One aspect of my job here at Achoo puts me in touch with people with little to no knowledge of environmental control, allergy bedding or how specific things inside the house can be causing certain symptoms. One piece of information that I commonly pass along is based on previous studies of allergies and asthma that show links between allergic diseases like allergies, asthma and eczema. About 70% of the time, if a child has asthma, s/he also has at least one allergy. A study recently published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology clear up this picture for adults with asthma who likely also have allergies. The results linking asthma and allergies in adults were a bit surprising to most professionals in the field.

_By studying and comparing data from over 2500 patients in two age groups, 20-40 and 55+, researchers found that for asthmatics, allergic sensitization was present far more often than not. For the first age group, 20-40, those with asthma were also allergic to at least one allergen 75.4% of the time. In the second group, 55 years and older, asthmatics were allergic to at least one allergen 65% of the time. While this type of overlap has been studied and identified in children, most believed that the link between allergies and asthma wasn’t as strong with adults.

_Within this data, there is some variation between the types of allergens that these age groups showed the most sensitivity to. For the older set of patients, the most common allergen was dust mite. Over one-third of those who were asthmatic and allergic were sensitive to dust mites. Rye grass, cats, dogs and cockroaches followed. For the younger set of patients the allergen sensitivities were similar with dog and the dust mite allergen leading the way.

_Allergies and asthma are two very closely related animals. One is like a llama while the other is like an Alpaca. Both are different but fairly closely related, and like llamas/alpacas, sometimes people confuse the two.

_In terms of helping people, this stronger correlation can help doctors and allergists better diagnose conditions in older adults. And while asthma and an allergy may be the cause of a particular set of symptoms, some of the same measures to help control your indoor environment will work for both.

_To read the article’s abstract or access the full article.

_Three Ways to Reduce Allergens in Your Bedroom

_Author: Kevin Gilmore