In the Beginning

I've been meaning to set up a blogger account to show my thesis project to the public. Some things make much more sense in pictures than they do in words. I'll post pictures of the project later, but for now, here's an explanation:

I'm designing an educational system to teach kindergarten students and their parents about food allergies. There are 12 million Americans with food allergies and up to 200 people die each year from their food allergies. The topic is so incredibly significant, yet so often ignored because people simply do not understand what they are. Food allergies affect the immune system. The body sees a certain food protein as an "invader" and attacks it with histamines, causing an allergic reaction. If you are allergic to anything, you know how unpleasant it is when those histamines kick in.

A food allergy is not food poisoning or an intolerance (like lactose or gluten). It is an auto-immune reaction to food proteins. An allergic reaction to food can begin within seconds and seriously compromise the individual's health within minutes. Common food allergic reaction symptoms include localized swelling (often of mouth and lips), itchy hives on the skin, closing of the airway, stomach pain, drop in blood pressure, fainting, and anaphylaxis (where many symptoms are present and severe). When symptoms quickly become severe, it is often necessary to give the individual epinephrine in the form of an EpiPen.

If more people understood how serious food allergies are, food allergic individuals would be taken more seriously. Because people do not know what causes a food allergy and how to safely prepare food, thousands of people are sent to the emergency room each year for reactions to food. I want to create an awareness on the subject, beginning with young children and disseminating knowledge to their parents, relatives, and other caretakers. The only way to keep allergic individuals safe is for the people around them to understand the causes, consequences, and care required.