As I’ve recently said, May is a buys month, full of events, activities and even a few holidays. Here’s another thing to put on your calendar, a pretty significant thing for us – May is National Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month. Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) declares May to be National Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month and even asks the President of the United States to declare it so. Due to the high number of seasonal allergies in May, which effect asthma sufferers, too, along with all the other consistent allergies, May is the ideal to spread awareness and understanding of allergies and asthma to schools, coworkers, friends and family.

There is plenty going on this month, through the AAFA and other allergy/asthma organizations. You can participate on a small scale, by simply informing one or two people about allergies, for example, or on a larger scale, by attending a conference or giving a presentation; it’s up to you.

• Here is a listing of some of the events this month sponsored by the AAFA:

• Underwater Adventures Aquarium
May 1-31, 2008
Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
A portion of admission goes to the AAFA

• Knoxville Get Outdoors Festival
Saturday May 17, 2008 – 10:00am-5:00pm
World’s Fair Park, Knoxville, TN
A free, informative event sponsored by the AAFA in the “Asthma Capital for 2008.”

• Asthma and Allergy Awareness Day at Shea
Sunday May 11, 2008 – 1:10pm
Shea Stadium, Flushing, Queens
Allergy and Asthma awareness events will take place and a portion of proceeds goes to the AAFA.

• And some other significant dates and events this month:

• World Asthma Day - 1st Tuesday In May (Dr. Z provides some good info on this day)
• Food Allergy Awareness Week – Begins 2nd Monday in May (See here for more info)
• National School Nurse Day - Wednesday, May 7
• Breathing Matters: Advocacy Conference and Asthma Awareness Day at Capitol Hill 2008

Check your local area for events that you can attend. You can find these online or contact the AAFA or FAAN for help finding them. It’s a great time to get involved, whether for your educational purposes or to help spread the word of the importance of awareness of allergies and asthma. With awareness comes a call to improvement, and hopefully in time, we can improve the state of allergies and asthma. Get involved!

See these sites for even more information:
http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=10&sub=26&cont=457
http://epa.gov/asthma/awm/index.html