. He is now eating enough peanut flour every day to equal more than 3 peanuts! So far, he has not had any allergic reactions and the only issue we have to deal with is his dislike of the taste of peanuts. But Bo understands how important it is to keep up the treatments and he is preparing himself mentally for April when he will convert to eating peanut products, like peanut butter or peanut M&Ms, every day instead of peanut flour.

Great Online Source for Allergen-Free Foods

AllerNeeds online store provides a large selection of great-tasting peanut free and allergen free foods including chocolate, snacks, cake mixes, brownies, muffins and more. All the products they carry are produced in guaranteed peanut/tree nut free facilities. And if you have other food allergies, such as, wheat, dairy, egg, or soy, it's easy to shop AllerNeeds web site using their Shop-by-Allergy Search tool.

We have updated Bo's Peanut Safe Foods list page with his favorite foods from AllerNeeds including the chocolate Mars bars, Nonuttin' Granola Clusters with vanilla & caramel, and AllerEnergy Bars - Blueberry.

Birthday Party Tips for Food Allergy Guests

A neighbor made Bo's day this weekend when she went out of her way to make sure all the food (pizza, cake & ice cream) at her son's birthday party was peanut safe for Bo! Kathleen called several times in the days before the party to make sure she had all the bases covered regarding the peanut safety of the ingredients she was cooking with and the food she was buying. Bo was so excited to be able to eat the same things all the other kids were eating at the birthday party. Totally awesome to have such caring friends!

We also wanted to spread the word about a simple, but cool kitchen product we recently discovered that makes it easy for your food allergic child to carry their own homemade, food allergy safe cupcake to a birthday party or school.

It's a plastic container for a single cupcake that doesn't smear the icing or smash the cup cake! Now it's easy for Bo to bring a homemade, peanut safe cupcake in his lunchkit or cooler.

Order Cup-a-Cake Containers (Set of 5)

Thanks to one of our alert readers, Colleen, for a tip that Wed. January 14 is the deadline to submit your comments to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding "May Contain" labeling using the link below. The FDA has begun to develop a long-term strategy to help food product manufacturers use these statements in a clear and consistent manner, so that consumers with food allergies and their caregivers can be adequately informed as to the potential presence of major food allergens, such as, peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat.

The FDA is also interested in receiving comments about whether consumers find advisory labeling helpful for making food purchasing decisions.

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064806b7555

So we are asking all families affected by food allergies to submit your brief comments to the FDA by January 14 to help shape their "May Contain" food allergen labeling policy.

Peanut Allergy Treatment Update

Bo is doing great with his peanut allergy treatment for the desensitization study at Children's Hospital in Little Rock. His daily dose of peanut flour is now about 3 peanuts!

We are also proud that Bo continues to earn straight A's on his report cards despite missing two Monday's of school per month for the past two years! (Our secret is making sure he does his homework between watching Star Wars, Indiana Jones and LSU football season review DVDs during the 14 hour round trips in the car to Little Rock and back to south Louisiana.)

Sincerely,

Bo's Parents
www.askaboutmypeanutallergy.com

Bo's peanut allergy desensitization treatment at Children's Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas is going great. His daily dosage of peanut flour is now equivalent to more than 2 peanuts! Our confidence that Bo is becoming less allergic to peanuts as a direct result of this peanut allergy treatment research is growing with each twice-a-month incremental increase in his daily dosage of peanut flour.

On our last two trips to Little Rock, Bo got Krispy Kreme doughnuts for being so good after riding 7 hours in the car. As you can see from this picture, Bo is very excited!

Bo has recently eaten several times at Subway restaurants that don't sell peanut butter cookies at all and are therefore peanut free. (Subway restaurants ingredients information for people with food allergies)

Products for People with Food Allergies

As soon as Bo gets over his current sinus infection and cold, he will be reviewing several peanut free food product samples we have been sent from manufactures and distributors. In the mean time, we have added a link to our other site that has a convenient collection of peanut free foods, books and other products for people with food allergies.

As always, we welcome your comments and e-mails and invite you to join our prayers for a cure to all food allergies.

Bo's Parents
www.askaboutmypeanutallergy.com