Allergies, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 28, 2013

Can You Outgrow Your Allergies?

Most people with allergies first develop them as children or infants. But as they age, some individuals seem to leave their hay fever, pet allergies or even food allergies behind. Doctors don't know exactly why, but people's allergies actually can disappear over time. And even when they don't disappear, allergies...

Sep 16, 2013

Food Allergies Cost US Families Billions Per Year

Children's food allergies cost the United States about $25 billion a year, new research suggests. The steep price tag comes from children's medical expenses, parents' lost work productivity and other costs, according to a study published today (Sept. 16) in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The rate of food allergies in...

Sep 19, 2013

100 Worst US Cities for People with Allergies: The List

The cities of the U.S. have been ranked according to how challenging they are to live in for people with allergies. The rankings come from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Cities were scored on a 100-point scale based on three factors: their average pollen count, rate of allergy...

Sep 19, 2013

The 10 Worst US Cities for Fall Allergies

The worst U.S. cities for fall allergy sufferers were ranked this week, along with a forecast for an overall worse-than-usual season across the country. The reasons this may be a worse season than usual for the roughly 40 million Americans with allergies include expectations for a severe hurricane and tornado...

Nov 7, 2013

7 Allergy Myths (and the Truth Behind Them)

From people shunning gluten who may not need to, to those mistakenly skipping the flu shot because of an egg allergy, myths about allergies are common, and sometimes even believed by doctors. After hearing the same incorrect information over and over, Dr. David Stukus, a pediatric allergist at Nationwide Children's...

Nov 8, 2013

Boy's Bone Marrow Transplant May Have Cured His Peanut Allergy

A 10-year-old boy got a surprise bonus after being treated for leukemia: The very same procedure that cured his cancer also may have cured his severe peanut allergy. The boy remains cancer-free, and peanut-allergy free, following a bone marrow transplant to treat his acute lymphoblastic leukemia, said the doctors who...

Nov 13, 2013

New EpiPen Law Could Save Lives

When Dr. Sarah Denny's son Liam was a toddler, she gave him soy milk. Liam had been diagnosed with certain food allergies, but had drunk soy milk about 200 times with no problems, Denny said. But on this particular morning, he started coughing and vomiting, and within a minute, he...

Nov 14, 2013

Allergic to Cold: Adapting to Life With a Mysterious Condition

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com. Though many aren't fond of stepping outside into the cold winter weather, for some it's a life-threatening task. The condition is called cold urticaria, and it manifests itself as a chronic reactive skin disorder. While it is unknown how many people are affected by...

Dec 16, 2013

'Dog Dust' May Combat Allergies and Asthma

Exposure to dog dust, or the dried flakes of skin that fall from Fido, may protect against developing allergies and asthma in later life by altering intestinal bacteria, a new study in mice suggests. The dust appears to contain bacteria that, when present in an animal's gut, affects the production...

Jan 3, 2014

As Schools Boost Access to EpiPens, Do Teachers Know How to Use Them?

Dr. Dave Stukus, a pediatric allergist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, contributed this article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Anyone with severe allergies knows that an epinephrine auto-injector can be the difference between life and death. With approximately two and a half million epinephrine auto-injectors (such as EpiPens and...

Apr 17, 2014

New Ragweed Allergy Pill Clears FDA

A new oral medication to treat ragweed allergies has been approved by the Food and Drug administration, the agency announced today (April 17). The medication, called Ragwitek (a drug from Merck and Co.), is a tablet taken once a day by placing it under the tongue, where it dissolves. It...

Apr 18, 2014

When Will You be Miserable This Allergy Season?

The start of spring signals many things, one of which is the start of allergy season for millions of people. Anyone who has ever had to deal with nasal congestion, itchy eyes, dry mouth or other unmistakable allergy symptoms knows just how terrible that can be. However, knowing when different...

Apr 21, 2014

'Pollen Vortex'? Long Winter Worsens Allergies in Spring

This year's long, brutal winter may mean the country's headed for pollen eruption and a harsh allergy season in the spring, doctors say. The freezing temperatures of the prolonged winter may have delayed the blooming of trees, and now that it's finally warming up, trees are expected to bloom at...

May 2, 2014

Allergy Medications: Which Drugs Treat Which Symptoms

When spring is in the air, as the millions of people who suffer from seasonal allergies know, so are pollen, mold and other microscopic annoyances. Seasonal allergies are caused by an errant immune reaction. Mistaking common environmental elements for a health threat, the body sends out antibodies via white blood...

May 30, 2014

Oral Allergy Syndrome: 6 Ways to Avoid an Itchy, Tingling Mouth

Oral Allergy Syndrome (Image credit: Shutterstock)It's not unusual for a person with seasonal allergies to have an itchy nose and itchy eyes. But it may seem surprising that some hay-fever sufferers get an itchy feeling in their mouths, throats and lips when they start to eat certain foods. This condition...