The Children’s Allergy Guru answers your questions

GOT A MILLION allergy questions buzzing around your head, and your little one’s next appointment is months away? Join us on Twitter tomorrow night for ‘Allergy Hour’, when London-based paediatric allergy guru George Du Toit will be the guest expert on hand to help.

Consultant paediatric allergist at Guy’s & St Thomas’, Du Toit is also co-investigator on the LEAP study into the prevention of peanut allergy in young children.

Follow @allergyhour and tweet your questions using the tag #allergyhour – it’s on from 20.30 to 21.30 GMT on Thursday 24 October. See you there!

Parent support group – N16

OK! Date and place are finally set for the second parent support group in north/east London. So if you are parent to a food allergic child, would love to swap experiences, tips and recipes, ask questions of an allergy doctor over a cup of tea, and can get to Stoke Newington, N16, then here’s the info you need:

Support group dates…

I’VE BEEN very remiss in blogging about these but the food allergy parents’ support group is trundling on happily, with different get-togethers happening in different parts of London. The next two are in Ealing and at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, but there are plans for another north London one, hopefully in November. I’ll keep you posted.

Fight for your right to party!

SO, HERE we are surrounded by the debris of a summer get-together. But unlike the old days it’s not cig butts and wine bottles; this time I’m talking grapes, free from biscuits, and two empty pots of tea, because today we hosted the allergy parent support group for the very first time.

You only realise how keyed up you are about mass gatherings with a food allergic child when you are finally able to hold or go to one without any worries. No-one this afternoon was going to turn up with a peanut butter sandwich in a lunchbox – and I didn’t have to warn anyone of the dos and don’ts in advance.

A doctor calls…

Well, no, not him – but am v happy to reveal that Dr Tammy Rothenberg, a consultant paediatrician with a specialist interest in allergies will be the resident expert at the food allergy parent support group in Stoke Newington on Saturday 30 June. Dr R – formerly of St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington and now the Homerton, Hackney – will be there to to answer all your burning questions about childhood food allergy. Plus there will be some great allergy friendly recipes to take home, as well as a chance just to catch up and chat with parents in the same boat.

Please follow this link for details and info on how to come along… Would love to see as many food allergy parents from the area as we can squeeze in!

Bearing up

Fame at last! As you can see, Sidney is bearing up remarkably well despite his Food Allergy Ordeal.

Billboards and front pages of the Hackney Gazette, no less. I hasten to add, despite the headlines, he can eat birthday cake (albeit wheat free, egg free and nut free – see here for recipe) and he happens to like boiled courgette, but that aside it’s nice to have a bit of a plug for the upcoming parent support group. Date TBC as soon as poss – hopefully June. All food allergy parents who can get themselves to the Hackney area are very welcome. Details to follow…