As Canadian students return to the classroom, some have to plan how to deal not just with school work but allergies.

More than 600,000 children under 18 have a food allergy, according to Food Allergy Canada.

That means many enter or return to school having to take precautions to ensure they stay healthy while learning.

Dr. Samira Jeimy, an allergist in London, Ont., said for a child with allergies, entering the classroom can add to an already stressful time.

“That increased stress from the flux and the transition can definitely impact allergic and immunologic disease,” she said. “And then there’s the new or changing exposures that happen in September.”

A food allergy occurs when a person’s immune system, which normally protects from germs and diseases, mistakenly treats a food substance as dangerous. According to Food Allergy Canada, the body then reacts to the food by having an allergic reaction.

When first exposed to the allergen, which is often the protein found in the food, the immune system creates antibodies called immunoglobulin. When the person is exposed again to the protein, antibodies and chemicals such as histamine are released.

Histamine can cause a reaction in a person’s respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin or cardiovascular system, Health Canada says.

1:50 Families get ready for back to school

In some cases, the allergy can cause anaphylaxis that starts rapidly and can be fatal. People who are at risk of anaphylaxis are advised to carry an epinephrine device such as an EpiPen, which can treat an allergic reaction.

That’s why Jeimy said as kids go back to school, parents should discuss how to deal with allergies with students and their teachers.

This includes reviewing inhaler usage, which helps with allergic asthma, a condition that can arise during a reaction.

“We always anticipate a lot of asthma exacerbations when school starts,” Jeimy said. “Really knowing when to use your inhaler, how to use the inhaler, when to escalate therapy and when to seek extra help is super important because colds and flus are huge, maybe the number one trigger for asthma exacerbations.”

It’s important to also remind children and teens how to properly use their EpiPen should a reaction occur.

“These life-threatening outcomes are totally preventable if people are educated, the students have the EpiPen on them, they know what symptoms to look out for, it’s administered properly,” said Dr. Allan Grill, chief of family medicine at Markham-Stouffville Hospital.

Most allergic reactions can happen within minutes, but some can take longer. They can also start with mild symptoms but get worse quickly.

The symptoms can involve the heart, lungs, throat, stomach, skin and other parts of the body. They can range from feeling faint or dizzy, a weak pulse, shortness of breath, wheezing, widespread hives, severe itching, severe abdominal pain, or severe swelling of the face or eyes. In some cases, a severe allergic reaction or anaphylaxis can also cause confusion, agitation and decreased activity.

Grill said people should know the warning signs and parents should remind their children to get back in the habit of safe routines.

“It’s really important to remind your child that has allergies not to share any food or drinks with other students in the class [and] to only be eating and drinking the things that you bring from home,” he said.

Even a small amount of an allergen that makes it onto a fork or knife through cross-contamination can cause an allergic reaction, Food Allergy Canada says, which is why more education is always helpful.

“It is about being familiar with food allergy being a serious medical condition,” said Jennifer Gerdts, executive director of Food Allergy Canada. “What we do know when we hear from the community is when a plan is in place, it’s been discussed, and people are aware of the food allergy, the kids feel confident.”

—with files from Global News’ Katherine Ward

The extension means decisions on immigration and visa applications from residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan will remain on hold until Sept. 28. People from those countries who already hold valid visas will also be barred from entering Canada.

The government says the risk of Ebola in Canada is still low, but these measures are precautionary given the severity of the disease.

Canada will also keep a 21-day quarantine for anyone returning from those three countries, a measure that aid agencies said impacts their ability to send humanitarians to the region.

Foreign nationals who have been in the DRC within the past 21 days will also not be allowed to fly to Canada.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization declared the outbreak over in Uganda. No cases have been reported in South Sudan.

The same cannot be said in neighbouring DRC, where 2,786 people have died of 5,794 infected, deemed the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak and on track to become the deadliest on record.

Ebola spreads through bodily fluids like blood, vomit and semen, and people are only infectious when they are symptomatic. Public health experts say these factors make the risk of an imported case low and manageable for Canada, but a challenge in the DRC where there are fundamental access issues to health care and clean water, alongside threats by rebel groups.

Canadian Carolyn Nicol worried this would happen.

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Nicol was living in Kampala, Uganda’s capital and her husband’s hometown, when Canada initially announced it would be closing its border to her husband, and about 67,000 others who had their visa applications and documents suspended on May 30.

Nicol had hoped to at some point live in both of their hometowns, or at least for him to meet her family and friends in Canada.

That idyllic future now feels pushed even further away, she said.

Immigration officials said 31,693 permanent residency applications and 10,465 temporary residency applications from overseas had been put on hold as of Aug. 12.

The documents of people who have been granted residency but are not in Canada have also been suspended. Officials said that includes 1,534 permanent residents and 23,415 temporary residents who are overseas.

