http://www.allergiesjr.com/taxonomy/term/9/0 News Alerts en http://www.allergiesjr.com/forum/all_about_allergies/news/coronera_s_report_announces_cause_of_death_of_canadian_teen <!-- google_ad_section_start --> <p>On the eve of Food <a class="glossary-term" href="/glossary#term11"><acronym title="Allergy: al·ler·gy Pronunciation (lr-j) n. pl. al·ler·gies 1. An abnormally high sensitivity to certain substances, such as pollens, foods, or microorganisms. Common indications of allergy may include sneezing, itching, and skin rashes. 2. Informal An adverse sentiment; antipathy: an allergy to cocktail parties. An allergy can refer to several kinds of immune reactions including Type I hypersensitivity in which a person&#039;s body is hypersensitised and develops IgE type antibodies to typical proteins. When a person is hypersensitised, these substances are known as allergens. The word allergy derives from the Greek words allos meaning &amp;quot;other&amp;quot; and ergon meaning &amp;quot;work&amp;quot;. Type I hypersensitivity is characterised by excessive activation of mast cells and basophils by immunoglobulin E resulting in a systemic inflammatory response that can result in symptoms as benign as a runny nose, to life-threatening anaphylactic shock and death.">Allergy</acronym></a> Awareness Week, Coroner Michael Miron has issued his final report on the cause of death of Canadian teen Christina DesForges, whose death was reported worldwide last year as a direct result of kissing her boyfriend who earlier had eaten peanuts.</p> <p>The Coroner has ruled that the peanut-allergic teen died from a severe asthma attack, due to respiratory failure. A 2001 study of fatal reactions to foods highly correlated teens with food allergy and asthma as a high risk for fatal reactions. According to Dr. Allan Bock, author of the study, “Fatalities Due to Anaphylactic Reactions to Foods,” in conjunction with The Food Allergy &amp; Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), “Regardless of whether or not the death was food-related, we have seen in a variety of studies that teens are always at risk. Anaphylactic reactions can occur at anytime, especially amongst teenagers. Because of teens’ various social settings and behaviors, their school and other environments must be accommodated with the proper policies and educational material, and tools in order to administer treatment when someone is suffering a potentially fatal allergic reaction.”</p> <!-- google_ad_section_end --> <p><a href="http://www.allergiesjr.com/forum/all_about_allergies/news/coronera_s_report_announces_cause_of_death_of_canadian_teen">read more</a></p> http://www.allergiesjr.com/forum/all_about_allergies/news/coronera_s_report_announces_cause_of_death_of_canadian_teen#comment News Thu, 25 May 2006 15:49:25 -0400 Al Lergies Jr 7 at http://www.allergiesjr.com