•Roses are red🌹
•Salbutamol is blue 💙
•If you need it 3 times per week
•Book an #asthma review (with your Nurse or GP)
#HappyValentinesDay ❤️

Festive Decor Royal Free London creating lots of smiles as our patients arrive today
🍄Thanks to Margaret Royal Free Charity for the wee pointy hats & to my friend for the 50 shades of pink hats!
🍄Ribbon=upcycled from my craft box
🍄Super sustainable-we’ll have it for years to come ♻️

The Festive Flamingos have arrived to bring cheer to our Children’s Dept Royal Free London
🦩Lots of thanks due:
🦩Margaret Royal Free Charity for the little hats
🦩My aunt for knitting🧣
🦩My hubs for hanging them
🦩The Merry Mingos are #upcycled from my wedding afew years ago!♻️

Early morning in Hampstead
✨Christmas Decs on the Autumn trees
✨Beautiful 🧡

A super successful kick off to #Immunotherapy this week! 💉
✨We offer SCIT (an injection into the arm) for tree & Grass pollen when symptoms persist despite maximum pharmacotherapy.
✨Thanks to Labcold 💙 for our squeezy distraction penguins-the rainbow ones were very popular🌈🐧

A little spooky twist to my PowerPoint slides for teaching today!
🕷️There aren’t enough #allergy professionals in 🇬🇧 (Still not meeting the unmet need (2010)
🕷️So I pass on my knowledge at every opportunity!
🕷️I love a bit of myth busting-hopefully to improve patient care ❤️

Apple Bobbing can be a fun activity this time of year-why not even pick your own from an orchard?
🍏Some people experience tingly mouth & lips w apples-this is known as pollen food or oral #allergy syndrome
🍏A way around this is to cook the apples as this denatures the proteins

🎃Children with eczema or sensitive skin can flare on contact w certain soaps, perfumes & even food contact (It doesn’t necessarily mean they have an #allergy to the food)
🎃Why not paint your pumpkin this #Halloween instead of carving it?
🎃=Less chance of flaring hand eczema👍🏻

#Halloween fun for all 🎃🦇🕷️
#FoodAllergy
🎃If trick or treating is not for you…Why not have a treasure hunt instead with small non-food items hidden around the home such as spiders/mice
🎃Not only is this an allergy friendly activity, it also isn’t weather dependant! ☔️🍁🍂

#ThrowbackThursday
🧙🏻‍♀️In case you needed a giggle today…
🧙🏻‍♀️Here I am circa 90s witch 🧹
🧙🏻‍♀️If you choose facepaint for yourself/your child this Halloween…
🧙🏻‍♀️It’s a good idea to do a little test sample on your wrist afew days before it’s applied to the whole face! #allergy

Spreading Spooky Joy🦇
💜 #Halloween can be a worrying time of year for families w #foodallergy but there’s lots of fun activities that don’t include food!
💜Why not plan a ‘Movie Night’ & watch a spooky film 🎥
💜I’ve seen Halloween pjs out there for that extra spooky feel! 🎃

#SpreadingSpookyJoy
✨Growing up in Ireland I loved welcoming the ‘trick or treaters’🚪
✨However we never had non-food items as the demographic was very different
✨But nowadays, this approach is #allergy inclusive but also good for healthier eating choices I would say 👍🏻

Back at work today after a fantastic wee spell of A/L 🎃
🧡I went to Salem, MA 🇺🇸
🧡I found the Teal Pumpkin Project really inspiring:
🧡Businesses display this poster if they have non-food treats available for children w food #allergy
🧡Teal pumpkin buckets are also available🦇

Tips on staying safe with #FoodAllergy at #Halloween 🦇 #Inclusive
✨If the packaging isn’t available to check the ingredients-don’t take the risk!
✨This may be the case if you receive a ‘fun sized treat’
✨Think: could an unpackaged item or home baked goods be contaminated?🥜

Halloween with #FoodAllergy 🍭🍬
✨It’s important to know that mini versions of treats that come in a multipack often don’t have the ingredients printed on the label
✨You will need to consult the larger outside packaging for this info
✨Don’t be afraid to ask
#StaySafe 🎃

✨Being Irish, Halloween is absolutely ingrained in my culture ☘️
✨Having a safe Halloween with #foodallergy can take a little extra planning-but we’ve got time! 🕰️
✨I’ll be sharing some tricks with you on how to incorporate allergy inclusivity this spooky season 🎃👻🕷️

✨Today in the life of an #Allergy Nurse
✨Fun trying to work out which speciality has been in clinic before me
✨I’m a pictorial learner & I think drawings are a useful teaching tool-for colleagues & patients
✨My most common squiggles are asthma airways or mast cell degran!

Depending on the maturity level of a young person-we direct #allergy education towards them as early as possible.
✨In London, I see YP get public transport to school w friends daily
✅Trainer pen
✅Encouraged to show friends
❌Don’t lock themselves in 🚾 if feeling unwell

Within healthcare, classroom teaching is valuable but…
✨Goal=develop competent practitioners within clinical environments
✨Today I have teaching which is usually well attended as I cover an OSCE (epipens)
✨But learners are always welcome in clinics/at food challenges #allergy

It’s #AskAboutAsthma week🫁
✨Inhaled corticosteroid exposure is often a concern for parents
✨A steady dose of ICS over 1year is less exposure that one dose of oral steroid prescribed for emergency treatment of an asthma attack (+/- antibiotics +/- an overnight station hospital)