(NAPSA)—There may be good news for those who have extreme allergic reactions to certain foods or insect bites. Experts say that a few products mayoffer hope. Research shows that the six foods which cause most allergic reactions are milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy and tree nuts, such as walnuts and pecans, while the five types of insects that cause the majority of allergic reactions are yellow jackets, honeybees, paper wasps, hornets andfire ants. Avoidance, say experts, is the easiest combat. “Food allergies have no cure. The only effective treatment to counter anaphylaxis (a life-threatening reaction that can strike multiple systems of the body within minutes) is an epinephrineinjection. I caution those allergic to carry an EpiPen or an Ana-Kit,” says Dr. Steven Lamm, an internist who often offers health advice on ABC’s “The View.” These emergency devices, containing the drug epinephrine in a readily injectable form, help to open airways and improve blood pressure, but they must be used immediately. When it comes to insects, fire ants sting more than 20 million people each year and morechildren are stung each year byfire ants than byall other insects combined. Their stings cause itching, burning and pain. “When disturbed, hundreds, sometimes thousands of ants will attack an intruder, inflicting see x EpPeN 22a i ~ & Epi-pen provides relief to those suffering from anaphylaxis broughtonbyfire ant stings. painful stings that, in the most severe cases, can be life threaten- ing,” says Nate Royalty, Ph.D., entomologist with Bayer Environmental Science. While most stings are treatable, 10-15 percent of all people can have severe, localized allergic reactionsto fire ants’ stings and 12 percent can have systemic allergic reactions, which, in rare cases, result in death. Fire ants currently infest 325 million acres in the U.S., an area larger than the size of Spain and France combined. “We encourage homeowners to talk with professional lawn care and pest control companies to determine if they have a fire ant problem, and investigate control methods. Preventative control methods like TopChoice, a lowdose, granular insecticide that is spread over lawns and landscape bedslike fertilizer, both controls existing moundsandhelpscontrol the formation of new moundsfor up to one year,” affirms Royalty. For more information, visit www.nofireants.com and www. foodallergy.org.
