Allergies
Tips for Coping with Pet Allergies
Pets are amazing friends to have in life. These trusted companions can increase serotonin and dopamine levels (the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters), provide more structure in your daily routine and make you smile more! These are a few of the reasons…
Nature’s Solution to Pollen
Pollen, pollen everywhere! It's like Christmas, except instead of snow, it's yellow pollen, and instead of receiving gifts, all you get is sneezing, congestion, a runny nose, allergic rhinitis or sinusitis. Though pollen levels are traditionally very high during the…
Cross Reactivity – Unrelated Links
When it comes to allergies, rarely are they isolated or singular. Often there are groupings, like allergen punches in bunches, that can affect the body. Peanut allergy sufferers are often allergic to other types of tree nuts, or those allergic…
Choose Your Allergy Mask
With nearly 80° weather here in Atlanta and everything in bloom, it seems like an excellent time to make sure you are set for this year’s spring allergy season. One of the simplest measures people take to protect themselves is…
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…
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…
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
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…
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
Spring Allergies, Eye Allergies, and Contact Lenses
When it comes to eye allergies, the misery of spring allergies can hit those who wear contact lenses especially hard, Medical News Today reports.’ Eye allergy symptoms include itchy and watery eyes, which accompany other allergy symptoms like sneezing, coughing,…
Hidden Allergens: Shower Curtains
Today's hidden allergen spotlight turns on the shower curtain, which can cause problems for allergy sufferers in a couple of ways: through off-gassing, and through the possible presence of mold. Firstly, consider vinyl shower curtains, those clear plastic ones that…
Have Any Food Allergy Advice?
We recently had a mother write to us for advice and help with food allergy questions. Recently, she found out that her 3 year-old is allergic to dairy protein (specifically Casein) and nuts. One problem is that milk and cheese…
Romance and Allergies
It's nearly impossible not to notice that today is Valentine's Day. And with a nod to the occasion that brings so much pink and red and hearts and chocolate our way, it's also a good time to reflect a little…
Cedar & Juniper Pollen in Winter
Around this time of year, most of us here in the U.S. don’t give much thought to pollen. For much of the country, trees are dormant and most of the pollinating plants are dead. In certain parts of the country,…
Total Allergen Load and Ragweed Season
At AchooAllergy.com, we frequently discuss the concept of total allergen load. Basically, the theory suggests that once a certain threshold of allergen exposure and other factors is reached (and this is different for various individuals), symptoms appear. A recent article…
Food Allergy Safety During Summer Picnics
In Summer Means Barbecues, Picnics and Food Allergies, Medical News Today highlights ways to protect against food allergies while enjoying summer get-togethers. More than 12 million americans suffer from food allergies, the severity of which ranges from irritating, itchy skin…
Summer Cold or Allergies?
A CNN Health feature 'Summer Colds' May Not Be Just That highlights a condition many of us experience as spring temperatures yield to summer's less forgiving ones. Cold viruses exist all year round, but they are much more common in…
Stinging Insect Allergies
As my husband was doing some yard work last week, he came across a couple of yellow jacket nests in our yard. Thankfully, he only got stung once and was subsequently able to safely destroy the nests, but the experience…
Blood Test Detects Newborns’ Allergy Risk
Medical News Today reports that researchers from SA Pathology and the Children's Research Centre at the University of Adelaide have made a huge breakthrough in the field of allergy testing: a simple blood test that can predict whether newborn babies…
Olive Oil for Allergies: Face Wash and Eczema Treatment?
Olive oil, rich in history and used for a variety of purposes both internally and externally, has long been hailed for its health benefits. Through recent experience with using natural oils as personal care products, I began to realize that…
Allergies During Pregnancy
Strangely, even though I've been writing for achoo! ALLERGY for a few years, I don't have allergies – or I didn't until now. (Not having allergies hasn't stopped me from using allergy relief bedding, HEPA vacuum cleaners, and other allergy…
SLIT for Milk Allergies Proves Effective
A small study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Duke University has shown that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) treatments can help milk allergic children overcome their allergies, ScienceDaily reports. The findings, which were presented at the annual meeting…
Obesity and Food Allergies Linked
We may have another piece to the puzzle about why we
Weather Conditions and Your Allergies
As the seasons change, you may wonder how different weather conditions affect your allergies. Weather.com offers an illuminating look into the role of weather in your allergy symptoms: Wind is a big culprit in causing allergies to act up because…
Study of Allergic Children Yields New Insights
We have all heard about how allergies are on the rise, but a new population-based study offers some insight into just how allergies and asthma develop during childhood. As reported by ScienceDaily, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and…
Nasal Allergies Linked to Chronic Sinusitis
To those who suffer from allergies and sinus problems, it certainly comes as no surprise that the two are related. Indeed, recent tests conducted by scientists at the Allergy Research Foundation in the Netherlands have revealed that nasal allergies may…
Caffeine Allergy
Not long ago, we blogged about coffee allergies which are not always as straightforward as they seem. Some allergic reactions to coffee are often reactions to components of the coffee. One component that can pose a problem is caffeine. Aside…
Tomato Allergy
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…
Rice that Cures Pollen Allergies?
Medical News Today reports on Japanese scientists who have bred a transgenic rice to fight pollen allergies. The rice is in a new category of genetically modified foods. The first generation of gentically modified crops was designed to withstand insects…
Chocolate Allergy
Although many people believe they are allergic to chocolate, true allergies to chocolate – specifically, the cocoa it's made from – are actually rare. In addition, many reactions to chocolate are not true allergies, but are rather intolerances to other…
Milk & Egg Allergies Now Harder to Outgrow
The JHU Gazette reports that milk and egg allergies, once considered temporary childhood conditions, are now more persistent and harder to outgrow. New research suggests that milk allergy and egg allergy cases typically continue well into school years and beyond.…
Mushroom, Cheese, and Mold Allergies
A couple of weeks ago, one of the largest truffles unearthed in the past 50 years was dug up in the Italian countryside by Cristiano Savini’s truffle-hunting dog Rocco. The truffle was donated to a charity auction held simultaneously in…
Teens with Food Allergies Take Dangerous Risks
WFRV reports that many teens with food allergies are taking dangerous risks. A new survey shows that 54 percent of teens sometimes intentionally eat food they know may harm them, and only 61 percent always carry their Epi-Pen. Researchers blame…