In the most recent issue of Coping with Allergies & Asthma, there is a great guide for parents who want to protect their kids from harmful sun damage this summer. Just a few serious burns can make kids more susceptible to skin cancer later in life. According to the magazine article, here are five ways to protect your child’s skin from the sun:

1. The sun is the strongest during the middle of the day. During those hours outside, grab some shade. On the beach this summer, my family used a small two person pop-up tent to provide some relief from the sun’s rays.

2. Cover up your skin. Any clothes that cover up the skin are helpful in preventing sun burn. Longer shorts and loose fitting t-shirts are recommended.

3. When you are outside, wear a hat. For young children, wearing a hat is a must in the summer sun. Hats can be fun, but if your child wants a baseball cap, you have to put sunscreen on the exposed ears and neck.

4. Be cool wear sunglasses. A great pair of shades that protect against UV rays is a must in the summer time.

5. You absolutely have to wear sunscreen during the summer. If you are on vacation at the beach, sunscreen is the most important part of UV protection. Sunscreen is the first line of defense. After applying sunscreen, make sure to use some of the other four steps in combination to prevent a sun burn. Apply sunscreen liberally and at the beginning of your sun exposure. Do not wait until your skin is exposed for any length of time and then try to apply the sunscreen. Your skin is probably already starting to turn pink.

If you follow this guide and combine these steps, you and your child can have a safe vacation and a happy summer playing in the sun.

Our company is proud of our customer service department and their desire to work with our customers to solve any problems. These people work diligently to come up with solutions to make people happy and satisfied.

One of our most popular products this year has been our line of Danby dehumidifiers. When customers were unable to direct drain these units, our customer service department put their heads together and came up with a solution that has worked so well that Danby has referring people to us.

Our customers have been happy with Danby and the performance of these units; however, there was a problem for some customers that wanted to direct drain the condensed water with a hose. These dehumidifiers have two drainage ports. To direct drain the dehumidifier, the secondary port must be plugged up. Our customer service department figured out the problem and came up with a great solution for our customers.

Here is the process to make sure you can direct drain your Danby dehumidifier:

We send you printed directions and a custom fitted rubber stopper. You must firmly insert the supplied rubber stopper in the secondary drain port inside the unit. The secondary port is located on your right as your look inside the unit. The rubber stopper must be inserted tightly into the port to keep the stopper in place.

If the rubber stopper is in place, the reservoir bucket will fit back inside your dehumidifier. The condensed water will then drain out the primary port where you attach your direct drain hose.

If you have any questions regarding this direct drain fix for your Danby dehumidifier, please contact AchooAllergy.com’s customer service department at 1-800-339-7123.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a grant in the amount of $433,100 to the University of Chicago for researching how allergic reactions to food are initiated, Medical News Today reports. What is particularly fascinating, however, is that the investigation is intended to help assess whether pesticides produced in genetically engineered plants can trigger food allergies.

The EPA regulates pesticide-use and sets the allowed levels for pesticide residue in food. The agency also evaluates human health and ecological risks. The grant will fund a study as part of the EPA's Science to Achieve Results Program (STAR).

Specifically, the research teams will attempt to determine why it is that certain antibodies react to foods and allergens that are consumed. Once this is understood, it may be possible to assess the likelihood of people developing allergies to new genetically engineered foods.

Could this genetic engineering and pesticide use be what's behind the rise in food allergies, which already affect more than 11 million Americans? To put things in perspective, the number of allergy-related emergency room visits in the United States doubled between 1997-2002.

As Lek Kadeli, an administrator for the Office of Research and Development, puts it, "There is a shortage of information on how food allergies develop, what causes the allergic reaction, and how to prevent them. This study will bring us closer to identifying key immune factors that lead to food allergies."

For more information on this topic, see Environmentalism, Allergies & Asthma.

As Medical News Today reports, the results of a recent study published in the July online issue of Pediatrics reveal that unborn children exposed to urban air pollution have an IQ lower than that of children exposed to less air pollution. The effect of these lower IQs is enough to affect academic performance.

Conducted in New York City by Dr. Frederica P. Perara of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, the study measured the children's exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) while in the womb and then measured their IQs at the age of 5. Children exposed to more than the median level of PAH had overall verbal IQ scores over 4 points lower than children whose exposure levels fell below the median.

PAHs are harmful chemicals found in air pollution. They are the result of burning coal, diesel, oil, gas, and other organic substances, like tobacco. In urban areas, cars are the main source of PAHs.

PAHs can have a significant impact on those exposed to them. The children who were overly exposed to PAHs had IQ scores low enough to affect their school performance. In fact, Dr. Perara states, "The decrease in full-scale IQ score among the more exposed children is similar to that seen with low-level lead exposure."

