Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 24/99) - Some allergy kits on the market designed to save your life, may be actually putting it in jeopardy.

Health officials have recently recalled three types of allergy kits.

The recall involves the insect-sting treatment kit packaged and distributed by Derm/Buro Inc., and the Hollister Steir-Ana-Kit and the Ana-Guard, both packaged and distributed by Bayer Corp. both used for people allergic to peanuts.

In Yellowknife, Stephen Boss is someone who knows the seriousness of this recall. Though his kit wasn't one of the one's recalled, he was quick to investigate it when he learned of the recall.

It was when Boss was two years old and he swelled up from a severe reaction to peanuts, that his allergy became known.

He had to be taken to the hospital and given a shot. Other times he took pills to calm the swelling.

Despite this encounter, when he was a bit older an uncle thought the allergy was all in his head so he gave Boss a piece of a chocolate bar with peanuts.

Again, he swelled up and was near death.

"A lot of people don't know how serious things are," he said from his Yellowknife peanut-free home.

"The throat muscles swell up and can keep me from breathing."

Now 32 years old and a teacher at William McDonald school, Boss still has allergic reactions when he mistakenly ingests plant protein such as that found in cans of tuna, soya bean residue or peanuts.

One reaction last year was when he ordered a chicken dish at a restaurant and it came unexpectedly with a peanut sauce.

"Usually they don't put peanut sauces on chicken but I didn't ask," he said.

Because there can be mistakes such as a peanut sauce on a dish or even someone leaving peanut butter behind after dipping a knife in a jam jar, Boss suggests that everyone have an allergy kit in their home.

Sometimes people do not know they have an allergy until it's too late, he said.

Specialized Ana-kits are usually recommended by doctors and are for an injection of epinephrine, or adrenaline. They help ward off allergic reactions by increasing blood flow to restore breathing.

The allergy kit recall affects: Derm/Buro insect-sting treatment kits with the lot numbers 0397, 0497, 0597, 8139, 11464 and 13239.

The products were distributed from June 1997 to February 1999.

Also affected: Ana-Kits with lot numbers AK344 through AK366, and Ana-Guard with lot numbers G00196 through G00220, and lots G00222 and G00223. They were distributed by Bayer from April 1997 through April 1998.