Allergen Immunotherapy Demonstrates Cost Savings among Children with Allergic Rhinitis - Significant Savings Seen within Three Months

In a recent study, authors examined Florida Medicaid data to compare health services use and costs between nearly 3,000 children newly diagnosed with allergic rhinitis (AR) who received allergen immunotherapy (IT) to a matched group of approximately 11,000 children with AR who did not receive IT. At 18 months, children with AR who received IT had one third lower total median health care costs than children with AR who did not receive IT, $3,247 versus $4,872. Outpatient costs were 58% lower and pharmacy costs were 16% lower for children who received versus did not receive IT. These significant health care savings were evident as early as 3 months following IT initiation, and increased throughout the study period. "This is great news, not only for families who will experience fewer out-of-pocket expenses for allergy medications, but also for the ever increasing national health care crisis " . . read more.

Time In Chlorinated Pools Ups Teens’ Asthma Risk

Teenagers who spent more than 1,000 hours swimming in chlorinated pools had more than eight times the asthma risk than subjects who swam in copper-silver disinfected pools, according to a study in Pediatrics. Scientists enrolled 847 subjects from 13 to 18 years old who had visited indoor or outdoor swimming pools. Of the 847, 114 mainly visited copper-silver disinfected pools; 733 visited chlorine-disinfected pools. The number of subjects who had ever had asthma increased in proportion to their chlorine-disinfected pool exposure. And risk of current asthma was more than eight times higher in the group with more than 1,000 hours in chlorine-disinfected pools compared with subjects who were rarely in chlorinated water. . read more.

Secondhand Smoke Exposure Linked to Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Secondhand smoke exposure is linked to chronic rhinosinusitis, according to the results of a matched case-control study reported in the April 2010 issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. "Most studies of the associations between secondhand smoke exposure and respiratory disease in adults have investigated odor and irritation, respiratory symptoms, lung function, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer," writes the authors. "Few studies have focused on chronic rhinosinusitis, although evidence suggests that such a relationship may exist.". . read more.

Take Control: A guide for people with asthma

New Guidelines from the NHLBI’s National Asthma Education and Prevention Program use the latest research to help you take control of your asthma symptoms and reduce the effects of the disease on your life. Your goal should be to feel good, be active all day and sleep well at night. All patients with asthma should accept nothing less. If your asthma is in control, you should expect. . read more.

Recognizing asthma in your young child - making sure you can both breath easy.

A cough at night. A cold that doesn’t go away. A whistling sound when breathing out. Maybe even a late night trip to the hospital because that breathing didn’t seem quite right. If you’ve had any of this happen with your young child, you may be worried and wondering what’s going on. It could be your child has asthma, a serious and sometimes dangerous disease. The good news is that asthma can be controlled and your child can live a normal and active life. This brochure explains what you can do if you think your child might have asthma. . read more.

Early Signs of Asthma But Parents Delay Treatment

According to Doctor Jane Garbutt, MBChB, parents of young asthmatic children, age 2-10 accurately recognized the onset of an attack of asthma, at least 80% of the time. They noted an increase in respiratory symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, and wheeze along with non-specific changes including change in behavior, vomiting, and dark circles under the eyes. The early warning signs were usually the same with each exacerbation of asthma. The use of objective monitoring, e.g. measuring lung function using a peak flow meter or keeping a symptom diary was reported less than 25% of the time. However, even when recognizing these early signs and symptoms of asthma, parents often delayed increasing the intensity of the asthma treatment, at times until the child was gasping for breath or using accessory muscles for breathing. . read more.

The Claim: Alcohol Worsens Allergies

Sniffling, sneezing and struggling through allergy season this year? You may want to lay off alcohol for a while. Studies have found that alcohol can cause or worsen the common symptoms of asthma and hay fever, like sneezing, itching, headaches and coughing. But the problem is not always the alcohol itself. . read more.

Allergy medications and pregnancy: What's safe?

Is it safe to take Claritin or other allergy medications during pregnancy? Allergy medications are sometimes recommended during pregnancy. Before you take any medication during pregnancy, however, it's important to weigh the severity of your symptoms against the possible risks to your baby. Loratadine (Claritin, others) is considered a category B drug — which means that animal studies haven't shown any risks to unborn babies whose mothers take the drug. Still, category B drugs haven't been adequately tested during human pregnancy to offer any guarantees. Rather than depending on allergy medications, you might consider other ways to manage your allergy symptoms. . read more.