Nicol already spent seven weeks apart from her husband, who is awaiting a decision on a spousal sponsorship application and a visitor visa he had hoped to use to attend two weddings this summer.

Instead, she had to make a split-second decision when the border restrictions were announced in May. If she didn’t leave Uganda and start her three-week quarantine, she would have missed the weddings.

Nicol says it makes no sense that she can enter Canada, but her husband cannot.

“Show me the science that says a Canadian can go to Canada and quarantine, but a Ugandan can’t come at all. Like, show me the science, where does that make any sense?” Nicol asked in frustration.

“Is the Canadian government trying to imply that somehow I’m less of a risk? Because, if so, that’s just discrimination, plain and simple.”

When Canada first announced its Ebola measures, there were a handful of cases in Uganda. That number later rose to 20, including two deaths. It’s been 42 days since the last patient was discharged on July 16.

Roojin Habibi, a global health law researcher, questioned why people entering Canada through the immigration process are not allowed to quarantine the same way as Canadians.

“Why are we applying different rules, depending on last place of residence, right? The public health argument is really weak,” said Habibi, research director of global health law at the Global Strategy Lab at the University of Ottawa and York University.

In response to criticism, a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada said that given the severity of the disease and the potential consequences of delayed detection, it’s important to “remain vigilant.”

“Although the global public health risk remains low, the consequences for affected individuals are severe, given the seriousness of the disease and the absence of licensed vaccines or therapeutics,” Mark Johnson said.

One of the added hurdles with tackling this outbreak is the rare species of Ebola responsible, the Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no specific vaccine or treatment.

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Border measures were initially announced ahead of the FIFA World Cup, pitched as a precautionary safety measure aligned with the United States and Mexico. It immediately came under fire by the WHO as going against public health guidance, based on fear rather than science.

The WHO doubled down on its stance earlier this month, saying flights should not be suspended and travellers should not be denied entry.

Yet, Canada says it is continuing to work closely with the U.S. and Mexico to “keep Ebola out of North America.”

Habibi pointed out that Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is different after the recent collapse of trade talks.

“Are we still going to portray an image of needing to align with the United States on immigration, or are we going to carve out a Canadian approach on issues such as public health?” Habibi said from Ottawa.

Dr. Joanne Liu, director of the Pandemic and Emergency Readiness Lab at McGill University, said blanket travel restrictions are “much more a cosmetic thing,” put in place to appease people in Canada.

“It looks as if the country is doing something, but it’s not, to a certain extent. Some pieces of it are not completely rational,” said Liu, who led MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, during the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak.

Speaking from Kampala before a decision on travel restrictions was announced, Nakate Flavia Priscilla said she could not even think about the possibility of an extension to the rules.

The 26-year-old leader of a Ugandan dance troupe was supposed to perform in Canada, as she has many times before on visitor visas, to raise money for primary and secondary schools in East Africa.

The group was scheduled to be a part of a FIFA World Cup event and smaller showcases, but had to stay home because of the ban.

She fears the implications for many students who have gone home to their villages instead this summer.

“Everyone will be heartbroken,” Priscilla said.

“We just pray that everything comes to normal.”

Freaks and Geeks actor Busy Philipps is opening up about her recent brain tumour diagnosis and sharing details about undergoing two surgeries.

In a cover story interview with People, the 47-year-old actor said she’s “grateful that I’m alive” and called herself “the luckiest girl in the world.”

Philipps revealed that she had a malignant brain tumour removed weeks before she was set to start filming her new show, Cupertino.

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The Dawson’s Creek alum referred to this period as “the weirdest six months of my life” and said she nearly didn’t go to the Prenuvo scan that led to the discovery of a Grade 2 oligodendroglioma, which is a rare and slow-growing primary central nervous system (CNS) tumour, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The organization notes that “Grade 2 oligodendrogliomas are low-grade tumors. This means the tumor cells grow slowly and invade nearby normal tissue. In many cases, they form years before being diagnosed because no symptoms appear.”

Philipps told the outlet that she was interested in getting the Prenuvo scan, which is a full-body MRI that checks for more than 500 conditions, after she read about it on Instagram.

“I didn’t know why I wanted to get this scan except for the fact that I just did,” Philipps said.

Her scan was initially scheduled for January but she said a blizzard forced her to push the appointment back to Feb. 12 — the day after her Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died of cancer.

Following her scan, Philipp’s doctor said it showed a lesion on her brain and based on the shape, she was encouraged to book a follow up MRI as soon as possible.

After her second MRI, the Cougar Town actor was told by a neurologist, “This is a real tumour, and it’s inside your brain. And Busy, it’s got to come out.”

