One in 12 US kids have food allergy

One in 12 children in the United States may have a food allergy, with more than a third of those having severe allergies, according to a study.

The study, published in Pediatrics, also showed that allergies were more common in minority children.

"What I hope this paper will do is open this awareness to how common (food allergy) is and how severe it can be, and develop policies for schools and sporting events and any activities that kids participate in to make it clear that everybody is looking out for these kids," says lead author Ruchi Gupta, from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Gupta and her colleagues surveyed a nationally representative sample of almost 40,000 US adults, who lived with a child under 18 years old.

Those adults filled out an online questionnaire about allergies based on a single child in their household, reporting whether or not the child had any signs or symptoms of a food allergy, had ever been diagnosed with an allergy by a doctor, and had ever had a severe allergic reaction to food.

The results showed that 8 percent of children, almost 6 million, had a diagnosed food allergy or convincing symptoms that indicated an allergy. The most common ones were peanuts, milk and shellfish.

"One of our big findings was that two in five kids who had allergies had a severe reaction or a life-threatening reaction," she adds.

Portable pools also dangerous

In-ground pools are often seen as the biggest drowning danger for children, but a US study warned that portable pools, including inflatable and wading pools, are just as dangerous - especially for younger children.

In fact, between 2001 and 2009, a child drowned in a portable backyard pool once every five days during the summer months, according to the study in Pediatrics.

"Parents need to be aware that these pools can present the same risks for drowning, especially for young children, as in-ground pools", which are typically thought of as a bigger danger, study author Gary Smith says.

Smith, who is head of the center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and his team looked at data compiled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission for cases of drowning or near-drowning in these types of pool that were reported to the commission.

Over the nine years from 2001 to 2009, they found records of 209 deaths from submersion and 35 non-fatal cases in children aged 11 and younger. The number of drowning cases increased between 2001 and 2005, but has leveled off in recent years.

Almost all of those happened in children under 5 years old, and most were in the child's own yard in the summer months.

"That's a child every five days that is drowning in a backyard portable pool during the summer months," Smith says.

Feeling ill? Check out your garden

Many plants and herbs have been used over the centuries as medicines and are freely available in many gardens.

"It's worth your while having a closer look in your garden to see if there's something you can use to make a medicinal tea with," gardening consultant Sven Goerlitz says.

Right at the top of the list of medicinal plants is mint but due to the wide variety of species you must be careful which mint you choose.

"There are a few poisonous varieties as well as a few with very high levels of menthol that can cause stomach irritation," warns Manfred Fischer from the German body and health care product manufacturer Kneipp-Werke.

One safe variety of mint is Mentha x piperita (peppermint). "Research on the plant has shown that its oil can ease digestive system complaints and improve gallbladder function."

A prerequisite to extracting the benefit from a herb, leaf or flower is choosing the right plant. "That requires specialist knowledge," warns Ursula Sellerberg from Germany's Pharmacists Association.

"You should not walk through a park or forest carelessly picking plants as the risk of making a mistake is very high. Many plants are also under nature protection."

Reuters-DPA