There is no cure for food allergies. Just one bite of allergy-causing food can trigger a reaction. Strict avoidance of the allergy-causing food is the only way to prevent a reaction.
Food allergy affects not only the individual, but also the entire community. Food allergy is not managed alone. Keeping kids and families safe while at work, school, in restaurants, and almost anywhere requires care and understanding from everyone.
Cloquet resident Sydney Hall suffered an anaphylactic (life threatening) reaction from a bite of a peanut butter cookie when she was only 14 months old. She is now in kindergarten at Washington Elementary.
Her allergy has progressed from a Class 3 to Class 4, to Class 5 (with Classes 5 and 6 the most severe) over the years. She will not outgrow this, so her family and friends are really hoping for a cure. To find that cure, money is needed for research.
Team Sydney Hall will participate in the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network's (FAAN) "Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure" at The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. on Nov. 4.
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The event is designed to raise funds to find a cure and to educate others about the impact of food allergies. It is FAAN's mission to raise public awareness, to provide advocacy and education, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis.
According to FANN, the incidence of food allergy has doubled in the U.S. over the last 10 years. Scientists don't know why.
More than 12 million Americans have food allergy. That's one in 25, or 4 percent of the population. The incidence is even higher in young children - one in 17 among those under age three.
Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish. Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction. There is no cure for food allergy, and strict avoidance of the food allergen is the only way to prevent a reaction.
The public is asked to consider supporting the group's fund-raising efforts with a donation. Your tax-deductible gift will make a difference in the lives of the approximately 12 million Americans who suffer from food allergy, and their families.
Send your tax-deductible contribution to: The Halls; 1006 Carlton Avenue; Cloquet, MN 55720.
Checks should be made payable to FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network). Donations can also be made online with a credit card at: http://www.foodallergywalk.org/goto/Sydney.Hall .
"Any amount, great or small, helps us reach our fund-raising goal," said Jenn Hall, Sydney's mother. "We greatly appreciate your support."
