FDA Explores Food Allergen Labeling Improvements

About 2% of all American adults and 5% of the nation’s infants and young children suffer from food allergies.  Some allergic reactions triggered by the foods eaten are merely irritating but 30,000 of them every year are severe enough to require emergency medical treatment.  About 150 people die every year after eating something they were allergic to. Read more

Vaccine Allergies No Reason to Shun Childhood Inoculation

Measles, mumps, and whooping cough outbreaks have been reported in the United States in recent months.  In other countries, children have become ill with the measles and polio.  All these diseases, once common to childhood, can be avoided by a full regimen of vaccination but more and more parents are choosing to forego immunizing their children.  One reason sometimes cited for opting out of immunization is a child’s history of allergies to previously given vaccines.  A new report from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, however, says vaccine allergies are no reason to shun childhood inoculation. Read more

Stress Prolongs, Worsens Allergic Reactions

Researchers at Ohio State University have just released the findings of a study that suggests allergic reactions that occur during times of stress are likely to last longer and be more severe than reactions to the same allergens during times of little or no stress. The research team presented its findings on August 14 to the American Psychological Association at its annual meeting in Boston. Read more

Squeaky-Clean Aromas Wash Away Baby’s Immune System

Nobody would argue that the arrival of a new baby is a time when cleanliness is critical but a new study suggests too much of a good thing can leave your child gasping for breath.  Seems asthma has a tendency to develop in young children if they were exposed to excessive cleaning solvents and chemicals before and after they were born. Read more

Tobacco Smoke In Utero, Infancy Raises Baby’s Risk of Allergy, Asthma

Mothers who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy double their children’s chances of developing asthma before their fourth birthdays. And the more a pregnant mother smoked, the higher her child’s chance of developing asthma in the first few years of life. Smoking also increases the child’s chances of developing allergies at a young age. Read more

Hey, Kids! Don’t Breathe the Traffic

Kids are used to hearing they shouldn’t play in traffic but now a study of children, traffic, and allergies points to problems with allergies and other associated ailments when children live near major roadways and breathe the traffic-polluted air. The German study indicates living as close as 55 yards (or not quite 50 meters) from a busy road ups a child’s risk of developing allergies by about 50%. Read more

Childhood With Cats Reduces Rate of Asthma, Allergies

Researchers at Columbia University have released a statement sure to please cat-loving parents everywhere. Seems children up to age five who live in a household containing a cat are less likely to develop asthma and cat allergies than children who grow up in cat-free homes. Read more

Spring allergies? Don’t fight them, flush them…

Spring allergy season is beginning to hit, and it can make outdoor playtime a real bear. But did you know there is a good, natural alternative to allergy medicines?

A story in the Wall Street Journal this week reports on nasal irrigation - a thousand-year-old practice that’s a helpful, inexpensive natural treatment for allergy symptoms. It’s a great first-line treatment if you’re not too keen on loading your kids with meds each spring - or if you’re pregnant. Read more

New Egg is made Allergy-Proof

Who’s afraid of the big bad egg? Some people, especially children, are actually allergic to eggs and the problem can even become fatal in some cases. In fact, this kind of allergy is among the top of the list in terms of food allergies in both children and infants. It really can be a nuisance and even become a very serious problem if you aren’t careful. It can cause terrible rashes and stomach aches as well as an occasionally rare death. Chemists in Germany and Switzerland may now have the solution but the answer is yet to reach the wider market for several more months. Read more

Milk, Egg Allergies Tougher Than Ever

Med Headlines - There was a time when children diagnosed as allergic to either milk or eggs could be expected to outgrow those allergies by the time they reached age 3. Medical records today indicate the allergies aren’t going away so quickly and they produce much stronger allergic reactions, too.  New research available from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center finds these allergies often stick around well past the age of starting school and even into a child’s teenage years. Read more

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