Author: Shifrah
How to Help Pet Allergic Guests Feel at Home
We have two cats and a dog, and I do what I know to do in order to keep pet dander around the house to a minimum. I try to keep the animals out of bedrooms, I have a leather…
Daily Habits for Allergy Relief
Knowing that you can do something to take charge of your allergy symptoms is empowering, especially if you've resigned yourself to the sniffling, sneezing, and itchy, watery eyes as facts of your life. Butallergen avoidance and environmental control can really…
Nail Polish Chemicals: The Toxic Trio
The Allergy Consumer Report recently covered the topic of toxic ingredients in nail polish in the series, Toxic Indoor Air in Nail Salons, Parts One and Two. The Huffington Post, in their Green section, also recently touched specifically on the…
Are Schools Prepared for Allergy Emergencies?
The death of a first-grader in Richmond, Virginia highlights the possible unpreparedness of schools to deal with allergy emergencies. Ammaria Johnson had a peanut allergy. While out at recess, she broke out in hives and began complaining of shortness of…
Taking Vitamin B5, Pantothenic Acid, for Allergies
We've talked before about the positive effect of some particular nutrients on preventing and relieving allergy symptoms. For instance, omega-3, whether taken as a supplement or through foods, helps a great deal in diminishing eczema symptoms and even allergy symptoms…
Stressed Infants More Prone to Allergies
We've previously discussed factors that influence the development of allergies and asthma in children. For instance, children born by c-sections and aren't exposed to as much bacteria during their birth are more likely to develop allergies. Those whose mothers take…
Bedbugs’ Inbreeding Leads to Fast Infestations
You're probably aware of the resurgence in bedbugs that has plagued apartment buildings, hotels, and homes throughout the country, regardless of social class. Bedbugs are notoriously easy to get, and infestations happen quickly and pervasively, often filling entire apartment complexes…
Holiday Allergy Conundrums
Deciding to implement allergen avoidance routines makes a huge difference in many allergy sufferers' lives. Certain measures are no-brainers: using allergy relief bedding, keeping pets out of the bedroom, putting air purifiers in bedrooms, and using a HEPA vacuum cleaner.…
Key Symptoms: Flu, Cold, or Allergies?
It's that time of year when it seems that you or someone you know is sick all the time. With many of winter's common sicknesses having similar symptoms, it's often hard to know what the sickness is. _ _ You…
Allergen-Reducing Vacuuming Techniques
Winter is a time when allergens tend to build up in record amounts in your home. People and pets spend more time indoors, and homes are sealed tight against the elements. In addition, forced air heating systems make nasal and…
Christmas Lead Dangers
The Soft Landing Safe Living Guide's article, Top 5 Ways to Avoid Lead this Christmas, expands on the topic of Christmas lights lead exposure risks, which we talked about on Monday. Although it is not as prevalent as it once…
What’s Wrong with this Picture?
