Recently there has been a lot of news coverage regarding a new treatment for peanut allergies. A study of children with peanut allergy has been conducted by Dr. Wesley Burks of Duke University Medical Center. The initial study was small at 33 children with the main approach being oral immunotherapy. The children were challenged with increasing small amounts of peanuts over an 8-10 month period on a daily basis. 5 basically ended up being totally free of their peanut allergy. Here is a video which shows one of the successes.
I have seen some other reports that have also discussed how oral immunotherapy can be used in the same way to desensitize those suffering from milk allergy.
Please keep in mind this should not be done at home. It was done as part of a supervised medical study. Until bigger studies are done and it is approved for use for your allergist it is still advised to continue to “treat” your allergy by avoiding peanuts.
For more on immunotherapy review our post on Allergy Shots.
As the Christmas holiday nears and I am looking at what gifts to buy my children I found myself thinking about how my choices may affect the allergy level in our house. I know it is sad but since we all suffer from some form of allergy or another it is something that enters into many of our day to day decisions.
My daughter is 8 and loves animals and has wanted a dog since as long as she could talk. We definitely can not have a dog because of dog allergies so that got me thinking about the popular realistic toy animals that are out there on the market.
One of the most popular Christmas Toys for 2008 is the Biscuit the Dog Toy otherwise known as Biscuit my Lovin Pup. My daughter has requested this toy and I am seriously considering it. She has the least allergies in our house and has over 20 stuffed animals. If your child has an allergy to dust mites stuffed animals are not a good idea. Though you can manage them by cleaning the stuffed animals regularly or freezing them as some doctors recommend I would not add this complication to your life.
The Biscuit the Dog Toy is a little on the high side but you can currently save $30 if you buy through Amazon link below.
I have narrowed this holiday gift idea to between this dog and the cheaper Fisher-Price Puppy Grows and Knows Your Name which is currently offered at a $21savings.
Have seasonal allergies affected you this year? I was looking at the latest videos posted regarding allergies and found a recording of Robin Roberts from Good Morning America talking about what appear to be pollen allergy statistics for 2006. Though the data is dated it got me thinking about how the last few years have been particularly hard on me and my kids for spring allergies.
We live in the Boston area and in the video it talks about the worst and best cities. Boston was the worst that year. I found a new report for 2008 for the Worst Cities For Allergies provided by Forbes. Boston is down to 59 out of 100 but I found their measurement method interesting. They factor 3 things:
a pollen score
a medicine utilization score
a score based on number of Board Certified Allergists per Patient
Boston scores above average for number of allergists per patient. In the older video it talks about warmer winters being the culprit and we indeed have experienced those in the NorthEast.
I find the Forbes list interesting but as with any study potentially flawed. Though Boston has dropped in standings many seasonal allergy sufferers are treating themselves nowadays with over the counter medicines like Claritin and Zyrtec. Pharmacies even offer cheaper versions with similar ingredients that I have tried and worked for me. Our higher allergist ratio also suggests to me that patients may have identified their allergies with their allergists in years past and are now educated enough to help manage them.
Whether you believe in Global Warming or not it is not hard to see the changes in our weather patterns will continue to affect seasonal allergy sufferers. As the allergists in the older video mention visiting your allergist to pinpoint your exact allergies can help, especially if the over the counter allergy medicines don’t work for you. Also be sure not to confuse cold medicine with allergy medicine. Allergy medicines contain antihistamines which cold medicines do not.
This is just a brief post to announce a new service for our website visitors. We have added a directory of allergy related videos. We feel it is a great addition to the information that we provide in our guide. The full directory of allergy related videos is here. Whereas we will provide periodic picks on on our allergy videos page.
