Doctors Cast Doubt on Many Reports of Food Allergies

Many who think they have food allergies actually do not. A new report, commissioned by the federal government, finds the field is rife with poorly done studies, misdiagnoses and tests that can give misleading results. While there is no doubt that people can be allergic to certain foods, with reproducible responses ranging from a rash to a severe life-threatening reaction, the true incidence of food allergies is only about 8 percent for children and less than 5 percent for adults. . . Yet about 30 percent of the population believe they have food allergies. . read more.

When Treating One Worker’s Allergy Sets Off Another’s

It’s a case of King Solomon meets the Americans With Disabilities Act. In her first week at a new job, Emily Kysel suffered an allergy attack so severe that she had to go home early one day. A co-worker was eating buffalo wings at her desk, and the wings contained paprika, to which Ms. Kysel, 24, has a rare and potentially fatal allergy. She nearly died five years ago from eating chili, and since then her allergy has sent her to the emergency room five times and caused her to jab herself with an anti-allergy injection 11 times, sometimes from just inhaling paprika nearby. . . Fearing a fatal encounter with paprika, Ms. Kysel’s parents and grandparents chipped in to buy her an allergy-detection dog, which works much like a narcotics-sniffing dog. . read more.