Happy Friday!

I hope everyone had a safe and not-so-spooky Halloween! My favorite part about Halloween is that it kicks off the two month holiday season for me. Bring on more Christmas music! (Note: I couldn’t even wait until the end of Halloween this year to start my favorite Christmas songs. I officially started listening on October 28th… oops!)

Here’s what I’ve been reading in the news this week:

Peanut, Nut, and Shellfish Allergies On the Rise 

There are too many allergy mini-mes running around these days. The results from a study conducted by a pediatrician from Northwestern University say that the number of children with peanut allergies has increased 21% since 2010. It is estimated that 2.5% of children in the US have a peanut allergy. Unreal.

Pediatricians Slow to Comply with Peanut Introduction Guidelines

It’s not surprising that pediatricians around the country are slow to implement the new guidelines for introducing peanuts to at-risk infants.  The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology released survey results stating that pediatricians are not quickly referring high risk infants to an allergist to undergo allergy testing or food challenges.

I think we are seeing a fast-paced culture shift with this new ideology, and I don’t think I’m prepared for this early age testing to happen. When I went thru allergy testing, I was old enough to verbalize my symptoms and learn from my doctors. I can only imagine being a parent in this situation, and I’m glad my parents didn’t have to go through this!

EpiPen Failures = Seven Deaths This Year

“It’s not just about the price anymore. Complaints about the lifesaving device have doubled since 2016.” Well that’s a scary thought…

I’ve seen the malfunctioning of EpiPens come up quite frequently this year. 2016 brought price hikes and 2017 brings launch failures. When you create a product that’s sole purpose is to save lives and it malfunctions, there is an issue. Looks like Mylan’s got 99 problems and their EpiPen is one.

**Full recap next week on Auvi-Q vs. EpiPen.**

Adventure awaits,

Kendall