allergies

Do you think you have food allergies? Maybe you don’t! A new report claims that many people are misdiagnosed with food allergies, due to disorganized and misleading testing methodology.

30% of the U.S. population believes they have a food allergy. But it turns out less than half of these actually have an allergy! Some of the confusion comes from the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance. Allergies involve the immune system. For example, a wine headache from sulfites or lactose intolerance caused by the lack of an diary-processing enzyme are not allergies.

One way to determine if someone has a true food allergy is called a food challenge, giving people “a suspect food disguised so they do not know if they are eating it or a placebo food.” If there’s a reaction from it, then the person has an allergy.

Do you have food allergies? Would you consider getting retested?

Story from the New York Times.

If you’re struggling through this allergy season, you may want to lay off the booze. New studies reveal that alcohol consumption can worsen symptoms of asthma and high fever, like sneezing, itching, headaches, and coughing. Histamines in beer, wine, and liquor can set off allergy symptoms, while wine and beer have sulfites that can provoke asthma.

The effects of alcohol on allergies is even greater in women. A study from the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy (great bathroom reading, right?) found that women who have more than two glasses of wine a day doubles the risk of allergy symptoms, even among women who didn’t have seasonal/perennial allergies.

I don’t know. I hate allergies, but I do enjoy drinking more than two glasses of wine on occasion. What do you think — is it worth the trade off?

From the New York Times. Photo by Steve Wampler.

Spring might mean the return of the sun and nice weather, but for those with allergies, it means a lot of coughing and sneezing. How do you and your kids get rid of allergies? Or at least stave them off? The Times suggests taking three steps: finding the right doctor, eliminating the source, and immunotherapy.

Mild allergies can be treated without much testing, and getting the right prescription and over-the-counter medication can make a world of difference. But for children with worse allergies, parents should take them to to an allergist, who can pinpoint exactly what your child is allergic to with a skin test. To find an allergist, check out the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s doctor locator.
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British doctors believe that a permanent cure for fatal nut allergies might only be three years away. The researchers say they have “effectively cured” 21 kids of the condition. The method involves building up a child’s resistance to the food with small doses of peanut flour mixed with yogurt.

Is this a reality? Those researchers at the Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge are confident that a similar treatment can be developed for a number of other food allergies, like milk and eggs. While restaurants are starting to become more aware of deadly allergies, and taking the necessary precautions, imagine a future where no one had to worry about it. If I were the Planters Peanuts guys, I would be investing millions in this research.

The full story at the Daily Mail. Photo by Will Graham.