About Us
Anaphylaxis Ireland was set up to raise awareness of anaphylaxis and to provide support to people at risk and their families. We have been informed that the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) have issued a Press Release on their website regarding the recall of one lot (batch) of Epipen 300mcg Pre-filled Pens.
As part of the requirements for a Master’s in Applied Psychology degree at UCC, Cynthia Ebere Anaba, Katherine Lickey and Jennifer Whyte are each carrying out a research study in collaboration with The Cork Food Allergy Research Group in UCC and CUH. If you are able to help, please see details of the studies being conducted below:
Research into food allergies effect on identity, with particular focus on the transition from second to third level education - Study 1 Jennifer Whyte
Perception of the severity of symptoms in food allergy: Preliminary Development of an international standardised scoring system - Study 2 Katherine Lickey
Parent perspectives on a new method of diagnosing food allergy - Study 3 Cynthia Ebere Anaba
The 7th annual Oíche Oscair An Spidéil will take place on Saturday 1 April 2017 in The Park Lodge Hotel An Spidéal, Co Galway. The aim of this spectacular night is to raise awareness & much needed funds for Anaphylaxis Ireland and the Chernobyl Children’s charity Another Journey of Hope.
Guests are invited to don their most fabulous frocks and tuxes or dress up as their favourite stars from the silver screen. The evening begins at 7:30pm with a walk on the red carpet where guests will have their photo taken with the Star Wars characters from the fantastic Emerald Garrison. They will then be escorted by our glamourous hostess to a wine & cheese reception where they can mingle with other Hollywood stars! A two course dinner in the ballroom is followed by an award ceremony where ‘Oscairs’ will be presented for various categories such as best dressed, best costume & much more. And then it’s time to dance the night away to the tunes of our DJ.
Tickets for this amazing event are just €30 per person and are selling fast! Tickets are on sale at O’Donnell’s Texaco & Mac Phronnsias Spar An Spidéal or they can be reserved & collected on the night by contacting the organisers through the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oicheoscairanspideil
Looking for Volunteers with Food Allergies
Are you an adult diagnosed with a food allergy?
Are you interested in participating in a study investigating incidence and circumstances of allergic reactions to food in the community?
This study is being conducted by researchers of the Integrated Approaches to Food Allergen and Allergy Risk Management (iFAAM) research project. IFAAM is an EU-funded project aiming at reducing a burden of food allergies across Europe (http://www.inflammation-repair.manchester.ac.uk/iFAAM
You will be asked to report accidental reactions to food via an online tool (an average completion time – 10 minutes) over a period of three months. You will not have to visit a clinic or consume any food for the purpose of this study.You will be paid for the costs of travel (if applicable).
This study has been approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee in 2014 [ECM 4 (s) 01/07/14]
If you wish to participate please fill in this brief screening questionnaire:
Seven European countries to participate in cutting edge research that will aid better understanding of food allergic incidents.
Patients with food allergies from Ireland, the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and Poland have now the first-ever opportunity to live-report their allergic incidents to food in a vital implementation stage of the world’s largest study of food allergies ever undertaken.
Food allergy is a chronic disease classified in the same group as asthma or diabetes with no known cure. Up to 20 million European citizens suffer from allergies. Management of the disease by patients and health practitioners, and allergens by industry faces many challenges. There is general poor understanding of environmental or psychosocial aspects contributing to, or preventing allergic reactions to food, and no systematic monitoring of them. This leads to mismanagement, higher risk of future incidents, including life-threatening anaphylaxis, and lower quality of life.
Researchers and patients co-developed a multilingual website and mobile tool called AlleREACT (Allergic REACTions) to map the real frequency of incidents to food in near real-time. This concise yet comprehensive instrument is recording real-world circumstances of reactions, such as their location, type of food and allergen information involved, as well as clinical symptoms and any medication taken. The tool is free to use and already available in English, German, Spanish, French and Polish. This initiative has been accomplished within a €9 million EU funded project known as the Integrated Approaches to Food Allergen and Allergy Risk Management (iFAAM). The iFAAM project involves the world’s leading experts in Ireland, the UK, Europe, Australia and US and aims at reducing the burden of food allergies across Europe.