These findings underscore the need for air purifiers, especially for those who live in densely populated urban areas. Extra precautions should be taken with expectant mothers and young children.

For many air travelers, the worst part of airline travel is the air quality. One of their biggest fears is getting sick from air travel. Airplanes are confined spaces that are known for poor onboard air circulation. While waiting to take off, passengers are exposed to any number of air contaminants including ozone, gas fumes, chemical cleaners, and pesticides used on airplanes.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, writer Scott McCartney states that a year ago, a blue-ribbon panel of experts across the aviation industry recommended voluntary standards for onboard air circulation, lower ozone exposure, new monitoring for contaminated air from oil or hydraulic fluid leaks, and limits on pesticides used on planes.

According to McCartney, airline companies and aviation industry experts have yet to take any action to improve air quality or meet these voluntary standards.

More than a decade ago, the aviation industry asked the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers to form a panel to investigate air quality inside airliner—long a topic of concern for travelers and flight crews, particularly during health crises like the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.

Byron W. Jones, the committee’s chair and associate dean at the College of Engineering at Kansas State University says, “In general the air on an airplane is not too bad, but when things go wrong, they can get really bad. And it happens in a hurry.” Dr. Jones and other committee members describe the response from regulators to the new standards as “fairly muted” so far.

It seems that for now passengers are on their own when it comes to improving the air quality on airplanes. For the proactive traveler, we carry a personal filter for airplane use that may help some travelers improve air quality and prevent them from getting sick.

Of all the different types of food allergies, a corn allergy may be among the most difficult to deal with. Obviously, corn allergic individuals must avoid food items that contain corn - but these aren't always so easy to identify. Many, many food additives are derived from corn, and, unless you know what these ingredients are, there is no way to know that certain foods may trigger a corn allergy. For example, baking powder and brown sugar with caramel color may both cause reactions in those allergic to corn.

But food is not the only concern for those with a corn allergy. Many toiletry products contain corn product, including some toothpaste, hair sprays, contact lens solution, lotions, and body powders, to name a few. Furthermore, items with adhesives or gummed papers (such as stamps, labels, etc.), cements, plastic containers, and charcoal briquettes can contain corn product and cause reactions in allergic individuals. A recent article entitled Corn-Allergy Sufferers Face Hidden Corn Everywhere outlines one person's struggle to avoid corn.

Jenny Connors, a corn allergic individual who has developed her own extensive Web site devoted to living with corn allergies, discusses both "traditional and non-traditional" symptoms of corn allergies, drawn largely from her own personal experience. Typical allergic responses to corn, such as anaphylaxis, asthma attacks, rashes, and tingling are among the symptoms most widely recognized as allergy symptoms; however, she also mentions other symptoms accompanying corn allergies, such as depression, disturbed sleep, lethary, and night sweats. AllergicChild.com also discusses some ways that corn allergic individuals may be inadvertently exposed to corn.

Clearly, a corn allergy is drastically different from an allergy to the "top eight" foods (dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, shellfish, soy, and wheat) because corn-derived incredients are so pervasive. Education, the proliferation of knowledge, and community support - both among corn allergic individuals themselves and between corn allergic individuals and their surrounding communities at work, school, and home - are vital to the health and well-being of allergy sufferers facing the challenge of a corn allergy.

More scientists are discovering the interconnectedness of our bodies' systems and of the diseases and disorders that attack those systems. The results of a recent study conducted by Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland is no exception.

The landmark study reveals a new syndrome in children that shows up as a combination of allergy, apraxia, and malabsorption. Apraxia is an autism spectrum disorder. Verbal apraxia has previously been thought to be neurologically based; however, this study indicates that in some children the afflication could be a component of a larger and more complex syndrome involving food allergies, gluten sensitivity, and nutritional malabsorption.

"While it is critical to treat verbal apraxia symptoms that often include severe delays in expressive speech production with speech therapy, we need to start asking why these kids are having these problems in the first place, so that we can identify mechanisms we can actually target to treat the cause of the symptoms," says Dr. Claudia Morris, one of the leaders of the study.

Dr. Morris collected information from about 200 families with children who had verbal apraxia. She found a common cluster of allergy, apraxia, and malabsorption in a specific group within this larger group. Lab analyses of 26 of the children showed low carnitine levels, abnormal celiac panels, vitamin D deficiency, and gluten sensitivity. All of the children in this smaller group carried the gene associated with gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.

This study comes soon after a recent discovery that children born to mothers with celiac disease are more than three times as likely to develop autism. Dr. Morris explains that "this brings some credibility to the anecdotal reports of gastrointestinal and behavioral improvements in children with autism spectrum disorders and/or verbal apraxia when eliminating gluten from their diets."

