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This intervention is not aimed at those with life-threatening food allergies or similarly grave medical conditions. I would never question people whose faces will balloon if they ingest trace amounts of shellfish. Or people who risk going into anaphylactic shock with a whiff of peanut dust. Those problems are very real, and everyone who is afflicted with them has my sympathy. I’m talking about the rest of you. Those of you who don’t eat garlic because you detest its smell or avoid cauliflower because it makes you fart or have gone gluten-free because you heard it worked wonders for Jennifer...

Very recently my niece bought a generic iPhone charging cord from a local Wal-Mart, and within hours of utilizing it had an anaphylactic reaction consisting of large red, itchy welts on her body. Her mother took her to a doctor, who gave her a 50 mg diphenhydramine injection, a steroid injection, and prescribed more of both in pill form to take at home. The very next day, my niece suffered yet another anaphylactic episode in which her tongue swelled up; she was again taken to the doctor, who prescribed her an EpiPen (epinephrine) and again treated her anaphylaxis. From the...

(Newser) – As many as three million Americans may be allergic to peanuts, the Huffington Post has reported, with one study suggesting that the number of kids with the allergy doubled between 1997 and 2002. But those who are affected may have a reason to smile: A new study could point the way to a cure for the condition, the Australian Associated Press reports via the Guardian. For a year and a half, 30 kids with the allergy were given peanut protein plus a probiotic every day; another 30 received a placebo, researchers at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute report....

Loren Grush, Popular Science August 18, 2014The Lone Star tick. Mike Abley will always remember the last hamburger he ever ate. It was more than 20 years ago, and he recalls the meat being particularly juicy and delicious. But a few hours after dinner, Abley started itching like mad. He burst into hives, his tongue swelled, and he eventually passed out, prompting his wife to call 911. At the hospital, doctors determined he had gone into anaphylactic shock—a potentially deadly allergic reaction. Fortunately, Abley pulled through, and he later met with an allergist to determine what had caused the terrifying...

Baby wipes are leaving children with an itchy, scaly and red rash which is often misdiagnosed as a more serious skin condition, a study revealed today. An allergic reaction to moist wipes is believed to be behind the rash which is being mistaken for conditions such as eczema, impetigo and psoriasis. Dr Mary Wu Chang, a professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, said that she has seen six children with the mysterious rash over the past two years.

Lesley University is not nearly so isolated, but it has the same mandatory policy about its student cafeteria. There was a problem however. Several students had Celiac disease. They needed to eat gluten free in order to not get sick. So naturally they told the college and the college allowed them an exception to the mandatory cafeteria plan, letting them keep the money and use it to buy gluten-free food off campus. Right? No, the students sued the college to mandate that the college accommodate them. I don’t feel sorry for Lesley because, frankly, I still bear a grudge against...

Many may not be aware of pancake anaphylaxis, which is a rare but serious problem in which patients have a severe and life-threatening allergic reaction after eating pancakes.

Donna Giustizia, a mother of two, says the oak trees near her teenager’s school in Vaughan, Ontario, are a health hazard, and even though the school is nut-free, she says school administrators aren’t protecting their students. “A false sense of security is putting a sign on the door that says ‘nut-free,’ and there’s nuts all over the place,” Giustizia told The Star. Giustizia says the trees around St. Stephen Catholic Elementary School are a deadly threat for kids with anaphylactic food allergies — allergies that cause shock. She appeared before the Vaughan, Ontario, City Council last week to plead for...

A genetically modified cow that produces milk less likely to cause allergic reactions has been engineered by New Zealand scientists. Up to 3% of infants are allergic to cows' milk in their first year of life. The modified cow produced milk without beta-lactoglobulin - a whey protein to which some people are allergic. The study has been labelled a "milestone" by one scientist, but some campaign groups say it raises ethical concerns. There are important differences between a woman's breast milk and cows' milk, such as beta-lactoglobulin, which is found in milk from cows but not people. The researchers, at...

Amish children raised on rural farms in northern Indiana suffer from asthma and allergies less often even than Swiss farm kids, a group known to be relatively free from allergies, according to a new study. "The rates are very, very low," said Dr. Mark Holbreich, the study's lead author. "So there's something that we feel is even more protective in the Amish" than in European farming communities. What it is about growing up on farms -- and Amish farms in particular -- that seems to prevent allergies remains unclear. Researchers have long observed the so-called "farm effect" -- the low...

