Americans are now more concerned about their mental health than Covid, according to a recent poll from Ipsos.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which advises the Health and Human Services Department, recommended anxiety screening for children and teenagers this month. It is taking public comment through Oct. 17 on a draft recommendation that all adults be evaluated, too.

The situation is motivating lawmakers in both parties to provide an increasingly stressed, depressed and anxious populace with the appropriate care.

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Epitope testing has been shown in studies to be far more reliable in diagnosing peanut allergy than traditional skin or blood testing. Now, new research reveals that epitope testing is also good at determining if a child with peanut allergy will react to trace amounts, or if they can consume one or more peanuts before starting to react.

The epitope test is the first to provide reaction “thresholds.” These may be useful for families in deciding how careful they need to be in avoiding peanuts. This includes whether their child can safely eat foods with the “may contain” warning.

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Allergenis’ bead-based epitope assay at center of study from Mount Sinai revealing breakthrough diagnostic for peanut allergy

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As a toddler, Colton McClure never wanted to eat peanut butter. "He would always push it away," said his mom, Cheri McClure.

Then when he was a preschooler, Colton ate one Reese's peanut butter cup and was fine. After the second one, he threw up. "Something is not right," McClure said.

An allergy skin prick test produced a reaction to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish.

The McClures, who live in Austin, immediately changed what they did. They wouldn't go to restaurants, for fear of cross-contamination. They looked at shampoos and soaps to make sure nothing Colton was allergic to was in them. They looked at processed foods for all his allergens and avoided them. They even called companies to ask what their protocols were at their manufacturing plants.

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