In an effort to bring variety to our blog readers, we are posting an article each month from an outside allergy blog. This two part article is reprinted with permission from a blog called The Renaissance Allergist. In part one of the posting last week, the author talked about two lessons that he thinks young allergists need to know before entering the profession. In this post, he continues with two more lessons and his concluding advice to a young allergy doctor.

Lesson 3: There are other things in the Allergist's life besides asthma. Open up your vistas, and start thinking of ALL mucosal organs (and the skin) as targets for allergic disease. Our professional societies have done a good job at "marking our territory" as asthma--that's all well and good, but you'll see plenty of patients with urticaria, migraine headaches, fatigue, and other issues besides asthma. Many of these patients come with a mix of IgE and non-IgE mediated illness. In truth, the allergist who only treats asthma is like the musician who only plays one song--it gets pretty boring and it is an incredible waste of talent.

Lesson 4: Revel in the mystery of allergy and develop your sense of curiosity in your practice. Just because we can't explain a patient's reaction in terms of what we presently understand from our training program, there is no need to deny it exists or delight in the mystery of how it happens. Why does Mrs. Smith get tired shortly after eating wheat products? Why does Mr. Smith get a headache 12 hours after cleaning up a moldy basement? Why do Mr. and Mrs. Smith have negative prick tests and IgE negative RAST tests to wheat and mold?

There is a subliminal tendency in many young allergists to not be interested in anything they can't explain. An observation is denied because the pathophysiology is unclear. That's backwards. It is the patient reactions we can't explain that should interest us the most! Thinking should begin with the negative prick test and the negative RAST test...not the positive ones. There are many, many, things we do not understand about how food and aeroallergens affect the patient, and the sooner we humbly acknowledge this, the better. This is the "Grand Mystery" of allergy. Accept it, embrace it, and study it.

Keep these four lessons in mind as you start your practice and you'll have a satisfying and rewarding practice for many years to come.

AchooAllergy.com would like to thank the writer for their permission to reprint this letter to a young allergist.

When it comes to identifying a tomato allergy, it is important to recognize the difference between a food intolerance and a true food allergy. While a food intolerance produces very real and uncomfortable symptoms, food allergies are much more serious in that they can be fatal.

Like other allergies, a tomato allergy is caused by a histamine reaction to a certain protein, in this case usually one found in the tomato's juice, seeds, or skin. Symptoms include swelling or itching near the mouth, hives, difficulty breathing, or a rash. Diarrhea and vomiting may also occur.

Interestingly, some individuals with a tomato allergy are able to eat cooked or processed tomatoes with no adverse reaction. However, tomato allergic individuals may have trouble with foods related to tomato plants like potatoes, tobacco, and eggplant.

As with any suspected allergy, it is necessary to avoid the food that causes a reaction. For a diagnosis confirmation, visit an allergist.

As a health article in today's New York Times attests, the resurgence of bed bugs has not gone away. Speculation regarding the reason for their re-emergence includes the elimination of powerful pesticides like DDT and the increase in international travel. Many people have been unfortunate enough to discover for themselves that bed bug infestation is no longer a problem relegated to slummy hotels. Instead, the pests have invaded thousands of households whose residents are shocked and horrified to find the bugs infesting their beds, furniture, and other belongings.

Although most people can hardly stand the thought of them, bed bugs are not usually a health hazard. However, some individuals experience severe allergic reactions to bed bug bites like asthma, hives, or even anaphylaxis.

In addition, bed bug infestation takes a severe financial toll on its victims. According to urban entomologist Jody L. Gangloff-Kaufmann, many families spend at least $5,000 on inspections, exterminations, and the cleaning and storage necessary to deal with bed bug infestations, not including the cost of items such as clothing, bedding, or furniture that need to be replaced. The worst part is that many families fall prey to fraudulent exterminators who take advantage of the ick-factor and offer treatments that simply don't work.

Here is a checklist outlining items anyone dealing with a bed bug problem should know:

• Confirming a bed bug problem exists is often the beginning of the money spent on dealing with an infestation. Bites seem like an obvious indicator, but many people mistake other kinds of bites for bed bug bites. Feces from the pests, which look like tiny black dots, or blood stains are another indication.



• Professional inspection can cost upwards of a couple hundred dollars. Typically, a visual inspection is conducted, but some companies use trained dogs that can even point out exactly where the bed bugs live. However, this service can cost between $300 and $600. If you decide on this type of inspection, make sure that the dog has been trained at a certified facility and has an individual trainer.



• If a bed bug problem is confirmed, the next step is extermination. There's no shortage of companies that promise to eradicate your bed bug problem, but many of these companies have seen the bed bug epidemic as an opportunity for some quick money and are not truly qualified to deal with the pests. It's a good idea to choose a company that has been in business for a while and that has experience treating all kinds of pest problems.



