This week I found out about a pretty amazing man and I can't believe I haven't heard of Dr Bill Frankland before. He was on the One Show on Tuesday 28th February and at 99 years old he is still practicing as a doctor at St Mary's hospital in London, what an inspiration! Not just because he's nearing his 100th birthday and still working, but Dr Frankland has pioneered allergy … [Read more...]
National Allergy Strategy Group parliamentary reception – inspirational, emotional and packed!
I'm just back from a brilliant parliamentary reception organised by the National Allergy Strategy Group (NASG), aimed at raising awareness of allergies amongst MPs and the government as a whole. Jo Swinson, in a very nice blue jacket Jo Swinson MP for East Dunbartonshire chaired the event and was incredibly supportive of the concerns of everyone in the room. She totally … [Read more...]
Bird’s Custard powder invented because of egg allergy!
Today I thought I'd share a bit of food fact fun. Did you know that Bird's Custard, first invented way back in 1837 by Alfred Bird, came about because his wife could not eat the traditional custard which was made with eggs because she had an egg allergy? Useless fact number one, you never know when that might come up at the pub quiz. Over the years the company has been taken … [Read more...]
Stress and depression – the allergy link
At the recent Anaphylaxis Campaign conference in November 2011 we learnt from Dr Rebecca Knib of the University of Derby about an interesting study into families where one or more child had allergies. Both parents were analysed as well as the children to find out what the impact of food allergy was on anxiety in the family. Interestingly the mother of the family seemed to be … [Read more...]
Coriander allergy – watch out for ‘spices’!
Coriander allergy is quite rare and can often be linked to oral allergy syndrome. This means that people who react to different kinds of hayfever triggers such as birch, mugwort or ragweed may also be allergic to particular foods which cross react due to being very similar in make up or from the same plant group. Oral allergy often develops in adults or late teens and … [Read more...]