“I had no sense of well being till I went gluten free.” “I don't use my inhaler anymore.” “My skin rashes disappeared.” The testimonials are startlingly earnest. Although food fads come and go with wearying regularity, perhaps it's time we investigated wheat. Why are a small but steadily increasing number of people going gluten-free, and saying it's changed their lives. Perceived as a ‘Western disease,' gluten sensitivity has never really been taken seriously in India. Its most extreme form is Celiac disease, caused by acute allergy to gluten, present in wheat and related grains such as barley and rye. A...

Allergy research If infants encounter a wide range of bacteria they are less at risk of developing allergic disease later in life. This is the conclusion of research from the University of Copenhagen, which suggests completely new factors in many modern lifestyle diseases.Oversensitivity diseases, or allergies, now affect 25 per cent of the population of Denmark. The figure has been on the increase in recent decades and now researchers at the Dansk BørneAstma Center [COPSAC, Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood], University of Copenhagen, are at last able to partly explain the reasons. A variety of bacteria offers protection"In...

...What that basically means is that in an emergency situation, such as a declaration of martial law, chipping stations will be immediately deployed. It will be for you and your family, and will ensure that you’ll receive emergency rations and other services in the event of a serious catastrophe. Next, they’ll require all government healthcare recipients to be chipped in order to prevent rampant fraud. An off-shoot may be to implement nationwide chipping programs for those receiving any government benefits including social security, Medicaid, Medicare, and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance. Prisoners and even detainees will be part of the first adopter...

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111022b3.html Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 Fukushima cedar pollen to be tested Kyodo The Forestry Agency will test cedar pollen in Fukushima Prefecture for radiation from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, agency officials said Friday. If high radiation is detected, the test data might be incorporated into cedar pollen forecasts the Environment Ministry will announce later this year before the pollen starts raising allergy problems in early spring. The agency has requested funds to pay for the tests from the third supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 so they can be conducted as early as next month.

A London, Ont., school board has banned peanut butter substitutes simply because they could be confused with their peanut counterparts, angering parents already frustrated by efforts to find an acceptable lunch their kids will eat. In a recent memo, Thames Valley District school board director Bill Tucker wrote that “any products considered to be a peanut butter replacement are no more appropriate in our schools than regular peanut butter.” Parents were asked to “avoid using peanut butter and peanut butter alternatives because of the difficulty in being able to distinguish alternatives from the real thing.” “There’s a lot of upset...

I am a longtime lurker here and visit nearly everyday. I have developed a severe allergy problem. I have been told by my allergy Doctor that I am "allergic to iodine when taken as food in combination with other elements" In other words I can't tolerate iodine in my food. He said I am the first true case of this type he has ever seen. Many people think they are allergic to Iodine but in fact are allergic to a protein found in shellfish. I am living off of a few juiced raw vegetables,organic unsalted peanut butter,oranges,orange juice and organic...

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – Some public school parents in Edgewater, Florida, want a first-grade girl with life-threatening peanut allergies removed from the classroom and home-schooled, rather than deal with special rules to protect her health, a school official said. "That was one of the suggestions that kept coming forward from parents, to have her home-schooled. But we're required by federal law to provide accommodations. That's just not even an option for us," said Nancy Wait, spokeswoman for the Volusia County School District. Wait said the 6-year-old's peanut allergy is so severe it is considered a disability under the Americans with...

Even eating ice cream is off-limits for 9-year-old Priscilla Nine-year-old Priscilla Pomerantz can't play in the snow, eat ice cream or walk her dog during the winter. She can't get cold at all, because she suffers from an allergy called cold urticaria. For Priscilla, air temperatures below 70 degrees -- or even eating chilly foods -- trigger an allergic reaction of hives, swelling and difficulty breathing. Left untreated, the cold could literally kill her.

Young teenagers who use acetaminophen even once a month develop asthma symptoms more than twice as often as those who never take it, a large international study has found. And frequent users also had more eczema and eye and sinus irritation. Other studies have linked acetaminophen (often sold as Tylenol and in other over-the-counter remedies for pain, colds, fever and allergies) with an increased risk of asthma. But the new study’s authors cautioned that the findings did not mean children should stop using it. “Acetaminophen remains the preferred drug to relieve pain and fever in children,” said the study’s lead...

We have all had them, but have you ever seen a bear cub have a sneezing fit? Well why not take a break from all the political news and see something that is bound to make you smile and laugh. Follow this link to see a short video clip of aBear Cub Having a Sneezing Fit