The country is facing a new health epidemic in this country: that of food allergies. “Over the past few decades, food allergy rates have skyrocketed to the point where now approximately 1 in every 13 children and 1 in every 20 adults are affected.1 In our grandparents’ time, nobody in their whole town had a food allergy, in our parents’ time, maybe one child in their school had a food allergy; now there’s two or three in every classroom with rates increasing even more from 1997 to 2007 (up 18%, to be exact).2 The reasons for it are unclear, and the general public’s (and even primary care physicians’) misunderstanding of the issue may put patients’ lives at unnecessary risk.3”
San Marino’s and South Pasadena’s only allergist, Dr. Karl Von Tiehl, will be coming to the Crowell Public Library on Monday, June 23rd at 7:00 p.m. to give an hour lecture on food allergies and to lead a round table Q&A discussion on this important topic. Crowell Library encourages all patients with food allergies and all adult and older teenage family members of patients with food allergies to attend. The lecture will cover what is (and what is not) food allergy, which medical conditions are related to food allergy, which foods are responsible for most allergic reactions, which infant formulas are safe to use, when and how to first introduce different food allergens to a child, which vaccinations might cause reactions in patients with food allergies, what kinds of allergy testing are available, how to best avoid exposure to food allergens (including a discussion on the controversial “food allergy table” at school), how to treat allergic reactions when they happen and how to live life to its fullest with food allergies (including social issues).
Dr. Karl von Tiehl is a double board-certified Allergist/Immunologist, who trained at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Upon graduating, Dr. von Tiehl spent over three years as a faculty member of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s prestigious Division of Allergy and Immunology. Dr. von Tiehl grew up in Pasadena and enjoys helpings patients that suffer from allergic disorders, just like he did when he was a child.
Everyone is invited for a fascinating look at an important health issue Monday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the Barth Community Room at Crowell Library.Food Allergies: for the Patient and the Family.
1Sampson H. Update on Food Allergy. J Allergy Clin immunol. 2004;113:805-19
2Branum AM and Lukacs SL. Food Allergy Among Children in the United States. Pediatrics. 2009;124[6]:1549-1555
3Gupta RS, et al. Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs of Primary Care Physicians. Pediatrics. 2010;125[1]:126-132
Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Drive, San Marino, (626) 300-0777, or visit www.CrowellPublicLibrary.org, or their Facebook and Twitter pages.
