Mucinex for Asthma Relief: Is It an Effective Treatment Option?

Nanny 'boasted Of Feeding Allergy Boy Peanut Butter'

by CHARLIE BAIN, Daily Mail

A nanny deliberately fed a peanut butter sandwich to a two-year-old boy with a suspected nut allergy, a court heard yesterday.

He came out in blotchy lumps, lost consciousness and had to be rushed to hospital, Southwark Crown Court was told.

Australian Michelle Brittain, 24, is said to have told another nanny who warned her about the allergy: 'This way we will find out for sure if the mother is just neurotic.'

She later boasted to other nannies about what she had done, the jury heard. The horrified parents investigated the nanny's employment record and unveiled another episode of cruelty, the jury was told.

A year earlier, said prosecutor Sally Howes, Brittain had deliberately held the back of a toddler's hand against the side of a hot oven. The one-year-old girl was so badly hurt that her mother described the injury as looking like 'tenderised beef'.

Brittain, who came to the UK in March 1999, denies one charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and two of cruelty to a child.

The court heard that Brittain, who once claimed to be going to a job with actress Patsy Kensit, started working for the girl's family through a nanny agency in April 1999.

In October that year, the mother came home and Brittain told her the girl had been in her baby walker when she rubbed her hand against the oven and burned it. The girl's hand was bandaged and the mother did not examine it. But the following day she took the child to a GP and was shocked to see the wound was raw.

'It looked like tenderised beef' she told the court, adding that she was afraid her daughter would be scarred for life.

Despite the incident, Brittain stayed with the family until handing in her notice in June 2000. The mother said: 'I was given the impression that she was going to work for Patsy Kensit.' But Brittain later told her the job had fallen through.

In August 2000, she went to work for another family who had a twoyearold son. She was told the boy was not as robust as other children of his age and 'intolerant towards solids'.

Miss Howes told the jury: 'When Brittain took over as his nanny, it is right to say that this nut allergy had not been confirmed. However there was a family history of nut allergies and the child had already shown symptoms of allergic reactions.

'Anyone who had contact with him, nannies, friends and family, were made acutely aware of this and anyone caring for him was told that he could not eat nuts, peanut butter or any product containing nuts.'

On August 14, Brittain took the boy to spend the day with other children and their nannies at another home.

At teatime, it was claimed, vegemite or marmite sandwiches were made for the boy while the other children were made peanut butter sandwiches.

Miss Howes said another nanny was surprised to see Brittain start to give the boy a peanut butter one.

'She was warned about the nut allergy but replied: 'I know, but it hasn't been proven. This way we will find out for sure if the mother is just neurotic.'

After the boy ate the sandwich, he started to develop blotches, 'struggled for breath and seemed to lose consciousness', the court heard.

He was taken to hospital and given antihistamine treatment. A consultant paediatrician later confirmed that he had 'a moderately severe allergic reaction to peanuts' which could have been fatal.

During a dinner with other nannies, it was alleged, Brittain 'appeared to boast' about how she had fed the boy peanut butter.

She said words to the effect of 'as long as I live I will never tell the mother what I did', Miss Howes told the court.

Brittain, from East Sheen, Surrey, carried on working for the boy's family until April 2001, when another nanny told his mother what she had said about the sandwiches.

The mother then began contacting parents of other children Brittain had cared for.

The hearing continues.

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Lupin Flour May Cause Peanut Allergy Like Reactions

In a recent study done by Royal Free Hospital, London, lupin flour have been identified as the ingredient that can cause similar allergic reactions to people who are also allergic to peanuts.

Peanuts are known to cause severe allergic symptoms in people. The symptoms of peanut allergy are inflammation of the lips and the tongue, difficulty in breathing, and choking of the throat and the patient may need emergency hospitalization to make a full recovery.

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The recent study, which was published in the journal The Lancet, was based on the experience of a 25yr old woman who had the similar symptoms of anaphylaxis and was allergic to peanuts. However when her food that had caused the allergic reaction was checked for peanuts had not revealed any peanut ingredient. The researchers of the study had found the ingredient to the lupin flour. Lupin flour is made from onions is widely used in countries of Europe.

The study had opened a new field of research for scientists dealing with allergic reactions and their causes. Lupin flour allergy is still a hitherto unknown form of allergic reaction and only being reported recently.

Reference: The Lancet, issue April 2005

New Treatment Shows Promise In Fighting Food Allergies

SILVER SPRINGS, MD.-A drug that has already been approved for asthma and hives may protect people with food allergies from reactions to peanuts, eggs, milk and other foods.

According to an NBC News report, a clinical trial testing the injectable drug Xolair in 165 children and adolescents backed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found that those treated with the drug were able to eat more of the foods without suffering a reaction.

The Food and Drug Administration announced that it is fast-tracking Xolair to be used against accidental exposure to foods, however, for the drug to get full approval a large-scale clinical trial is needed.

About 2% of adults and between 4% and 8% of children in the U.S. Have food allergies, according to the USDA.

According to NBC News's report, it may be difficult to get insurers to pay for a medication for food allergies and the monthly cost for Xolair for allergic asthma is $3,663.

"The preliminary analysis showed that Xolair significantly increased the amount of peanut, milk, eggs and cashew it took to cause an allergic reaction in children and adolescents with food allergies," Dr. Larry Tsai, global head of respiratory, allergy and infectious disease product development at Genentech, said in an email to NBC.

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