Allergy Planet (13 of 29)

Allergy Planet

Billy is allergic to nuts, shellfish, kiwi fruit, latex gloves, bee stings and wasp stings.
It 's just something that you learn to live with.
"Ingredients cannot guarantee nut free."
Why does it say no nuts then?
My lips swell and my eyes puff up and then sometimes I might pass out.
And it stops my breathing as well.
I get really scared, cos you don't know what is going to happen next.
Do you wish that you didn't have the allergy? Oh, yeah, a lot.
I'd rather them go than anything else.
Cos they're the biggest problem.
Hello.
How are you? OK.
Billy's doctor, Professor John Harper, has been treating children with Netherton Syndrome for over 20 years.

The skin seems to be doing reasonably well.
Do you think we could have a little look at you?
He's long been convinced that the link between Netherton syndrome and allergies was significant.
Can I look at your head?
Having seen more and more children with Netherton syndrome, I realise they are all at risk of a wide range of allergies, so that's what makes Nethertons although it's a very rare disease, very special.
Together with a team of experts, Harper and immunologist Robin Callard, work to isolate and analyse the genes involved in the condition.
But that's consistent with the...
What they discovered was that in Nethertons patients, an important gene responsible for making a key protein known as Lekti is defective.