UCC Professor Jonathan Hourihane, Dr Audrey Dunn Galvin, and PhD researcher Katarzyna Pyrz lead this intervention together with the iFAAM’s project coordinator: Professor Clare Mills and a senior researcher: Professor Angela Simpson from the Allergy and Respiratory Centre of The University of Manchester’s Institute of Inflammation and Repair. Community leaders include Patient Organisations: Anaphylaxis Campaign (ACUK, UK), Anaphylaxis Ireland (AI), Deutscher Allergie- und Asthmabund e.V. (DAAB, Germany), La Prévention des Allergies; Association Française pour la Prévention des Allergies (AFPRAL, France and Belgium), Asociación Española de Personas con Alergia a Alimentos y Látex (AEPNAA, Spain) and Stowarzyszenie Pomocy Chorym na Astmę i Choroby Alergiczne w Łodzi (Poland).
“This is a massive research project which will have far reaching consequences for consumers and food producers”, says Professor Mills. “Uncertainty is a core theme in living and coping with food allergy and current risk hazard approaches perpetuate this uncertainty”, adds Dr Dunn Galvin, a medical psychologist. The reporting tool helps to reduce uncertainty around food allergic incidents by enabling patients, clinicians, researches and public authorities to get a clearer picture on how and how often reactions occur in the community and what can be done to prevent them. Katarzyna Pyrz concludes, “This research empowers patients’ advocates to run their own data collection and to take ownership for the reporting system in long term. This added community value allows the tools and data to serve those living and coping with food allergies on a day-to-day basis”.
All involved Patient Organisations and patients’ representatives agree, “This research is a vital and much-needed step forward, it will aid better understanding and management of food allergies and we are delighted to be part of it. The tool has been developed using patients’ contributions and the outcomes of this research may have important implications for food allergic people in Europe.”
Adults and parents of children diagnosed with food allergies in Ireland, the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and Poland are asked to get familiar with this initiative and to use this tool anytime they experience a food allergic incident, even a mild one.
Link to on-line AlleReact Reporting Tool
Contacts:
Fiona Kenna: fionakenna@anapylaxisireland.ie
Lisa Marie Kelly: lisamariekelly@anaphylaxisireland.ie
Katarzyna Pyrz: kpyrz@ucc.ie
Audrey DunnGalvin: A.Dunngalvin@ucc.ie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlleREACT2016 @AlleREACT2016
Now in its 6th year the “Oiche Oscair An Spideil” will take place on Saturday 12th March 2016 in The Park Lodge Hotel An Spidéal, Co Galway. The aim of the night is to raise awareness & much needed funds for Anaphyaxis Ireland and Chernobyl Children. For further details email OicheOscarAnSpideil@gmail.com or www.facebook.com/OicheOscarAnSpideil
The iFAAM (Integrated Approaches to Food Allergen and Allergy Risk Management) project is funded by the EU and is the world’s largest ever study of allergies. As part of this project, 2 year studies are being carried out in Ireland (University College Cork) and the UK (Manchester University):
The research team at University College Cork are conducting the AlleRiSC study and are now ready to recruit at least 50 adult volunteers (with diagnosed food allergy) to participate - CAN YOU HELP?
The study will be conducted over a period of 2 years and volunteers will be asked to use an online questionnaire to report any food-allergic incidents they experience (even the least severe ones) and where possible to send in samples of the suspect food for laboratory testing).
For an overview of the study’s aims and to understand why this research is being done and what taking part would involve for you, please review the following documents:
• Opportunity to Participate in AlleRiSC Study Poster
• Particpant Information Sheet
If you have any questions about this study please contact Katarzyna Pyrz at:
University College Cork
School of Applied Psychology
North Mall
Cork
E-mail: allerisc@ucc.ie
kpyrz@ucc.ie