Tampa, FL: Op Ed piece calls allergy increases "an epidemic"--we must have answers

Aug 23, 2017, (Tampa, FL) Inquisitor: (Opinion) Scientists must find out why anaphylactic reactions are skyrocketing, food allergies an epidemic http://www.inquisitr.com/opinion/4451420/scientists-must-find-out-why-anaphylactic-reactions-are-skyrocketing-food-allergies-an-epidemic/ (**Note the disclaimer from the Inquisitor that this is only the opinion of the author, not the news outlet. Evidently the Inquisitor is all right with kids having anaphylactic reactions to food allergies.) ... In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the prevalence of reported food allergies had increased 18 percent among children between 1997 to 2007, but that didn’t seem daunting enough. It didn’t specify the severity of the food allergies. One study though, published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, should frighten each of us. This study was reported on by Robin Gelburd, the president of FAIR Health, and featured this week in the Wall Street Journal. Published in 2015, it looked at the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions due to anaphylaxis caused by food between 2008 and 2012. Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening, allergic reaction. The analysis found that severe, life-threatening food reactions are increasing in prevalence at an alarming rate. They rose annually by 29.1 percent between 2008 and 2012. ... There is a life-threatening epidemic affecting American children and adults, and it needs to be addressed and discussed with the magnitude of importance that it deserves. Oh, and no potential cause should be off limits. ... Knowing what causes food allergies could prevent future suffering and end the epidemic. We must demand that our scientists determine the causes of food allergies, and no suspect should be off limits for implication, no matter how important or lucrative it might be.