Children’s Health: Allergies

An allergy exists when one’s immune system responds abnormally to a usually harmless substance.

For most affected people, allergies first appear during childhood.

Risk Factors

Though any child may develop allergies, there are factors that increase the risk. Family history plays a large role in a child’s tendency to have an allergy. In addition, hormones, stress, smoke and other environmental factors can play a role.

Common Allergies

Common child allergies include:

• Allergic rhinitis (commonly known as hay fever) – caused by inhaled pollen or other allergens, can be seasonal or year-round
• Atopic dermatitis (eczema) – itchy skin rash
• Food allergies – common ones in children are peanuts, eggs and milk, children sometimes outgrow these allergies
• Medications
• Insect stings

Allergic Reactions

Symptoms of an allergic reaction vary by person. For inhaled or skin allergens, common symptoms include:

• Itchy, watery eyes
• Runny nose or sneezing
• Feeling tired or ill
• Rashes or hives

Food or medication allergies can cause cramps, vomiting, swelling in the mouth or throat, itchy skin, wheezing and hives. Insect stings often cause swelling, itching, redness and pain.

The previous examples are the more common allergies and symptoms, but remember that any number of substances can cause allergies, with a large variety of potential symptoms.

Anaphylaxis

The most severe reaction to any allergen is called anaphylaxis. This can occur for any allergy, but children with peanut or insect sting allergies may be particularly vulnerable. Anaphylaxis is a life threatening reaction, with symptoms such as full body hives, difficulty breathing, tingling of the skin and unconsciousness. This type of reaction occurs almost immediately after exposure to the allergen, and requires emergency medical care.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Watch for abnormal symptoms in your child, particularly if they occur after eating or taking medication, after being stung, or when exposed to potential allergens indoors or outdoors. If you suspect your child has an allergy, see a doctor. A doctor can perform skin, blood or other tests to identify the potential allergy.

If your child is diagnosed with an allergy, learn as much as you can about it so that you can adapt your family’s lifestyle to avoid allergy triggers. If your child is prone to severe reactions, alert family, friends, and your child’s school or child care provider, and have your child wear a medical alert bracelet at all times.

Did You Know…?

For those prone to serious allergic reactions, your doctor may prescribe an auto-injector containing epinephrine. It can help reduce severe symptoms if administered immediately after the allergen exposure, but medical attention should still be sought as well.

Power Group Risk Update: Disaster Response Preparation

To protect your company against threats that could strike at any time, it is important that you have effective security preparation and disaster response plans.

Your business needs to be prepared for anything, so that it can survive even the most unexpected disaster. Though terrorism may not be top of mind, it is still a viable threat that you must consider, particularly if your manufacturing facility is in or near a big city. You also must consider more tangible, common risks, such as criminal activity or natural disasters. To protect your company against such threats that could strike at any time, it is important that you have effective security preparation and disaster response plans.

Without prior planning, you leave your company open to financial disaster, especially if you are forced to close operations for a period of time. In addition, without a proper plan to cope with a disaster situation, your company may face lawsuits from clients, distributors or employees claiming negligence.

Security is Essential

Unfortunately, manufacturing firms are often the target of theft or vandalism crimes. In many cases, the best way to prepare for a potential security threat is to take preventive steps to secure your facility. Assess your current security level and make improvements where necessary. Though not all security threats can be avoided, some situations can be prevented with appropriate preparation.

• Advise management and employees to report any suspicious persons or activity in or around the building.
• Establish and follow visitor control procedures such as mandatory sign-ins, name badges, escorts, orientation, etc.
• Survey locks, fences, exterior lights and other physical security devices to ensure that they are in place where needed and in proper operating condition. Establish a monthly inspection of your security perimeter and key protective features of your facility.
• Pay special attention to areas where you are storing explosive, flammable or toxic chemicals or other hazardous materials. These areas should be properly secured and inventoried. Though it is necessary that employees handle some of these chemicals in their daily job on the production floor, limit the handling of these materials to essential personnel and ensure that everyone knows safe handling and storage procedures.
• Evaluate critical locations in your facility for proper security, including the electric, telephone and gas units, building entrances, transformers, and areas where raw materials or finished products are stored.
• If your facility has a security/fire alarm system, be sure it is operating properly and that key personnel know how to arm/disarm it.
• Make sure that fire suppression systems are regularly inspected and maintained. Also be sure that a sufficient number of trusted personnel know how to activate, operate and shut them down.
• Closed-circuit television can serve as an excellent crime deterrent, and when the system is equipped with a recorder it can help solve crimes.
• Review your procedures for issuing facility keys and access cards. At a minimum, keep lists of who has been issued keys/cards and have a procedure for handling a situation when a troubled employee is terminated without returning them.
• Discuss security with your local police department. Police departments are often very willing to provide information and support to businesses and industries.
• Have your local fire department conduct a pre-planned visit to your building. While there, they can identify potential hazards and plan fire suppression priorities.

Preparing for a Disaster situation

It is often hard to imagine a terrorism threat or a large-scale natural disaster affecting your area, but it is vital that you have a plan in place to cope with these threats. A disaster of such magnitude, though unlikely, could be catastrophic for your business if you are not prepared.

• Be sure to discuss terrorism and applicable natural disaster coverage with your [B_Officialname] representative.
• Keep copies of insurance policies and other critical documents in a safe and accessible location (e.g. a fireproof safe).
• Evaluate which disasters are most likely to occur in your area, remembering to include the possibility for terrorist activity. Be sure you are prepared for all of the risks you identify.
• Develop a Disaster Recovery or Business Continuity Plan. If you already have one make sure that it is up-to-date. This entails preparing for anything that disrupts your business operations and planning for a backup option. You may consider identifying backups for essential operations, personnel, communication methods and distribution channels. One of the most important considerations for a manufacturing firm is to have contingent plans for your supply chains. A disrupted supply chain can shut down your business, yet many manufacturing firms fail to plan for this potential problem.
• Review your policy for off-site backup of EDP records. Ideally these records should be backed up and transmitted or sent off-site on a daily basis.
• Have telephone call lists available (include cell phone and pager numbers) for all key personnel so required staff members can be contacted during non-working hours from any location. Review procedures for notifying employees that your facility is closed. Remind employees that they should never attempt to enter areas that are closed by police or other emergency responders.
• Consider establishing an alternate method for your phone service if the switchboard becomes unusable (e.g. forwarding incoming calls to a cell phone or remote number).
• Check available emergency supplies such as flashlights, batteries, emergency generators/fuel, patching materials such as plastic sheeting, wood 2x4s, duct tape, spare fire extinguishers, first aid kits, etc. If you anticipate that any personnel would stay at the facility during/following an emergency, consider stockpiling food and water for their use.

“I could not be happier with the support and efforts of Matt Weaver and all Power Group people I deal with.”

I just want to let you know that I could not be happier with the support and efforts of Matt Weaver and all Power Group people I deal with.

Power Group is extremely well organized and knowledgeable about FSI’s insurance coverages.

Colby and Sharon did an excellent job of getting our renewal date changed, which will make it much easier for FSI in the future when we need to renegotiate the rates.

Also, Tara has been priceless in the assistance with Anthem.  She is on the ball as far as communication regarding issues with COBRA and coverage for employees.

So, Thanks!!!!

Jim Boehm – Vice President, Foam Supplies, Inc.