With severe allergies to peanuts and other foods proliferating among children, allergies are a hot topic for parents and schools — and particularly parents whose children suffer from life-threatening allergies.
One such parent is Anne Kennedy, who has become an advocate for food allergy awareness and education in the Mercer County area. To that end she has organized a free lecture at Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m.
The speaker will be Dr. Jonathan Spergel, an allergy specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who will discuss food allergy facts, myths and talk more about the groundbreaking research that could lead to new treatments for patients.
Spergel, who received his MD and PhD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, leads the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Division of Allergy. Faculty from the division have helped develop national guidelines for treating allergic disorders and are researching their causes.
Kennedy’s exposure to food allergies began with her own son. She writes: “My son has been hospitalized on four occasions for accidental exposure to a food allergen. We have achieved great success in reducing the risk to food allergens through food challenges and most recently in the participation for a clinical study involving peanuts. In March, 2014, my son could not tolerate trace amounts of peanut. Today, he is ingesting two peanuts daily.”
Demystifying Food Allergies: Know the Facts, Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, 1128 Great Road, Princeton. Wednesday, January 21, 7:30 p.m. RSVP to foodallergyawarenessadvocate@gmail.com.
