The AFF Chat Theatre

Turn "stop scratching" into safe scratching with the world's first medically graded itch-relief devices. Children find it hard to manage itching and avoid scratching, and as a family that's suffered with eczema for decades, we want to offer advice and support for those living with an itchy skin condition. The talk will include our story as a family, why we believe that safe scratching is the missing link to managing skin disease and our experience with breaking out of using steroid creams and focusing on the little daily and lifestyle changes that all help to manage our skin. While you work out what is triggering your itch, we are there to help offer comfort and relief in the process. 

This session will highlight the need to highlight “Near Misses” that happen on a regular basis in order to reduce the risk of further tragic incidents. 1:90 “Near Miss” incidents result in an accident. We are running a campaign to highlight the need for consumers to report the many near misses that could potentially have caused a serious incident. We are planning to engage with the industry to support a method of collating the information anonymously to gauge the level of incidents. The industry can learn from this information, and make adjustments in procedures to reduce the risks

Daniel will share his own experiences of being a young person with allergies, as well as his thoughts on why we must, and how we can, break the stigma of allergies. He will consider:

• What challenges young people face when eating out/ordering takeaways
• Why we need to break the stigma around allergies and how we can do this
• How social media might be leveraged to educate young people and break stigmas
• What other ways we can educate people and break down stigma, and how the food industry can help
• Examples of food businesses that he feels are effectively signposting allergen information.

Sunday Times best selling author Becky Excell sheds light on all the things that nobody tells you about being gluten-free. She'll be answering all the frequently asked questions she's most often asked on social media, including questions on gluten-free myth busting, avoiding hidden gluten and more. As well as that she’ll be explaining why being gluten-free doesn’t have to mean missing out. Becky’s aim has always been to reunite YOU with the foods you thought you could no longer eat, to help YOU take control of your life and to make YOU happy :) This is a must see for newcomers to a gluten-free diet and veteran gluten-free eaters alike.

Bay & Emma will be discussing their stories of living with IBS and following the Low FODMAP Diet. They will be chatting about what resources (apps, cookbooks, diaries, blogs and more) which they find useful and wish they’d had access to at the start of their IBS journeys.

Living gluten free may feel like your world has shrunk a little bit. And for many, feeling back in control of your diet and health can be a steep learning curve and a constant challenge: When will I feel better? Can I eat this? Will I ever enjoy food again?

Join Coeliac UK as they share their expert leading, myth busting, confidence boosting session talk to ensure you and your loved ones really understand how to live well gluten free.

Why should living with coeliac disease mean missing out? Why should life be about what you CAN’T eat, rather than what you CAN eat? I’m all about #LivingMyBestLife gluten free-style, and making every day one big foodie adventure. And I want to show you how to do it too! Just think of this as a Coeliac Survival Guide 101.

I promise by the end of the session you’ll be feeling more empowered to go out and live a POSITIVE gluten free life. And if not? I promise to also point you in the direction of the best gluten free food stands in the show...

People dealing with long-term health conditions are 2-3 times more likely to develop anxiety or depression than average. Learn tools and techniques to manage your mental health and how you can get free, exclusive access to SMILE - the first mental health app for people with long term health conditions.

Emma is a mental health trainer with Mind and studying the psychology and neuroscience of mental health at KCL. She is the mum of two children with severe allergies and the author of two books on the subject. SMILE has grown out of her family's health experiences and the need for more mental health support for our communities.

Advice and information on how to have the best, fun, “normal” teenage years with allergies making sure you still go to everything, like festivals, with your friends! 

Your school years - an experience like no other. But what if we throw allergies/anaphylaxis into the mix? Currently a student myself, I’ll be dissecting how I navigate the educational setting with multiple severe allergies. Whether you’re a parent, carer, teacher or student yourself, I hope to see you there!

Join Rebecca Bonneteau ND as she talks you through the lessons to naturally overcoming eczema after over 3 decades of getting nowhere with current prescription medications.  Be prepared to look at your skin in a very different way and leave feeling like getting control naturally is possible.