Philipps said the confirmation left her “hyperventilating and trying to breathe,” and she knew she had to tell her two children, Birdie, 18, and Cricket, 13.

She said her eldest child was “kind of beside herself and really, really scared and overwhelmed with emotion.”

“I just kept saying to her, ‘Birdie, you’re just not in the movie where your mom dies your senior year of high school. That’s just not the movie that you’re in. I promise you.’ [Cricket’s] reaction … was like, ‘OK. You’re going to be fine?’ And I was like, ‘I’m totally going to be fine.’ And she’s like, ‘OK,'” Philipps recalled.

She had the 2.6-centimetre mass removed and biopsied during a five-hour procedure on March 2.

Philipps’ neuro-oncologist, Dr. John Golfinos, told People that Philipps’ early detection was beneficial.

If she had waited until she was having seizures, the tumour “would have been two or three times the size. It might have been much harder to take the whole thing out,” he added.

One month into Philipps’ recovery, her dermatologist noticed the incision site during a Botox session and told her, “That doesn’t look right. I’m not going to touch it.”

6:02 Busy Philipps talks about her new series ‘Girls5Eva’

The White Chicks actor had to see a wound care specialist, who put her on antibiotics, but she had contracted staphylococcus in her incision and needed surgery to clear the infection.

Golfinos said they also had to remove one of the tiny titanium tacks put in her skull during the first surgery to hold the bone in place.

“Fortunately, we got to it early, so it wasn’t a deep infection,” Golfinos said of the April 27 procedure.

Looking back on the experience, Philipps said, “We are frequently told by doctors that there is nothing to worry about [when] you kind of know that there’s something to worry about.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of in having information. It’s only empowering,” she added.

Oligodendroglioma symptoms depend on the tumour’s location but the most common sign is a seizure, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Around 60 per cent of people have a seizure before being diagnosed and additional symptoms include headaches, problems with thinking and memory, weakness, numbness and problems with balance and movement, the organization notes.

The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada says that this tumour type is more common among men and women in their 20s to 40s, but can occur in children.

Neurosurgeons in London, England, have successfully completed the first-ever operation to remove a brain tumour using AI assistance, U.K. health officials confirmed.

The operation, which restored the eyesight of a 48-year-old man, took place at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, part of the University College London Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust, in a clinical trial using AI technology developed at University College London.

0:36 Possible brain tumour risk tied to some birth control, new study finds

Details of the trial were kept under wraps until the patient, Rhys Hibbert, made a full recovery.

Hibbert, a customer services manager and community volunteer from the outskirts of London, is the first patient to undergo surgery in this manner, the foundation explained in a statement.

“Without surgery, Rhys’ tumour would have continued to threaten his sight and could ultimately have led to blindness. The operation successfully removed the tumour and protected his vision,” it added.

While the surgical team were in full control of the operation, their AI tool analyzed a live surgical video feed in real time, which helped the surgeons make “more precise decisions by alerting them to critical structures at the base of the brain near his tumour.”

The part of the brain they were operating on, the pituitary gland, is about the size of a marble and is surrounded by tightly packed blood vessels and nerves that control vision, leaving almost no margin for error.

“Going a millimetre wrong can make a critical difference and lead to death, blindness or stroke,” according to the hospital.

The AI tool helped to identify risky areas to avoid while safely removing a much of the tumour as possible.

It also has the potential to track surgical instruments and their interactions with brain matter.

Rhys, who has now recovered from the surgery, said contributing to learning is very important to him and described his experience with the procedure as “humbling,” noting the institution’s illustrious history and reputation as an authority at the forefront of neurological research.

“The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery was founded in 1859 and was the world’s first dedicated neurosurgical hospital. So to me, it seems very fitting that the same hospital should also be the world’s first to carry out an AI‑assisted neurosurgery,” he told the foundation.

“I’m very pleased to have had the opportunity to be cared for in the hospital… I’m also very humbled to have been asked if I’ll be prepared to be the world’s first patient in this research,” he continued.

Speaking on the first-of-its-kind operation, James Frith, U.K. Health Innovation Minister, said: “This is an example of AI at its best: patients getting care previously deemed unimaginable thanks to the latest groundbreaking technology.”

“I am so pleased for Rhys that he had this life-changing surgery as part of government-funded research that will pave the way for the treatments of tomorrow,” he continued.

“AI needs proper safeguards and we will always ensure that safety is taken seriously. But we will also ensure we benefit from the opportunities it brings to deliver faster and more effective care. That is what we mean by building an NHS that is fit for the future,” Frith concluded.

The surgery was performed by Hani Marcus, consultant neurosurgeon at the NHNN, UCLH, and a professor of neurosurgery at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, alongside lead surgical resident Danyal Khan.

The UCL Hawkes Institute developed the AI system used in the surgery.