About this time next week many of you will be making those final tweaks to your costumes, filling your candy bowls and making sure you have plenty of batteries for your flashlight. That’s right…another Halloween night is upon us! While Halloween is all about fun and candy, there are still many important things you need to consider before heading out into the night, especially if your child has a food allergy.

We all know the basic Halloween safety tips but have you ever thought about the extra precautions the parent of a child with a food allergy must consider?

Here is a short list of tips from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) that is sure to help parents protect their children with food allergies during Halloween:

• Be sure your child carries emergency medication, such as an epinephrine auto-injector.
• Before Halloween, distribute safe snacks to neighbors and request that they be handed out to your child.
• Accompany younger children as they trick-or-treat, or be sure they are supervised by a responsible adult who knows how to handle an emergency allergic reaction.
• Remember that small candy bars passed out to trick-or-treaters may have different ingredients than their regular-size counterparts. Even if a certain candy is safe for your child, the ‘fun size’ version might not be.

You can even download a full version of these tips from the AAAAI site by clicking here: http://is.gd/4xRfX

At American Medical ID we know the importance of identifying those with a food allergy so we would also recommend that your child wear a medical ID bracelet or necklace, engraved with the foods your child should avoid, while trick-or-treating. To view some of our products, CLICK HERE.

For even more information about trick-or-treating and keeping your child safe during Halloween, here are a couple of sites we found helpful:

• CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/family/halloween/
• FAAN: http://www.foodallergy.org/media/press_releases/halloween09.html

Carthy Picton

Marketing

American Medical ID

Did you know that food allergy affects 12 million Americans, or one in 25 people? Did you know there is something you can do to help raise awareness of food allergy and the effect it has on a community?

American Medical ID is doing just that this Saturday morning…rain or shine! We are participating as Bronze Sponsor at our local FAAN: Walk for Food Allergy in Houston, Texas. With a lot of hard work and dedication, we have a team of 41 people that will be walking to support this wonderful organization and cause. Here is a link to the 2009 walk locations. I bet there is one near you in the coming weeks: http://is.gd/39C6n.

If anyone resides in Houston, TX we would love for you to drop by our booth to say hello. If you can’t make it by the booth, you will easily be able to spot us in our company t-shirts we had created especially for this event. Also, stay tuned for pictures and maybe even videos we will take during and after the walk.

For more information about the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, please visit their site at: www.foodallergy.org

Also, please remember that if you or a loved one has a food allergy you should wear a medical ID bracelet or medical ID necklace.

Carthy Picton

American Medical ID

Marketing