Does my child need a flu shot this year?

The answer is probably yes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a yearly flu (influenza) vaccine for all children ages 6 months through 18 years — ideally given in September or as soon as the vaccine is available. . read more.
Carolina Allergy and Asthma Consultants has flu vaccine available now.

How to have an allergy-safe kids party

If you’ve got food allergies or care for someone who does, dealing with the day-to-day challenges of eating safely can feel tricky at best — and at worst, grueling and isolating. So Sandra Beasley’s memoir, “Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales From an Allergic Life,” comes as a welcome relief. The author, an award-winning poet, has severe food allergies, to dairy, egg, soy, mustard and shrimp, just to name a few. Although the book is filled with scary tales of allergic reactions in far-flung locales, it’s also funny, touching and ultimately courageous. After all, how many of us can say that we place our lives in our forks each and every time we eat? The latest research shows that 8 percent of children in the United States have food allergies. . read more.

Nut-Allergy Sufferers Face Prejudice: Life-Threatening Nut Allergies Viewed as 'Frivolous' by Many

Parents of nut-allergy sufferers face hostility and skepticism in trying to find safe environments for their children, a new study has found. Researchers found that parents are routinely made to feel by friends and even family that their child's nut allergy is a 'frivolous and self indulgent fad invented and maintained by attention-seeking people.' Children in the study described how they were bullied by classmates saying, "I've got nuts and I'm gonna touch you!". . read more.

Slowing the Allergic March

A pandemic of ailments called the "allergic march" -- the gradual acquisition of overlapping allergic diseases that commonly begins in early childhood -- has frustrated both parents and physicians. For the last three decades, an explosion of eczema, food allergies, hay fever, and asthma have afflicted children in the United States, the European Union, and many other countries. What causes the march and how to derail it has remained elusive. . read more.

Using Powder-Free Latex Gloves Reduces Latex Allergy Rate in Health Care Workers

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin investigating latex allergy in health care workers have demonstrated the most effective public health strategy to prevent allergic sensitization is by stopping the use of powdered latex gloves. Previous medical studies pointed out this association of latex allergy to powdered latex glove use but were not able to completely confirm this link in specific workers. Reducing the use of powdered gloves reduced the allergen in the air and in air ducts at two hospitals, and prevented sensitization to latex in health care workers at both institutions. . read more.

Asthma More Likely Among Children of Overweight Mothers

Women who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant may be more likely to have children who develop asthma as teenagers, new research shows. The findings could point to yet another consequence of the rising rates of obesity worldwide. After controlling for a number of potentially complicating factors — like a history of parental smoking or asthma — the researchers found that the teenagers whose mothers had been overweight or obese just before they became pregnant were 20 to 30 percent more likely to have asthma or a history of wheezing. And the teenagers whose mothers were heaviest at the time of pregnancy were nearly 50 percent more likely to have had a history of severe wheezing. . read more.