Alleviating allergy concerns unveiled in new action plan

CTV National News: Food allergy action plan Paul Hollingsworth on new recommendations to support Canadians with food allergies and promote food safety.

The National Food Allergy Action Plan calls for major changes to assist the millions of Canadians with food allergies. The plan is designed to bring improvements to allergy diagnosis, treatment, consistent standards of care, improved access to care, and an overall upgrade in investments for education and research.

Being careful, educated and informed about what you eat when suffering from allergies can literally mean the difference between life and death.

“We have this window of opportunity around prevention of food allergy and liberating treatment and access that we need to capitalize on now and not lose the value of getting things implemented right away,” said Food Allergy Canada executive director Jennifer Gerdts.

According to Gerdts, increased access to allergy immunotherapy specialists could reduce and even eliminate some allergies by as much as 50 per cent for all Canadians.

Anita Gee's nine-year-old son was allergic to walnuts and pecans. After immunotherapy, he's now allergy-free.

"He is not anaphylactic, and he does not have a life-threatening disease anymore,” said Gee, who recommended the treatment for others to consider. “He can go out and enjoy meals and it is life-changing."

An allergy diagnosis at a young age could also minimize health dangers later in life.

"When we intervene early, it's possible that we can have a huge impact on those patients lives and also on societal benefit,” said National Food Allergy Action Plan co-leader Dr. Harold Kim, who added the new plan, if implemented, could also help reduce pressure on the public health care system.