THE family of a girl who must always be ready to combat the effects of her severe food allergies are on the fundraising trail for charity.

Anti-histamines, an asthma pump and needle pens are among treatments at the ready, if five-year-old Ava Sloan, of Newport, develops breathing problems or other symptoms of anaphylaxis - an extreme allergic reaction - from accidental contact with eggs and nuts.

Mum Danielle last month ran a support group event in the city, backed by the Anaphylaxis Campaign, a charity supporting people at risk of severe allergies.

Now she and husband Tom Sloan, Ava’s dad, are fundraising for the charity.

Mr Sloan last month completed the South Wales Three Peaks Trial 20-mile route. He plans to complete a challenge every month, the next being a 10km run on Sunday in Abergavenny.

Ava too is getting involved. She will be bag packing with friends from her Irish dancing school on Saturday, May 6, at Tesco at Newport Retail Park, Spytty. And she will join youngsters from her former singing group Happy Hands who on Tuesday, May 16 and Friday, May 19, will raise funds for the Anaphylaxis Campaign to mark its orange wig day.

On Thursday, May 18, the Newport County AFC Disabled Supporters’ Association quiz night at The Dodger on Chepstow Road - £10 to enter for a team of five - will be in aid of the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

The evening will feature a sponsored back wax, and Mrs Sloan will showcase produce from the allergy-friendly baking business she is setting up.

“I’m just finishing a business plan. You can get gluten- and dairy-free cakes, but I haven’t been able to find celebration cakes without eggs in supermarkets,” said Mrs Sloan.

Like many other people living with severe allergies, Ava has been hospitalised by anaphylaxis on several occasions.

Anaphylactic reactions, for which hospital admissions are rising, can be triggered by allergies to some foodstuffs, by wasp and bee stings, and in some people by drug treatments.

For more information, visit www.anaphylaxis.org.uk