Allergies epidemic
With one in three Canadians suffering from at least one type of allergic condition, and up to 40 to 50% of children in North America, Australia and Western Europe developing some kind of allergic disease, allergies are considered by many experts to be an epidemic in developing countries. According to the Global Initiative for Asthma, Canada is ranked as the fifth highest country for prevalence of asthma among adults. A March 2005 study by the Asthma Society of Canada reveals a disturbingly low number of patients have had a substantive conversation with a healthcare professional about their asthma management. And fewer than half have been tested for allergies. Read more ( Below)
Allergies and asthma can severely affect quality of life for individuals and families
TORONTO, May 10 /CNW/ - AllergyExpo 2005 announced today that Dr. Stuart Tousman of Rockford College in Chicago, will speak on the psychological impact of allergies on families. Dr. Tousman will be referencing several studies that show children and parents experience significant psychological issues related to daily experiences of living with an uncontrolled chronic disease such as asthma or life-threatening food allergies (anaphylaxis).
"The ever present possibility of being exposed to specific foods present some very stressful challenges for families coping with allergies, as are the lack of proper product labeling, restaurant warnings, as well as public and institutional lack of understanding" said Peter Evans, CEO of AllergyExpo.
Bill 3
The most extreme reactions to food allergies can be deadly. A well-known case in Canada was that of 11-year old Sabrina Shannon's death following a reaction to food she ate in her school cafeteria in Ottawa. New legislation -
"Bill 3" - is currently under review in the Ontario legislature which will require all Ontario school boards to put into place specific policies and communications for the benefit of children with allergies at school. In attendance at AllergyExpo 2005 will be Dave Levac, MPP for Brant, who has led the Bill 3 initiative in Ontario.
Allergies epidemic
With one in three Canadians suffering from at least one type of allergic condition, and up to 40 to 50% of children in North America, Australia and Western Europe developing some kind of allergic disease, allergies are considered by many experts to be an epidemic in developing countries.
According to the Global Initiative for Asthma, Canada is ranked as the fifth highest country for prevalence of asthma among adults. A March 2005 study by the Asthma Society of Canada reveals a disturbingly low number of patients have had a substantive conversation with a healthcare professional about their asthma management. And fewer than half have been tested for allergies. In response to this growing need for asthma education, the Asthma Society of Canada will be setting up its new "Asthma Base Camp" (ABC) at AllergyExpo 2005 to offer free asthma testing and patient information provided by qualified medical professionals. "The latest research reveals some major gaps in patient education with respect to asthma, said Melva Bellefountaine,"
Director of Programs for the Asthma Society of Canada. "We need to look at more innovative ways to engage and educate patients so we can help them manage their disease more effectively."

Doctors snub stroke drug
Researchers challenge reluctance to use clot-busting medication
SHARON KIRKEY
CanWest News Service Tuesday, May 10, 2005
More than one-third of stroke patients injected with clot-busting drugs survive without significant brain damage, according to new Canadian research that backs aggressive use of medication many emergency doctors have been reluctant to use.
The nationwide study, which involved nearly 1,200 stroke patients at 60 hospitals, found the drug alteplase works better than expected and that the most feared side-effect - bleeding in the brain - occurs in fewer than five per cent of patients.
But fewer than two per cent of stroke victims received the drug over the 1999-2001 study, researchers estimate.
"My guess is that, across the country, we're probably not much better" today, said co- author Michael Hill, a stroke neurologist at the University of Calgary. Part of the problem is that 70 per cent of stroke patients don't get to the hospital in time to be eligible for a clot buster