When I saw this photo on Pinterest (which I've blogged about before), I cringed. Knowing that Christmas lights are often rife with lead, which is used both to insulate the wiring and as a flame retardant, seeing a child handling…
Allergy to Hair Dye Puts Woman in Coma
FoxNews.com article Woman in Coma After Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye reports on the tragic case of a mother in England who experienced an apparent allergic reaction when she dyed her hair
New Dysons: The Digital Slim and Dyson’s Most Powerful Animal Vacuum
I've expressed the fact that I love Dyson vacuum cleaners on this blog before. My Dyson DC24 is going strong and I still get a thrill out of how much and how well it picks up. But now I have…
Wool Allergies
As temperatures continue to drop, you may find yourself reaching for warmer clothes
Allergy Apps
Do you use your phone for everything from checking email and planning family menus to entertaining the children while clothes shopping and checking sports stats
China’s Elite Enjoy Pure Air While Under-Reporting Pollution
In Toxic Indoor Air in Nail Salon: Part One and Two, we touched on the politics that can be involved in the accessibility of healthy indoor air. A recent NY Times article, The Privileges of China's Elite Include Purified Air,…
Antibiotics, Probiotics, Obesity, and Allergies
A recent article on ABC News, Antibiotics Could be Driving Up Obesity discusses a topic highlighted by Dr. Greg Sharon in our latest allergist interview. We've discussed the hygiene hypothesis before: the theory, simply stated, that posits that the cleaner…
How to Deodorize and Add Fragrance to Your Home Naturally
Especially around fall and winter holidays, it's hard not to want to add that special touch to your home with fragrance. And if company is coming, you always want to get that lingering pet or fish dinner odor out of…
Halloween Hazards
Today in our regular perusal of allergy-related news, we came across Five Surprising Health Hazards on FoxNews.com. In summary, the hazards highlighted were: Licorice can lead to heart attacks. The FDA recently came out with a warning that too much…
Interior Brick Walls and Allergies
I’m in Cambridge visiting my sister who’s in graduate school at Harvard. This is my first ‘real’ time being in the Boston area (I can’t really count the three-hour stop I made here almost a decade ago) and I’m enjoying…
Top Two Fall Allergy Relief Products
Fall is in full swing
One Easy Way to Choose Safe Personal Care Products
Chemical exposure is all around us. Whether we are inhaling fumes from furniture or shower curtains, or ingesting food with preservatives or BPA content, toxic chemicals enter our bodies in various ways
Yellow Tipped Flames and Your Health
My husband and I have been talking to our custom home builders, and it seems we will soon have to make a decision about whether we prefer a gas range or an electric range in our new home. An almost…
Dealing with Unexpected Indoor Air Pollution
The more you know about the dangers of the toxic chemicals that are all around us, the more you do your best to avoid them. Simple lifestyle changes like swapping Windex for a homemade vinegar solution to clean glass and…
Bed Bug Prevention Tips
In today's blog, we bring you a summary of tips from RealSimple.com about how to prevent bed bugs: ‘Prevention is key.’ Bed bug extermination can cost upwards of $1200 and the physical and emotional toll the process exacts can be…
How to Keep Your Food Safe
The recent listeria outbreak makes it clear that being allergic to a food is not the only reason ordinary food might pose a severe health hazard. Below is a summary of food safety tips from the Centers for Disease control,…
Dust Is Toxic Too
I often go TheSoftLanding.com to research safe, non-toxic products for my children. Especially when it comes to plastic items, navigating what's safe and what could contain hormone-disrupting or neurotoxic chemicals is particularly difficult; it helps to have a guide for…
Raw Milk Lessens Allergy and Asthma Risk, Study Finds
According to a recent large European study, children who drink raw milk are less likely to develop allergies and asthma, reports FoxNews.com. While a direct cause-and-effect relationship between raw milk consumption and less incidence of allergies and asthma cannot be…
Formaldehyde Sources in the Home
Keeping indoor air quality healthy requires knowledge about what products in your home might compromise indoor air quality
Mother’s Diet During Pregnancy Affects Child’s Allergies
New research further supports the link between a mother's diet during pregnancy and her child's risk of developing allergies, reports Medical News Today in Mother's Diet Influences Baby's Allergies. Published in The Journal of Physiology, the research found specifically that…
Worst Allergy Season Ever
Turns out that those who think every allergy season is the worst one ever may actually be right, as explained in CNN.com's Why your allergies are bugging you. The reason for worsening allergy seasons is two-fold: There's more pollen and…
Allergy Free Hotel Rooms?
