This week I’m delighted to welcome Kate from The Recipe Resource as my guest blogger. Her blog was set up to support those catering for multiple food allergies, particularly in children and Kate is a fellow EGID Mum, who I’ve been privileged to meet through the fantastic FABED.  I was going to write a post to tell you all about Eosinophilic Awareness Week, but found Kate had already done an amazing job on her own blog and she kindly agreed to let me share it with you all:

18th-24th May 2014 is Eosinophilic Awareness Week.  Read about EGID here

Gastro research is drastically UNDER FUNDED.  It is not “glamorous” and rarely on the radar for celebrities and focus groups, and rarely attracts public interest unlike cardiac care and cancer research.  Gastro conditions are badly neglected in the UK when it comes to research funding allocation, but without research treatment and outcomes are not likely to improve much.

Approximately 1% of the total amount of medical research funding available in the UK can be accessed for Gastro research.  There are currently no listed projects specifically for Eosinophilic Disorders on the National Research database.  GOSH are running a Gastro Research Project that will include related conditions/problems.  Alarmingly, children with allergic gut conditions are reaching epidemic proportions according to GOSH.

No one knows why the UK has the highest incidence for Allergy.  I went to Westmnister to attend the All Party Group for Allergy in October 2013 and heard how in the 19th Century, a study into Hay Fever took two decades as it was so rare and there were insufficient people to include in the study.  Today it is incredibly common.  The UK tops the league table in the incidence of allergy in its population, with Australia second – which is interesting as their population obviously share a similar root.  Allergic gut conditions are becoming common and hugely problematic for NHS paediatric services and Eosinophilic Disease is a specific subset of this group.

FABED is the main UK charity supporting families with members (adult and children) who suffer from eosinophilic disease.

FABED are UK partners supporting the United States Eosinophilic Awareness Week.  This is coordinated by APFED.  Two years ago they made this video to promote awareness.

Read more about Eosinophilic Diseases here.

During Eosinophilic Awareness Week, do something to raise awareness.  Tell someone about EGID and the appalling lack of funding for gastrointestinal disorders in the UK.

This blog was first posted on May 9th 2014 at The Recipe Resource here