“Modern
Family” Star Julie Bowen Joins Mylan Specialty L.P. to Launch Health Awareness
Initiative to Address Growing Rate of Life-Threatening Allergic Reactions
Get
Schooled In Anaphylaxis™ Campaign Kicks Off with College Scholarship Challenge
Basking Ridge, NJ, September
26, 2012 – Emmy-award winning actress Julie Bowen, known for her
comedic role in “Modern Family,” is for the first time publicly sharing her
family’s experience with life-threatening allergies to help drive a national
conversation on this serious health issue. Bowen is partnering with Mylan
Specialty L.P. to launch Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis™, a
multi-faceted public health initiative that aims to increase awareness of and
preparedness for life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis).
To view the multimedia content, please click:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/57462-get-schooled-in-anaphylaxis/
The
campaign’s first priority will be to focus on educating the school community.
Sending children to school can be a great source of anxiety for parents of
children who may be at risk for life-threatening allergic reactions because the
children are out of their parents' direct care and supervision. In addition,
recent tragedies involving school-aged children have highlighted the need to further
educate teachers, school staff and students about anaphylaxis.
“Like
most kids, my son spends 180 days in school each year and I need to know that
the people he is with every day know the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis and
what to do if it occurs,” said Bowen, who had no idea her son had
life-threatening allergies to peanuts, walnuts and bee stings until he
experienced an anaphylactic reaction when he was a toddler. “Fortunately, my son received immediate medical care and
recovered quickly, but it was a wake-up call that anaphylaxis can occur
anywhere and at any time, even when you may not think your child is at risk.”
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction that has many
possible triggers, may occur quickly and without warning, and must be treated
immediately with epinephrine.
Avoidance of allergic triggers is the critical first step in managing
life-threatening allergies. However, allergens are not always obvious and
accidental exposure may still happen.
To get the school community involved, Bowen is calling on students
nationwide to join the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge™. Students
in grades 1-12 are encouraged to visit www.Anaphylaxis101.com and submit an essay
describing an idea to help their school become more aware of and better
prepared to support students who may be at risk for life-threatening allergic
reactions. Fifteen students from across the country
will be selected by a judging panel to win a $2,000 college scholarship.
“My son is only five, but he has already started to take
responsibility for his life-threatening allergies and become his own advocate,”
said Bowen, who will star in a public service announcement (PSA) about
anaphylaxis. “Through the Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge,
students across the country will have the opportunity to educate their peers
and help everyone be more aware of life-threatening allergies.”
Food allergy is the most common cause of anaphylaxis, though it
can also be triggered by insect stings, medications, latex or other allergens.
It is estimated that one in 13 children in the U.S. suffer from a food allergy
and a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that
the incidence increased 18 percent from 1997 to 2007. Up to 1,500 deaths each
year are caused by life-threatening allergic reactions.
“Anaphylaxis
is a significant public health issue in our nation’s schools, where accidental exposures to allergens may occur,”
said Hemant Sharma, M.D., associate chief of the Division of Allergy and
Immunology at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “We need to make sure everyone responsible for the safety of
children in schools knows how to identify and avoid allergic triggers,
recognize anaphylaxis signs and symptoms, and understand how to quickly get
appropriate treatment and immediate medical care when a life-threatening
allergic reaction occurs.”
Get Schooled In Anaphylaxis Challenge™ Entry
Information
The Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis Challenge™ encourages
school-aged children in grades 1-12 to write a brief essay and submit up to two
visual images. Submissions should explain an idea to:
·
Improve awareness of life-threatening allergies in schools;
·
Help students who may be at risk for life-threatening allergic
reactions feel more accepted in their school; or
·
Provide a unique solution to a challenge faced by students who may
be at risk for anaphylaxis.
Each entry will be evaluated by a judging panel including family
caregivers, doctors, school nurses, advocacy groups and others in the allergy
community. Winners will be selected based on creativity and originality of the
idea, the clarity of the proposed solution and the potential for implementation
of the idea.
Essays can be submitted from September 26, 2012 to November 9,
2012.
Get
Schooled in Anaphylaxis™
The
Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis™ initiative offers practical information to
educate the school community to help those at risk for life-threatening
allergic reactions avoid their triggers, recognize anaphylaxis signs and
symptoms and understand how to quickly get appropriate treatment and immediate
medical care when anaphylaxis occurs. Visit www.Anaphylaxis101.com to explore how anaphylaxis can affect
the entire school community and learn more about life-threatening allergic
reactions. You can also download practical tools, learn more about Julie
Bowen’s family story and watch a PSA featuring the actress, and sign up to
receive news about campaign activities and events.
More About Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur
when the body is exposed to an allergen. Symptoms may include trouble
breathing, chest pain, skin hives or redness of the skin, tightness in the
throat, swelling of the lips and/or tongue, nausea, dizziness, a decrease in
blood pressure, and/or fainting. Anaphylaxis symptoms may progress rapidly and
become life-threatening, requiring prompt recognition and treatment initiation. While avoidance of
allergic triggers is the critical first step in managing life-threatening
allergies, allergens are not always obvious, and accidental exposure may still
happen. Food allergy guidelines developed
by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recommend epinephrine as the only first-line
treatment for anaphylaxis management and that it be available at all times to
those at risk for anaphylaxis. If experiencing anaphylaxis, a person should use
an epinephrine auto-injector and seek immediate emergency medical attention.
Delays in instituting therapy with epinephrine are associated with risks of
death and morbidity.
About
Mylan Specialty
Mylan
Specialty, a subsidiary of Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL), is a specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and marketing
of prescription drug products for the treatment of respiratory diseases,
life-threatening allergic reactions and psychiatric disorders. The company puts
patients first and facilitates efficient, cost-effective partnerships with
customers. For more information, please visit www.mylanspecialty.com.
About Mylan
Mylan is a global pharmaceutical
company committed to setting new standards in health care. Working together
around the world to provide seven billion people access to high quality
medicine, we innovate to satisfy unmet needs; make reliability and service a
habit, do what’s right, not what’s easy and impact the future through
passionate global leadership. We offer a growing portfolio of more than 1,100 generic
pharmaceuticals and several brand medications. In addition, we offer a wide
range of antiretroviral therapies, upon which approximately one-third of
HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries depend. We also operate one of the
largest active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturers and currently market
products in approximately 150 countries and territories. Our workforce of more
than 18,000 people is dedicated to improving the customer experience and
increasing pharmaceutical access to consumers around the world. But don’t take
our word for it. See for yourself. See inside. Mylan.com.
Get Schooled in Anaphylaxis™ and Get Schooled
in Anaphylaxis Challenge™ are sponsored by and trademarks of Mylan Specialty
L.P. © 2012. All rights reserved. MYS12-8001
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