• Center on Health Equity and Access
  • Clinical
  • Health Care Cost
  • Health Care Delivery
  • Insurance
  • Policy
  • Technology
  • Value-Based Care

Psychological, Social Issues Dr Brian Vickery Sees With His Patients With Food Allergies

Video

Despite a patient's vigilance, there is an unpredictable risk of an accidental reaction from an exposure, explained Brian Vickery, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University and director of the Food Allergy Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Despite a patient's vigilance, there is an unpredictable risk of an accidental reaction from an exposure, explained Brian Vickery, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University and director of the Food Allergy Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Transcript

What are some psychological and social issues your patients with food allergies cope with?

The burdens of eliminating these foods from their diet is difficult but can be managed. I think the main thing is that there is an unpredictable risk of an accidental reaction from an exposure despite their vigilance, and we know that from longitudinal studies. It is simple to say, “just avoid the food and you’ll be fine.” In practice, it’s really difficult to do that, and that means that patients are at risk. They typically eat 3-5 times a day, and they are at an unpredictable risk for a potentially life-threatening situation, and that risk is compounded by the fact that they themselves must evaluate the situation and administer a rescue medication, get them to the hospital if they need to, and basically act as a first responder to keep themselves safe. That’s a tremendous burden to carry around. It’s a tremendous stress. I think people are really concerned about the possibility of a life-threatening situation developing, and this is what we consistently hear over and over from patients.

Related Videos
Screenshot of Stephen Freedland, MD, during a video interview
Phaedra Corso, PhD, associate vice president for research at Indiana University
William Padula, PhD, MSc, MS, assistant professor of pharmaceutical and health economics, University of California Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Screenshot of Angela Jia, MD, PhD, during a video interview
Nancy Dreyer, MPH, PhD, FISE, chief scientific advisor to Picnic Health
Screenshot of Alexander Kutikov, MD, during a video interview
Neil Goldfarb, CEO, Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health
Screenshot of Mary Dunn, MSN, NP-C, OCN, RN, during a video interview
Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Inma Hernandez, PharmD, PhD, professor at the University of California, San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Related Content
© 2024 MJH Life Sciences
AJMC®
All rights reserved.