Allergies & Asthma

Black and Hispanic children have a higher risk for developing food allergies compared with white children, and studies suggest they may also have a significantly higher risk for anaphylaxis and death due to allergic food reactions. African-American, Hispanic, and other minority children are also greatly underrepresented in food allergy clinical trials, and a new analysis

Many people with food allergies go looking for treatment with their eyes on the prize — reducing reactions to a certain food or foods. After testing for allergies and finding out you have a multitude of underlying food and environmental allergies, your provider might recommend treating a broad spectrum beginning with environmental allergies (as authors

Asthma patients with confirmed COVID-19 were no more likely to require hospitalization or mechanical ventilation than patients without asthma, researchers found. Moreover, the asthma patients were less likely to die from COVID, reported Lacey Robinson, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, at the virtual annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma &

Patients who experienced an allergic reaction to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines could potentially be eligible to receive the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, CDC staff said on a Tuesday call with clinicians. Currently, patients can be eligible to receive the Johnson & Johnson adenovirus vaccine after receiving one dose of mRNA vaccine only in special circumstances,

Wide adoption of infant feeding guidelines calling for peanut introduction during the first year of life in Australia prompted a significant decline in child peanut allergies in that country, researchers reported. In 2016, guidelines in Australia were changed to recommend the introduction of potentially allergic foods such as peanut butter, cooked eggs, dairy, and wheat

Managing your allergies is a big job – and can be a lifesaving practice. Like anything these days, there’s technology that can help make it simpler. In this blog, we’re talking about free apps that can help with adherence to your allergy treatment and medications, as well as food and environmental allergy management. Adherence apps

Inhaled budesonide (Pulmicort), a steroid generally used to treat asthma, dramatically reduced the need for hospitalization in COVID-19 patients within a week of symptom onset, a small randomized trial in the U.K. found. Among 139 patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms, 10 in the control group required either a COVID-19-related urgent care or emergency department (ED)

Most people look forward to spring, the warmer temperatures, and the increased sunshine it brings. What’s not to love? Millions of Americans may respond with “the allergies that come along with it.” The big offenders in the early spring are trees and mold, but grasses can start causing symptoms shortly after. To avoid the wrath

“The rooster isn’t causing the sun to come up.” — Paul Offit, MD, of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, commenting on how a physician who died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine does not imply a causal relationship between the two events. “He knows about EHR [electronic health record] adoption, he knows about interfaces — the

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, both the CDC and the World Health Organization identified asthma patients as being at high risk for severe disease and hospitalization, but it soon became evident that this may not be the case when study after study showed little or no support for that conclusion. Now the largest research review

Ten cases of anaphylaxis and over 100 cases of severe allergic reactions were reported following administration of the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, but nearly all were among those with a history of allergic reactions, researchers found. Of the 10 cases of anaphylaxis, nine were among those with a history of allergies or

We’re always looking for new research about sublingual immunotherapy and related topics. In fact, twice a year we find the most up-to-date published articles and put those applicable into our bibliography. It now houses nearly 1,300 articles that have been reviewed by our Medical Advisor and author of the La Crosse Method™ Protocol, Dr. Mary

Every year, winter brings a variety of viruses, and 2020 brought a new one that is concerning to most – COVID-19. While people tend to disregard allergy as a cause of winter illness because most outdoor allergens are minimal, there’s an exception in the south. It’s called Cedar Fever, and it can cause some pretty

While rare, the rate of anaphylaxis following COVID-19 mRNA vaccines appeared about 10 times that documented for flu shots, CDC officials said on Wednesday. Overall, 21 cases of anaphylaxis following COVID vaccination were reported out of about 1.9 million doses given as of Dec. 23, according to an early Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report release.

In January, MedPage Today covered the FDA’s approval of an oral peanut allergy immunotherapy, which was seen as heralding a new era in food allergy treatment. In this follow-up feature, we review some of the developments occurring since. The timing probably couldn’t have been worse for the product’s developer, California-based Aimmune Therapeutics. The day its

Anyone with a history of immediate allergic reaction of any severity to any component of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines or to polysorbate should not be vaccinated, the CDC said in updated interim guidance. While previously the agency released guidelines for contraindication to vaccination, it’s now broadened to include those with a history of immediate allergic reaction

This story was originally published on Jan. 31, 2020. As part of MedPage Today‘s review of the past year’s top stories, we are republishing it, along with an update on peanut allergy therapies and related developments as the year went on. WASHINGTON — Aimmune Therapeutics’ oral immunotherapy for peanut allergy gained FDA approval late Friday,

Those in the food allergy community know the top eight food allergens like the back of their hand: Milk Eggs Fish Shellfish Tree nuts Peanuts Wheat Soy The talk about adding sesame to the top eight food allergens — making it the new “top nine”— has been a big topic in recent years. With new

While criteria for contraindication to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are narrow, more observation or possibly delayed vaccination may be necessary in those with a history of severe allergic reactions, CDC staff said on a call with clinicians on Friday. The only individuals who should not receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, such as the recently authorized Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine

Barbecue can return to the menu for individuals with “alpha-gal” syndrome — severe allergic reactions to the alpha-galactose saccharide found in red meat — with FDA approval Monday of pigs engineered to lack an enzyme considered key to the condition. Developed by a company called Revivicor, the “GalSafe” pigs might also have therapeutic potential as

During the holidays, time spent at your own home can seem like a far off memory – you’re bouncing from your in-laws’ cabin to a best friend’s apartment to grandma’s house. It’s all in good fun, to celebrate a wonderful time of year with people you love, but it can expose you to a variety

New therapies and devices for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were approved in 2020 and researchers continued to explore expanding the definition of disease beyond spirometry. But 2020 was dominated by the struggles managing the care of highly vulnerable COPD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID Paradox The delivery of routine components of COPD care,

“While doctors have long believed that dementia presents in the checkbook, our study helps show that these financial symptoms are common and span years before and after diagnosis.” — Lauren Hersch Nicholas, PhD, MPP, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, on research showing difficulties with finances were evident long before dementia diagnosis. “Hospitals, they want

The coronavirus pandemic has been a particularly scary time for children with asthma and their parents, but there is growing evidence that as a group kids with asthma are not only doing OK during COVID-19, but may actually be doing better. A study in Annals of the American Thoracic Society documented a steep drop in

New guidelines from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP) of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) — the agency’s first update since 2007 — take account of new management options including single maintenance and reliever therapy (SMART) and long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs). As has long been standard practice, the foundation for

Note that some links may require registration or subscription. Pfizer and BioNTech announced emergency authorization from the United Kingdom for their COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows invited FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, to come explain why his agency hasn’t yet granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s

Omalizumab (Xolair) maintained efficacy for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, a researcher reported. In an open-label extension study of two, 24-week clinical trials, omalizumab was associated with significant improvements in nasal polyp scores (mean change -0.97, 95% CI -1.25 to -0.69), nasal congestion scores (mean change -0.99, 95% CI -1.14 to -0.83), and Sino-Nasal Outcome

Patients with allergies to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could be at an increased risk for opioid use disorder, a researcher reported. In a cohort of patients with osteoarthritis in a large hospital system in Massachusetts, those with NSAID allergies had a significantly higher risk of receiving a future diagnosis of opioid use disorder compared with