Those that have read my blog know that I have a 5 year old girl named Emma who has many allergies including wheat, egg, sesame, peanut, tree nuts, & shellfish It is a very scary thing to go through when you are a parent and you find out that your child has allergies. I never had allergies and quite honestly did not believe in them. I thought like many people think that they were made up or it was just something to say to get the waiter or waitress to substitute.
Obviously I think differently today. We had an allergy walk for FAAN (Food Allergy Anaphylaxis Network) this past Saturday and it was the 2nd walk we did. We raised a lot of money and it got me thinking. What does Food Allergy Awareness have to do with Real Estate and Selling Homes?
Here are Some Interesting Allergy Statistics:
Peanut allergy doubled in children over a five-year period (1997-2002).
Research suggests that food-related anaphylaxis might be underdiagnosed.
An increasing number of school students and staff have diagnosed life-threatening allergies.
A 2007 study has shown that milk allergy may persist longer in life than previously thought. Of 800
children with milk allergy, only 19 percent had outgrown their allergy by age 4, and only 79 percent had
outgrown it by age 16.
More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That's one in 25, or 4 percent of the population.
The incidence of food allergy is highest in young children - one in 17 among those under age 3.
About 3 million children in the U.S. have food allergies.
The number of emergency room visits due to food-induced anaphylaxis in the US ranges from 50,000 to
125,000, depending on the source.
Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts
(e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.
There is no cure for food allergies. Strict avoidance of food allergens and early recognition and
management of allergic reactions to food are important measures to prevent serious health consequences.
Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction.
Most people who've had an allergic reaction to something they ate thought that it was safe.
Food allergies are life-altering for everyone involved and require constant vigilance.
Early administration of epinephrine (adrenaline) is crucial to successfully treating anaphylactic reactions.
Epinephrine is available by prescription in a self-injectable device (EpiPen® or Twinject®)
The Key Statistic for me is that food allergies exist in 1 and 25 children. That means that you will definitely come across several buyers in the course of a year where they have a child allergic to a food. The biggest one right now is peanuts. It is a controversial topic as many people want to see the airline industry not serve peanuts for fear that children can go into anaphylatic shock.
I wanted to bring up the crux of this post. That is What Do I need to do as a Real Estate Agent in order to help Families who have a child with a Food Allergy?
This past spring I went looking for a school either public or private where I can feel comfortable sending my child. I had over 7 tours and there was only one in my immediate area that was a "peanut aware/free" school. That was Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton. It would have been real nice if we had a list of schools that were food allergy aware so that we can pass this information on to the families that are making that same decision.
When customers are dealing with this sensitive of an issue and you help or support their cause they will be your customer for life. There is no cure for food allergies, and although a lot of research is currently being done there are no shots for food allergies like there are for environmental allergies.
If we as people in the real estate industry are aware and help support food allergy awareness maybe we can help many of our customers in the process. My last point is You Should Stand for Something and Stand Up for What You Believe In. Make Sure you Support a Cause whether it is food allergy awareness or cancer. Stand up and together we can all make a difference.
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