• Extermination fees can range from a few hundred dollars to near a thousand dollars per room. The actual price is determined by the level of infestation and the extermination techniques used.



• While most companies use a combination of pesticides and steam heat, Ms. Gangloff-Kaufmann says that exposure to high temperatures is the only sure way to kill bed bugs. Recently, companies have begun using a freezing agent that kills bugs on contact, but it is expensive and not completely effective.



• Pesticides alone will not work on bed bugs, so steer clear of any company that uses bug bombs or foggers to treat a bed bug problem. Whatever an exterminator uses to battle an infestation must come into direct contact with the bed bugs to kill them.



• Make sure your exterminator is licensed in your state and comes from a licensed company. Also, make sure that they will return for at least one follow-up session and that you know the cost of these future visits.

Here are some things you can do to help counter a bed bug problem:

• Cover your mattresses. Bed bugs can live for up to 10 months without eating, so keep your mattress and box spring covered for at least a year. Covers are also an excellent preventive measure.



• Before your categorically throw things out, consider using your drier to kill bed bugs. Clothing, stuffed animals, backpacks, and other small infested items can be dried for about 20 minutes and come out cleansed of (live) bed bugs.


Hopefully, bed bugs are not something you will ever have to encounter first-hand, but if you do, make sure to be well-informed before you shell out the hundreds, or thousands, of dollars it may cost to get rid of them.

In an effort to bring variety to our blog readers, we are posting an article every month from an outside allergy blog. This two part article is reprinted with permission from a blog called The Renaissance Allergist.

An Open Letter to a Young Allergist,

Congratulations! After two years of Fellowship Training, you're about to be done and to be certified as an Allergist. The whole "World of Allergy" awaits you and you're about to take the big step forward into directly caring for patients on your own. As someone who has been "in the trenches" for nearly 30 years in treating allergic diseases, I have a few words of advice.

This letter could be entitled many things, but perhaps the best title would be, "Mistakes I've made and Lesson's I've learned". For you see, I've found that not everything you've learned in your training program applies to the “Real World” of allergy. Naming and learning leukotrienes is one thing, but dealing with patients is quite another. Here are four things to think about when you begin to see patients—four lessons I've learned in the last 28 years that have helped me in my practice:

Lesson 1: In the Real World of Allergy, patients don't give a damn whether they're sick because it's "IgE-mediated allergy" or not--they just want to get well. You'll see many, many patients with adverse reactions to foods and molds where your prick test is negative, and telling the patient "they don't have an IgE mediated allergy" is very cold comfort to them. They want answers, and telling them what it ISN'T is not nearly as satisfying to the patient as telling them what it IS. A practical point--they're not likely to refer you a whole lot of future patients, either. Here's the clinical pearl: In the Real World of Allergy, you've got to get comfortable with non-IgE mediated reactions--and fast--if you want to be a superior allergist.

Lesson 2: You've got to get experienced in delivering immunotherapy regularly in your practice, and preferably in a well tolerated, safe and effective form: SLIT. If the only thing you're interested in is treating asthma and allergic rhinitis with only drugs, you'll be a very lonely--and poor--Allergist. Face it: we have a lot of competition for treating the asthmatic patient, and the allergic rhinitis patient. We've got good symptomatic drugs too--which the family physician and pulmonologist and otolaryngologist can all deliver. You've got to deliver something the family physician and the pulmonologist and the otolaryngologist can’t deliver--and that's immunotherapy. SLIT is the wave of the future. Bone up on it. Fast.

Be sure to check out Achoo the Blog next Wednesday for the exciting conclusion to this posting.

Our web design team has not been on vacation this summer. They have been working in overdrive to upgrade the information and presentation of our web site. One of our goals for the web site is to put together some short videos, so that our shoppers can see our products in live action. The team posted our first video last week showing one of our newest products the FURminator.

The FURminator is a deshedding tool designed for cat and dog owners. The innovation is in the unique blade. The blade is designed to remove pet hair easily and quickly. Dog groomers love this deshedding brush, because it removes undercoat hair from dogs while leaving the shiny top coat intact and healthy. This unique grooming brush is specially designed to dramatically reduce the mess and clean up of unwanted pet hair.

The FURminator is available in three sizes to tackle any grooming job. You can purchase the small size for cats or the biggest size to take on a large dog. According to the manufacturer, this grooming tool is proven to decrease shedding by 60-80% and reduce shedding for about four to six weeks. Allergy sufferers will benefit from the reduced shedding, but every dog and cat lover should have FURminator brushes in their grooming kit.