Food Allergy Friday Newsletter 🧭 Your compass in the evolving landscape of pediatric food allergies
This Week's Featured Article
Title: "Food Allergy in Restaurants Work Group Report"
Authors: Cristina A. Carter, MD, Michael Pistiner, MD, MMS, Julie Wang, MD, and Hemant P. Sharma, MD, MHS
Journal and Year: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2019
⚡️ Key Points in 30 Seconds
- Approximately 1 in 3 children with a food allergy has an allergic reaction at a restaurant.
- Parents of children with food allergies need to be food allergy-informed patrons by mastering three key strategies: communication, knowledge, and preparedness.
- Restaurants need to be food allergy-informed by mastering three key strategies: communication, knowledge, and safe practices.
👉 Why This Article Matters for Your Practice
Children with food allergies are exposed to foods throughout the day. When children are young, parents may bring safe foods to restaurants for their allergic children. As children grow up, they need to know how to navigate dining out safely. This is an important part of their transition from the pediatric healthcare model to the adult healthcare model - they must be able to self-manage their medical conditions in all environments. As their pediatrician or other pediatric care provider, you play an important role in guiding them along this journey.
📊 Paper Overview
Design: This work group report reviewed the prevalence and risk factors regarding dining out with food allergies. It also reviewed key strategies that both restaurants and patrons must take to optimize safety regarding food allergies.
Key Conclusions by the Authors: “To improve their safety and experience, patients should learn to advocate for themselves, and food allergy training would ideally occur on a consistent basis for restaurant employees.”
Tables I and II are from this week's article. While we as clinicians have little control over restaurant practices, we absolutely can impact our patients and their families on how to be a food allergy-informed diner.
Hoyt Commentary
Are your food allergy patients living too much in a bubble?
Many food allergy parents go above and beyond to help their children be included and safe. This often means extensive meal-planning as well as continuing to fully manage the their child's food allergies even into the teen years. It's critical that parents learn how to navigate dining out safely but also are able to effectively teach their child about how to do this.
Patient Communication Tips
🗣️ Key Messages for Families
- Dining out with food allergies at restaurants can be done safely in most cases.
Sample Script:
"How does food allergy impact dining out?" Probe a bit on their current practices and set a goal to encourage growth in this area. An example would be that they would have their 12 year-old peanut-allergic daughter talk to the server about her food allergies the next time they are dining out. This is great practice for her and allows her parents to help out!
'Food Allergy Friday' is curated and written by Dr. Alice Hoyt. Dr. Hoyt is board-certified in allergy & immunology, internal medicine, and pediatrics. Her clinical expertise is in food allergies, and she serves patients with her team at the Hoyt Institute of Food Allergy.
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