MProper Mimi
Usually on MProper Mimi when we talk about knowing your triggers it has to do with dealing with trauma. Not this time! For this episode “knowing your triggers” we are referring to those things that make our allergies and/or asthma flare up. I was able to speak with an allergy specialist, Dr. Lakiea Wright to have an important conversation about her journey to becoming a specialist in the field of allergies as well as:
the importance of knowing our triggers
racial disparities when it comes to allergies & asthma diagnosis
and what our families and caregivers can do to help ensure children are safe when it comes to these subjects
Here are some of the topics we talked about and the timestamps to go along with each topic:
0:00 Intro Mimi & Lakiea
1:40 What drew you to the field of allergies and immunology?
4:15 Mimi was in her 30’s before noticing adult onset allergies
4:50 Mimi's daughter’s asthma seems like another label for inner city youth at first.
5:19 Do you find that people develop allergies as they mature?
7:20 We see allergic asthma in children as well
8:45 It’s important patients know the common signs and symptoms and stay plugged into your Doctors.
10:19 Why suffer from your environmental allergy symptoms? Get a prescribed treatment regiment
12:47 Alopecia - delay in seeing doctors (add link to previous episode)
13:54 We do see racial / ethnic disparities in communities of color with access to Specialists or referrals.
14:27 One thing we’ve learned about these pandemic disparities has been to ask more questions
15:36 Now we are seeing more food allergy data related to possible delays in diagnosis in Black communities
17:40 Culturally, our communities may say you are gonna eat everything on your plate
18:50 We need more education around food allergies, there has been a rise in food allergies since 2010
20:30 We need to keep children safe by sharing the message of allergic reactions
21:18 It’s important to counsel patients how to read ingredient lists
23:04 Why children may develop food allergies?
25:10 Clinical studies, such as the LEAP study - advise when to introduce foods to children
25:50 It is important to get the early introduction to food messaging out to our communities - this is a fairly recent change in the school of thought in the introduction of food
27:58 Parents can learn about allergies and precautions to take from Pediatricians, Teachers and Caregivers.
28:52 Have you noticed increases to environmental allergies in our communities while in this pandemic?
30:57 More people became aware of their allergy symptoms during the pandemic and what their triggers are.
32:42 Be aware of allergy symptoms and how they permeate different aspects of your health.
34:14 Thank you and closing remarks
Listen to this episode on YouTube
Host - Mimi Jacks
Produced by Cyren Young
Links:
Dr. Lakiea Wright - Allergist specializing in providing the “right” info https://www.instagram.com/dr.wright_allergist/
LEAP - Clinical Allergy Study https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/learning-early-about-peanut-allergy-leap
Comments