The Psychosocial and Economic Impact of Food Allergies

At the AAAAI 2017 meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, Amy Scurlock, MD, Arkansas Children's Hospital, reiterated that there is more at stake beyond the medical management of food allergies. "There's such a big psychosocial impact and even an economic impact on not just the affected individuals, but also their families," said Scurlock.

Scurlock continued to say that physicians needed to emphasize that right now the standard of are is strict dietary avoidance and ready access to injectable epinephrine in case of accidental exposure. However, she is optimistic and thinks there might be an active therapy for food allergies in the next few years. In the mean time, it's important for physicians and families to support management of food allergies in schools considering it's harder to be adherent and compliant in those teen years.