Excessive cleanliness may boost allergies

Put away the hand sanitizer. It's not necessarily the grime, dust bunnies, cat dander or pollen causing those miserable springtime allergies. The culprit actually may be too much cleanliness. "Allergies have become widespread in developed countries: hay fever, eczema, hives and asthma are all increasingly prevalent. The reason? Excessive cleanliness is to blame," said Dr. Guy Delespesse, an immunologist and director of the Allergy Research Laboratory at the University of Montreal. The school released new findings on the topic Wednesday. . read more.

High Pollen Count Means Bad Allergies This Season

It's going to be a rough seasons for people with allergies. For the 50 million Americans who suffer from allergies, this year's beautiful spring has felt especially ... miserable. "This is the worst I've ever experienced my allergies -- the worst, hands down, Kelly Miller of Atlanta said. "It's like the worst cold you've ever had that just won't go away with cold medicine." She's suffering because spring came late, her doctor said. Parts of the country that were covered in snow just a few weeks ago suddenly are seeing record warm temperatures, and all the different trees, flowers and grasses are "sharing their love" at about the same time. .read more.

Asthma and COPD Inhalers That Contain Ozone-depleting CFCs to be Phased Out; Alternative Treatments Available

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced, in accordance with longstanding U.S. obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, seven metered-dose inhalers (MDI) used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be gradually removed from the U.S. marketplace. These inhalers contain ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are propellants that move medication out of the inhaler and into the lungs of patients. Alternative medications that do not contain CFCs are available. . read more.

Vaccines for adults: Which do you need?

Vaccines offer protection from a variety of serious or potentially fatal diseases — and they're not just for kids. Wonder which vaccines you need? It can be confusing, especially if you thought you were too old for vaccines. Use the list below to find out which vaccines you should have now and which vaccines may be coming up — based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. . read more.

The Claim: Milk Makes You Phlegmy

Many people believe milk leads to upper-respiratory congestion, but studies have generally dismissed it as an old wives’ tale. In one well-known experiment, scientists found that even people inoculated with the common cold virus did not exhibit a statistically significant increase in symptoms or nasal secretions when they drank milk. But a new report suggests a possible explanation: only a small group of people are susceptible.. read more.

Children With Food-Related Anaphylaxis Need Access to 2 Epinephrine Injections

Keeping 2 doses of epinephrine on hand is recommended for children with life-threatening food allergies, according to a study published online March 22 in Pediatrics. Approximately 3 million children in the United States have food allergies, and that number is growing. Food allergies are the chief cause of anaphylaxis, a sometimes-fatal allergic response, which progresses quickly to constrict the airway, irritate the skin and intestines, and/or affect heart rhythm. The prevalence of food allergies in developed countries is currently nearly 6% and appears to be increasing. Recent studies also suggest a dramatic increase in the incidence of anaphylaxis, with food allergy shown to be the leading cause of anaphylaxis in children.Current practice guidelines recommend that all patients suspected of having an episode of food-related anaphylaxis be referred to an allergist, counseled to avoid the suspected food trigger, and prescribed self-injectable epinephrine. Prompt administration of epinephrine is the primary treatment of food-related anaphylaxis. It is recommended that children with a history of food-related anaphylaxis carry multiple doses of self-injectable epinephrine, although evidence supporting this practice is limited .. read more.

Allergy and Asthma Tips to Remember

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) has an excellent series of informational brochures,Tips to Remember, with helpful information for patients. The series has been updated to ensure medical accuracy of the content. These educational brochures for patients cover 27 topics related to allergies and asthma, including allergy and asthma medications, allergy shots, rhinitis, outdoor allergens, stinging insect allergy and more. Additional information is available here.