We hope that you enjoy the wide range of videos available on this topic. As with any other information please be sure to check with your doctor. The amount of videos really demonstrate to me how big the problem of allergies is. It also helps to know that we are not alone…
As we start off the new school year I thought it would be helpful to provide an idea list of peanut and nut free snacks. I am sure that many of us are starting to learn the rules and regulations of our schools. We have discussed it many times the challenges and the fears associated with those of us who have children that are either allergic to peanuts or nuts. More and more facilities are going nut free. This year our school has a new nurse. She has been kind enough to share some thoughts regarding snacks. Whether you are the parent of someone with this type of food allergy or not you are expected to make sure you bring in snacks that keep other children safe as well.
Please keep in mind that some of these snacks are brand names which I have no association with and I have not tried them all. You should ALWAYS CHECK LABELS FOR CHANGES IN INGREDIENTS.
all fruits and vegetables
cheese
Thomas, lenders, or Ray’s bagels
pudding
cream cheese(check ingredients of flavored ones for not*)
raisins
yogurt
*Nowadays everything seems to come in a flavor so be sure to check ingredients since listing of peanuts and nuts is the law.
Though a sandwich may not be considered a snack ,depending on who you talk to, no list of peanut and nut free snacks would be complete without a discussion of peanut butter substitutes. Other nut butters like almond, hazelnut and cashew butters offer the closest experience to the comforting pb and j but be sure to check it out with your allergist first since though a peanut is not technically a nut your child may be allergic to the nuts in the substitute butter as well. One peanut butter alternative I recently heard about that has actually been around since 2002 is SunButter which is made from sunflower seeds and is marketed as “Great news for peanut and nut allergy sufferers” again consult with your allergist for their opinion.
Hopefully this list will be a good reference for ideas when your child needs a new snack which is also safe for his allergic classmates.
When I was younger I was often confused by the topic of allergies. Though my sister had many it was a foreign concept to me since I really wasn’t affected by them in my youth. As I got older and seasonal allergies started to get the best of me I started learning more about allergies and was surprised to find a world full of allergies.
Allergies are the the reaction of the body to certain substances called allergens. The allergic reaction occurs when the immune system reacts to that particular object. Allergies are a worldwide issue. There are a variety of allergy types. The most common are seasonal allergies that are the result from exposure to specific trees, plants, or pollen. They typically happen at certain times of the year. The other types of allergies that are typical are food allergies and pet allergies.
Symptoms of allergies can range from mild to severe depending on the person. There are many allergy remedies that you may be directed toward by your allergist. Allergy remedies mostly focus on treatment because there are no known “cures” for allergies. Allergy shots and drops are a form of immunotherapy that aims at desensitizing you to the allergen gradually over time so that your reaction is more manageable.
Most people experience only mild symptoms. They may include watery eyes, itchy skin, a runny nose, coughing, and hives. This type of allergy can be controlled by using an antihistamine such as in Benadryl. There are several over the counter available, as well as those you can only get with a prescription. How you manage your allergy truly depends on the type of allergy you have. This website offers tips based on what type of allergy you have.
A severe reaction like anaphylaxis is rare. Generally these result from food allergies. Peanuts, milk, and eggs are the most common food allergies. Symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction include swelling of the face, abdominal pain, cramps, hives, and angioedema which are hives inside the throat. It is extremely important to seek immediate medical attention for symptoms of a severe allergic reaction. Epinephrine shots shot can help offset the reaction. Hives and rashes can be reduced by the use of a cortisone cream but they may take a while to go away.
Pet allergies are very difficult to manage since these allergies can take some time to develop. It can also be problematic to diagnose since most pet owners don’t allow for sufficient time without a pet in their environment to truly see if they were causing the problem. Animal dander from pets hangs around for a while so you need to clean and give your environment time to be free of what the pet has left behind.
Allergies are also found in everyday things in your environment that you may never suspect. Many allergies are experienced at night to things like your pillow. Allergies to pillows and down comforters are something you may not suspect but may make life miserable at night. Managing your allergies is the key to living with them. Buying an air purifier for allergies may seem like a luxury but when you take quality of life into consideration it is a no brainer. Alternative allergy remedies also are available. One I recently tried is the neti pot which really had a dramatic effect.
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