7 Best Allergists in Chicago
An allergist plays a vital role in a life with food allergies, from the inevitably overwhelming initial diagnosis and annual updates to, hopefully, eventually introducing us to the latest treatments and therapies. We want a doctor who has a skilled medical professional side and who will also handle us with care, even holding our hands when needed. Spokin is excited to unveil Top Recommended Allergists – this list represents the most recommended allergists from Spokin users. Our inaugural list features the 7 best Chicago-area allergists, and we look forward to bringing you our picks from other cities soon. See our 2023 guide of the top 10 Chicago allergists for updated rankings, or our Top 100 Allergists Guide for the top rated allergists on the Spokin app nationwide.
Prepare For An Allergy Emergency In 3 Steps
Dr. Christina Ciacco is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the University of Chicago and a faculty member in the Section of Allergy/Immunology. The news of a food allergy-related death shocks us to our core. First and foremost, our hearts break open for those families. The news of anyone losing their life too soon, most recently Oakley Debbs, painfully reminds us of our worst fear. Soon after, we naturally seek to know how it happened in order to ensure it never happens again. Our research shows that the majority of food allergic related deaths have occurred because either the auto-injector was not present or it was not used early enough. These tragic events are invariably accidents but accidents do happen in life and you need to be prepared. A person with a mild allergy should be just as vigilant. According to Dr. Christina Ciacco with the University of Chicago, past reactions are not an indicator of future reactions. So even if prior reactions have been mild, future reactions have the equal potential to be severe. Don't let your guard down. We honor Oakley by promoting awareness. Here is what you need to know.
Spokin’s Favorite Things For Holiday Gifts
Introducing Spokin’s Favorite Things Holiday Gift Guide! We stocked the list with allergy-friendly treats for the foodies, skin and makeup items for the beauty products lover plus teal themed products for everyone else on your list. Explore the full list of items, some with special offers, and happy holidays!
Editorial note: See more of our favorite things in our 2020 Holiday Gift Guide!
Foodie | Fun + Games | Beauty | Jewelry | Cozy | Home + Office | Kitchen | Active | Tech
Managing Multiple Food Allergies
Managing one food allergy can be daunting but managing "multiples" and living a robust life is downright admirable. Jennifer Keller, an active and dedicated mother of 3 young children, generously shares some of her best advice and top picks. Her youngest, Elliott, is allergic to dairy, egg, peanuts and several, but not all, tree nuts. She navigates it all with grace and optimism. A self-proclaimed non-cook, Jennifer manages to safely feed her son and her family's soul.
How to Read a Food Label
Dr. Ruchi Gupta is an associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Expert Food Allergy Travel Advice
Shawna Huffman Owen has helped food allergic families navigate travel to destinations around the globe. Although she doesn't personally manage food allergies in her home, almost 50% of her family clients do.
As an owner of Huffman Travel, Shawna is an expert travel advisor that specializes in international family travel. Shawna shares with Spokin how she designs safe travel for food allergic families and lets us all in on some of her best travel tips.
What are food allergies?
Get back to the basics with everything you need to know about the top 9 food allergies.
The Peanut Patch
Behind the scenes shot of Cooper filming about the Peanut Patch for CBS with Mary Kay Kleist Welcome to the third issue of Treatments and Therapies. The two previous issues explored OIT and SLIT, and in this issue, we feature the treatment commonly referred to as The Peanut Patch. DBV Technologies developed The Peanut Patch under their Viaskin® Products line, and it is currently only available to patients enrolled in a clinical trial. We had the opportunity to speak with Brenda Coletto, a Spokin user, whose son Cooper was enrolled in two peanut patch clinical trials. Brenda filled us in on their experience and shared an update on Cooper. Be sure to check out the CBS 2 Chicago feature on Cooper and Brenda
Oral Immunotherapy (OIT)
Welcome to the first in our series featuring food allergy treatments and therapies. Our goal is to keep you informed of treatment options, explain how they work, and and share insights from Spokin users who have first-hand experiences. Spokin recently sat down with Dr. Paul Detjen, one of our top recommended allergists administering Oral Immunotherapy, commonly referred to as OIT, and two parents whose children are undergoing OIT at his practice. Today we are sharing a front row seat to the therapy, the process, and the patient experience.
Top 10 Allergen-Free Food Products
We are always on the search for great tasting food-allergy friendly food products. Unfortunately, those phrases don't always appeared in the same sentence. We set out to create a list of top 10 products that would meet both criteria. To pass our taste test - even the pickiest of eaters, both allergic, and non-food allergic, had to ask for seconds. Our allergen-friendly test required crystal clear package labeling and consistent information on the manufacture's website. All the taste and none of the guesswork. This product guide was published on 10/16.