Welcome to Allergy and Asthma News. . and much more

Each Spring brings worsening of symptoms for many allergy sufferers. Allergies are a major cause of illness in the United States. As many as 50 million people—about one in five—have allergies. This includes millions of children. If you have an allergy, your immune system treats whatever you are allergic to as an invader and releases chemicals to defend against it. It is these chemicals released by the body that cause allergic symptoms that can range from mild to severe. Allergic reactions can affect your nose, throat, eyes, lungs, skin, stomach or intestines. Rarely, they can affect the whole body. Whenever you are exposed to something you are allergic to, your body will trigger an allergic response again. That is why it's important to know what you are allergic to and take steps to treat or avoid a reaction.Allergists are the doctors who have the specialized training and experience to find the source of your suffering and help you find relief. This website has a great deal of information about allergy and asthma, with new newsletters and other features this Spring. . read more.

Pregnant mom’s stress may affect baby’s asthma risk

Stress during pregnancy may increase the risk of the baby developing asthma. Researchers studied 557 pregnant mostly ethnic minority women in cities, including Boston, Baltimore, New York, and St. Louis. Twenty percent lived below the poverty level. Each family completed a questionnaire asking about stress, such as domestic violence, money problems and community violence. After the births, the researchers took umbilical cord blood samples to test reactions to various allergens, such as dust and cockroaches, and viral and bacterial stimulants. The babies born to mothers reported to be more stressed had different immune cell responses when stimulated with various common environmental triggers compared to babies born to mothers reporting less stress. . read more.

Study: Asthma patients more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety

People with asthma are more than twice as likely to have depression or anxiety than people without asthma, according to a study in Chest. Researchers reviewed data from 186,738 adult respondents to the U.S. National Health Interview Survey from 2001 to 2007. Of these adults, 7 percent had asthma and 3 percent had serious psychological distress. But among the subjects with asthma, the serious psychological distress rate was 7.5 percent. . read more.

Early-Life Infections, Immunizations May Alter Childhood Asthma Risk

Recurrent bouts of gastroenteritis in the first two years of life increase the risk of asthma by age 6 years, a study in allergy-prone children suggests. Combined diphtheria and tetanus (DT) immunization in the first year of life was also linked to the risk of childhood asthma in the prospective study... read more.

How to Stop Seasonal Allergies the Natural Way

It’s like a scene from a low-budget horror flick: the trees are blooming, the grass is growing … and runny-nosed zombies are invading the planet! Seasonal allergies are here, but if you’re one of the sniffly multitudes, “allergy season” can span most of the year. . read more.

Recurrent Infections May Signal Immunodeficiencies

Your immune system is constantly on the defense--fighting germs that could cause infections. Sometimes the "germ" wins but what is the difference between losing an occasional battle and having recurrent infections? How many are too many?. . read more.

5 migraine questions answered

Migraines are notorious for causing pain. But what triggers them? How can they be prevented? And what are the best treatments? Here are answers to five questions that will help clear up a few misunderstandings and provide some useful information along the way.. . read more.

Confused about your asthma medications? Take the "stepwise" approach

For many asthma sufferers, recent safety issues raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have generated confusion and concern.. . read more.

Eight Warning Signs Women Over 40 Shouldn't Ignore

Most minor discomfort is a sign of...not much. But a handful of trivial-sounding symptoms can sometimes be red flags for something more serious. . . read more.

Top Five Spring Allergy Mistakes to Avoid this Season

Do you sneeze and wheeze all spring long? If so, you may be making common mistakes that prevent you from keeping your allergy symptoms under control. The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology alerts allergy sufferers to avoid these five mistakes. . read more.

Suffering With Allergies? Try Tailoring Treatment to Your Symptoms

Spring is here—and along with it come the sneezing and stuffy noses characteristic of allergy season. You can calm your allergy symptoms if you choose the right products, but about 60 percent of people with allergies say they still have a hard time getting relief during the spring season. . read more.

Asthma and Allergy-free Vacations

If you're planning a vacation, and you or your child have allergies or asthma, proper planning can help you keep sneezes, sniffles, wheezing and coughing under control. Use the following tips to make sure that allergy misery doesn't derail your vacation fun. . read more.

We lost our insurance, so I can’t afford my daughter’s medications. What can I do?

It is very important that your daughter continue her asthma medications for optimal control. Unfortunately, if you lost your health insurance it is difficult to afford medications since they can be quite expensive. . read more.

Three Questions About Pollen Allergies

Do you suffer from frequent sneezing, congestion, watery eyes, and an itchy, runny nose? If so, you may have seasonal allergic rhinitis, often called hay fever. It strikes when pollen starts to fly. . read more.

Asthma without wheezing: Is this possible?

