Full Text of HR0903 94th General Assembly
HR0903 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Eight types of foods cause 90% of all U.S. food | 3 |
| allergies: fish, shellfish, peanuts, milk, eggs, tree nuts | 4 |
| (such as walnuts and cashews), soy, and wheat; the foods most | 5 |
| commonly causing allergies in children are eggs, milk, peanuts, | 6 |
| soy, and wheat; those most commonly causing allergies in adults | 7 |
| are fish, shellfish, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts; children | 8 |
| often outgrow allergies to milk, egg, soy, and wheat, but adult | 9 |
| allergies generally last for life; and
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| WHEREAS, The most common method of contact with a food | 11 |
| allergen is ingestion, often unintentional, which can happen | 12 |
| particularly at restaurants; food may be prepared using the | 13 |
| same utensils or pans as an allergen-containing food, or | 14 |
| prepared near another food containing an allergen; another | 15 |
| source of unintentionally ingested allergens is side products | 16 |
| such as sauces and dressings; other methods of allergen contact | 17 |
| are inhalation and absorption after touching the skin; | 18 |
| sometimes very small quantities of an allergen can provoke a | 19 |
| dangerous reaction; and
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| WHEREAS, There are 3 major ways to have an allergic | 21 |
| reaction besides eating the allergen: | 22 |
| (1) airborne particles, where tiny pieces of the | 23 |
| allergen float through the air and a person with the | 24 |
| allergy inhales the particles, after which hay-fever-like | 25 |
| symptoms can occur; this rarely causes death but can lead | 26 |
| to severe rashes; | 27 |
| (2) transference (skin contact), where the allergen is | 28 |
| accidentally touched; this usually causes hives, but if the | 29 |
| allergen enters the blood stream through a cut, severe | 30 |
| anaphylactic shock can result, sometimes causing death; | 31 |
| and | 32 |
| (3) accidental ingestion, where allergen residue may | 33 |
| be present in careless food preparation; a person |
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| accidentally eats what he or she is allergic to and suffers | 2 |
| a reaction; and
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| WHEREAS, The effects of an allergic reaction to a food | 4 |
| generally appear within 2 hours after contact with it; they can | 5 |
| include a tingling feeling in the mouth, swelling of the tongue | 6 |
| and throat, difficulty breathing, hives, vomiting, abdominal | 7 |
| cramps, diarrhea, a drop in blood pressure, loss of | 8 |
| consciousness, and even death; and
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| WHEREAS, Exposure to a food to which a person is allergic | 10 |
| sometimes results in anaphylaxis (meaning a sudden, severe | 11 |
| allergic-type reaction); anaphylaxis affects many body areas, | 12 |
| including the skin, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, | 13 |
| and cardiovascular system; the symptoms and health effects of | 14 |
| anaphylaxis are the same as less severe reactions, but a person | 15 |
| experiencing it must receive emergency treatment to survive; | 16 |
| persons who have asthma, eczema, or hay fever are at greater | 17 |
| risk of suffering anaphylaxis; and
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| WHEREAS, Food allergies can also cause or contribute to | 19 |
| long-term health effects; they can include acne, asthma, | 20 |
| bedwetting, diarrhea, ear infections, eczema, fatigue, hay | 21 |
| fever, headache, irritability, chronic runny nose, difficulty | 22 |
| maintaining concentration, and intestinal problems preventing | 23 |
| proper absorption of nutrients; and
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| WHEREAS, The only way to prevent an allergic reaction is to | 25 |
| avoid all contact with known food allergens; affected persons | 26 |
| must read the ingredient list before consuming any food and | 27 |
| must be sure that any food served to them has none of the food | 28 |
| allergen in it; and | 29 |
| WHEREAS, If a person with a food allergy is accidentally | 30 |
| exposed to a food allergen, quick action is essential; the drug | 31 |
| epinephrine (synthetically made adrenaline) is often used to |
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| control a reaction; persons with severe food allergies can ask | 2 |
| for prescriptions for a product consisting of a syringe | 3 |
| containing epinephrine with a needle (EpiPen® or a similar | 4 |
| product) for self-injection into the thigh; depending on the | 5 |
| severity of the reaction, the affected person may also need to | 6 |
| go to an emergency room; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (a | 8 |
| private organization including health and diet professionals, | 9 |
| food and drug companies, and individuals or families affected | 10 |
| by food allergies)
estimates that 11 million people in the U.S. | 11 |
| have food allergies; they include 6.5 million who are allergic | 12 |
| to fish or shellfish and 3 million who are allergic to peanuts | 13 |
| or tree nuts; the estimated prevalence of food allergies is 4% | 14 |
| in adults and 6% to 8% in children under age 3; and
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| WHEREAS, The rate of anaphylactic reactions to food in the | 16 |
| U.S. is 30 per 100,000 (0.03%) annually; anaphylactic reactions | 17 |
| cause 30,000 emergency room visits and 2,000 inpatient | 18 |
| hospitalizations per year; and allergic reactions to food kill | 19 |
| 150 to 200 people per year; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health has no | 21 |
| information on how many Illinois residents are affected by food | 22 |
| allergies; however, based on the Census Bureau's latest (2004) | 23 |
| population estimates, Illinois has about 4.33% of the U.S. | 24 |
| population; if the prevalence of food allergies in Illinois | 25 |
| mirrors the national prevalence (which may or may not be true), | 26 |
| and the estimates reported above are approximately correct, | 27 |
| then about 476,300 Illinois residents would have food | 28 |
| allergies; therefore, be it | 29 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 30 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 31 |
| we respectfully request the Department of Public Heath to | 32 |
| conduct a public awareness and education campaign to make |
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| Illinois residents aware of the prevalence of food allergies | 2 |
| and to provide education as to how to deal with those | 3 |
| allergies; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to | 5 |
| the Director of Public Health.
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