My family will be attending a conference in Jacksonville over this Labor Day weekend and staying at the Hyatt Regency there. While looking at the Hyatt website, I came across their offering of hypoallergenic rooms. Keeping allergen exposure to a…
Peanut Exposure in Unexpected Places
A question posed in the NYTimes.com Science section highlights the fact that those with food allergies must be on the alert at all times
Sloane Miller on Emergency Allergy Action Plans
Last week we reported on the death of a local Atlanta teen who, though habitually vigilant about his peanut allergy, experienced a fatal allergy attack. Today in CNN.com article Deaths are a reminder of food allergy dangers, Sloane Miller, MFA,…
Bed Bugs On the Rise in Dorms, Day Cares
You may think that the resurgence of bedbug infestations has died down, but unfortunately that's not the case. In Bedbug infestations growing in certain settings, survey finds, the Washington Post reports that bedbug problems continue to plague people across the…
Local Teen Dies from Peanut Allergy
I've mentioned before the fact that writing about allergies has drastically expanded my awareness of all kinds of allergies and their repercussions. The most tragic consequence of allergies is death, as illustrated in yesterday's Atlanta Journal Constitution article Teen dies…
New Study Links Prenatal Pet Exposure, Birth Type, and Race to Childhood Allergies
Three key factors play a significant role in the development of early childhood allergy risk, reports Medical News Today in Prenatal Pet Exposure, Delivery Mode, Race Are Key Factors In Early Allergy Risk. Henry Ford Hospital researchers ‘found that babies…
MRSA Among Top Ten Reasons for Children’s Hospitalizations
The NY Times reports in More Children Hospitalized with Skin Infections on the continued rising incidence of MRSA. In fact, this rise in MRSA has altered the list of the most common reasons that children are admitted to the hospital,…
How to Avoid Toxic Dry Cleaning Chemicals
Last week in Dry Cleaning Chemical Labelled Toxic and Carcinogenic by EPA, we talked about the health effects of the ubiquitous dry cleaning chemical perc. Indeed, dry cleaned items brought into the home can play a significant part in polluting…
Dry Cleaning Chemical Labelled Toxic and Carcinogenic by EPA
Indoor air quality affects everyone’s health, but the repercussions of poor indoor air quality can be especially pronounced in individuals with asthma and allergies. While we may think of our homes as a haven from outdoor pollution like that from…
Chalk as DIY Dehumidifier
We love portable dehumidifiers for small, damp spaces like under sinks, in poorly ventilated bathrooms, and in closets. But did you know there’s a very inexpensive and easy yet effective way to absorb low levels of moisture in your closet…
Adult Onset Asthma: One Woman’s Story
My chronic cough turned out to be adult asthma tells the story of one woman who had a cough she just couldn’t shake. When ribs bruised from violent coughing landed her in the emergency room, 40-year-old Linda Finlayson of New…
Breastfeeding Lowers Asthma Risk
In Asthma Risk Lower In Breastfed Babies, Medical News Today reports on a Dutch study which found that babies who are exclusively breastfed up to the age of six months have a lower risk of developing asthma-related symptoms in early…
Formaldehyde Danger for Hair Stylists, Embalmers, and Others
Formaldehyde, only recently officially declared as a carcinogen, has long been considered a health risk. Formaldehyde can trigger asthma and exacerbate symptoms of chemical sensitivity, including itchy eyes, sore throats, nosebleeds, and more. Even if symptoms are not apparent, formaldehyde…
Helping Food Allergic Kids Feel ‘Normal’
The Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board was born of one woman’s desire to help her food allergic daughter be safe yet still feel included in typical childhood activities, reports CNN in Making Food-Allergic Kids Feel Included. Concerned that her peanut…
Placebo Makes Asthma Patients Feel Better
We may take it for granted that frightening and serious conditions like asthma require medication. However, a study discussed in Time's article Study: For Asthma Patients, Placebos Feel Just as Good as the Drug calls this assumption into question
Allergy Free Dog Too Good to Be True
Pet ownership can be one of the most emotionally difficult issues an allergy sufferer has to confront
Cyclists Face Air Pollution Dangers, Including Cardiac Trouble
Scientific America’s article, Air Pollution Triggers Heart Risk for Cyclists, discusses the health concerns faced by cyclists who ride in heavy traffic areas. _The article highlights the effect of pollution from delivery trucks in New York City’s Garment District. One…
Germs Help Allergies More than Cause Them
Getting to the bottom of why allergies are on the rise involves consideration of several theories. One major theory is the hygiene hypothesis, which basically posits that our bodies are becoming more susceptible to harmless ‘invaders’