Wheezing is a common sign of asthma, particularly in children. However, asthma doesn't always produce a wheeze you can hear. Instead, other sign and synptoms may be prominant.. . read asthma signs and symptoms.

Slideshow: Ten Worst Cities For Asthma, 2009

Many things in the environment can trigger an asthma attack, including air pollution, secondhand smoke, and pollen. Asthma affects one in 5 Americans and is on the rise. While there are no asthma-free cities, some are more challenging than others for people living with asthma. . . .worst cities for asthma.

Three Questions About Fragrance Sensitivity

If you find yourself developing a killer headache when riding an elevator with someone who was a bit generous dabbing on the perfume, you have company. More than 2 million Americans have fragrance allergies or sensitivities -- and the number is on the rise... fragrence sensitivity.

The Claim: Zinc Can Help Fight Off Ear Infections

As parents know, middle-ear infections are one of the most common and painful afflictions of childhood. One suggested remedy is zinc, which has a long history as a cold-fighting supplement.But in recent studies, scientists have failed to find much support for its effectiveness.. .fighting ear infections.

Asthma Management Better by the Allergist

Treatment outcomes are better and less expensive when allergists directly provide asthma care or coordinate a care team, compared to when an allergist is not involved. More than 80% of all resources for asthma treatment are used by 20% of patients with poorly controlled asthma... read more.

Dust mite allergy

Dust mite allergy — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms and treatment of allergy to dust mites... read article.

Pet allergy: What to do for relief

Pet allergy — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms and treatment of allergy to animals... read article.

Your chance to comment on Food Allergy Guidelines

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is seeking public comment on a draft of Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy. To review the guidelines and participate in the open comment period... click here.

Asthma affects 7.85% of the U.S. population

Asthma affects about 7.85% of the U.S. population, increasing at a rate of 0.5% every three years. Researchers said rates vary significantly by state, with Louisiana reporting the lowest at 5.04% and Rhode Island the highest at 10.68%... read article.

A Child's Allergies Are Serious but Can Be Treated Effectively

It starts with a telltale sniffle, itchy eyes and an occasional cough. You think your little one is getting a cold but... the runny nose seems never to leave... an allergist can best treat your child if symptoms become moderate to severe... read article.

Explore the link between allergies and asthma

End Allergy and Asthma Misery - It's Worth a Shot! Assess your risk for asthma, and learn how to lower that risk. New online slide show and quiz explores the relationship between allergies and asthma and the role of allergy shots.

NIH Study Looks At Long-Acting Asthma Drugs For Children

Almost 7 million children in the U.S. have asthma. A study found that certain long-acting asthma drugs were more likely to be the best add-on therapy for children whose asthma isn't well controlled by other drugs. An individualized treatment plan is the best approach... read article.

Kids With Food Allergies Need Medicine Nearby

Some children with food allergy are at risk for potentially fatal allergic reactions because they don't have their lifesaving epinephrine medication on them at school... read article.

Asthma Rates Rising Across the U.S.

Asthma rates are increasing across the United States, a new government study shows, but certain states have significantly lower rates of the respiratory disease... read article.

Severe Allergic Reaction To Meat May Not Be Rare

Eating meat may be a much more common trigger for anaphylaxis -- a severe and potentially deadly allergic reaction -- than previously thought, according to recent research... read article.

Hey, parents, be on the alert for signs -- early signs -- of an asthma attack

Parents can hope all they'd like. But they can't assume that their children's early asthma-attack symptoms will simply go away. Of course, first they have to learn to recognize the symptoms as such -- and then they have to learn what to do about them... read article.

SLICE OF LIFE: Teaching Toddlers About Food Allergies

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), up to two million or 8% of children in the United States are estimated to have food allergies. The most common triggers are cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish and tree nuts... read article.

Is Your Kid Truly Allergic? Tests Add to Food Confusion

Many kids whose allergies were diagnosed on the basis of blood or skin tests alone may not be truly allergic to those foods, experts say... read article.

Air Canada ordered to create nut-free buffer zones

Canada's largest airline has been ordered to create a nut-free zone on flights to accommodate passengers with serious nut allergies. Air Canada has been given 30 days to come up with a plan to create a "buffer zone" when passengers with nut allergies warn them ahead of time... read article.