Allergies & Asthma

Marginalized groups appeared to benefit more from decreasing levels of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter), according to a study using over 600 million person-years of Medicare data. While the hazard ratio associated with decreasing PM2.5 from 12 μg/m3 to 8 μg/m3 was 0.963 (95% CI 0.955-0.970) for higher-income white populations,

Congress is currently considering funding for a key priority for the asthma and allergy community: healthy schools. Healthy School Environments The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Healthy School Environments program focuses on improving indoor air quality (IAQ) for kids in U.S. schools. The EPA receives funding to help schools improve overall IAQ. Poor IAQ is a

Use of digital measurement tools to track individual adherence to treatment helped avoid raising doses or adding medications and improved adherence in patients with uncontrolled asthma, the INCA Sun trial found. After 32 weeks, 14% of patients in the treatment group and 32% of the control group saw an increase in their asthma medication burden

You may have seen news reports of a shortage of albuterol – a common quick-relief medicine used for asthma – and have concerns. The shortage is of liquid albuterol used for nebulizers mostly in the hospital setting. Albuterol inhalers are not affected at this time. Most people with asthma will have other options for quick-relief

Today Asthma + Lung Uk launched their campaign End the Lung Health Lottery. They have collected data which has been analysed and the results are shocking. Depending on where you live in the UK will depend on your lung health outcomes. If you live in an area of higher deprivation the higher the chance that

Long-term exposure to heat and cold from the second trimester to 4 weeks after birth was associated with lung function among female newborns, according to a French population-based cohort study. Specifically, long-term heat and cold exposure were associated with decreased functional residual capacity (FRC) and increased respiratory rate, while only long-term cold exposure was linked

As we prepare for spring, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s (AAFA) has released our 2023 Allergy Capitals™ report. AAFA’s report ranks the top 100 most challenging cities in the continental United States to live with seasonal pollen allergies. The report includes data from the previous year to create a ranking of the 100

Routine bronchoscopy may clarify the treatment pathways for patients suffering from severe uncontrolled asthma (SUA) who are being considered for biologic therapy indicated for a T2 inflammation phenotype, according to a prospective study. After receiving a bronchoscopy, a substantial number of people were found to have comorbidities aggravating asthma control: 21% had gastroesophageal reflux disease

When patients start allergy drop immunotherapy following The La Crosse Method™ Protocol, they’re aware of the length of treatment. Changing how your body responds when exposed to allergens takes time — often three to five years. So why do some patients stop mid-treatment? Here are some of the common reasons they stop, and why instead,

If you have chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), you may often feel powerless to fight the hives and painful swelling you experience during a flare. Managing CSU can be difficult because the symptoms can impact your appearance and quality of life. It can take a long time to get diagnosed. And even with a diagnosis, common

Even though I have only been to one training session I have fallen in love with the sport of wheelchair rugby league and Edinburgh Giants. Being part of something again fills me with so much joy and hope. Even just writing this so far I feel buoyed up thinking that it is only 2 days

It has been so concerning recently to see so many posts where people are really angry and say they have had an inhaler swap. When you explore a little bit more you find out that it is not actually an inhaler swap. We all have our preferred device, and brand of medication which can differ

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with an increased risk of long COVID among young adults, according to a Swedish population-based cohort study. For each increase in interquartile range (IQR) in exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) in 2019 (median annual exposure 6.39 μg/m3), the odds of developing long COVID increased by

Earlier in 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed update to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5). These standards are more commonly known as the soot pollution standards. Below you can learn: More about the soot pollution standards How the standard impacts people with asthma How you

Just now I feel like a swan in a pond. Everything looks ok on the outside but under the water it can be furiously paddling to stay a float. In January 2022 when I developed the urachal cyst never did I envision what has unfolded let alone still be battling 14 months later. I am

Use of leukotriene-receptor antagonists (LTRAs) during pregnancy was not associated with significant risks of neuropsychiatric events in offspring, according to a nationwide cohort study from Taiwan. Among the children of women with a diagnosis of asthma or allergic rhinitis during pregnancy, no significant associations were found between prenatal LTRA exposure and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD;

SAN ANTONIO — Real-world data presented here supported the early introduction of peanuts to infants at high risk for developing peanut allergies, yet also highlighted caregiver challenges in following the guideline-recommended protocol. In a study of 309 high-risk infants considered for early peanut introduction, 12% were allergic at baseline, while 65% had no issues with

SAN ANTONIO — Treatment with the interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist mepolizumab (Nucala) increased freedom from oral corticosteroids after 2 years in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, according to a post-hoc analysis of the real-world prospective REALITI-A trial. The proportion of those achieving freedom from oral corticosteroids increased from 4% at week 0 to 22% at week

SAN ANTONIO — Peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) at maintenance doses 10 times lower than conventional dosing may be an effective strategy for desensitizing peanut-allergic patients, according to findings from an ongoing study. Researchers from academic centers in Toronto and Montreal are randomizing peanut-allergic children to peanut avoidance, very low-dose OIT at a dosage of 30

SAN ANTONIO — Many reported anaphylactic reactions to COVID-19 vaccination may in fact be attributable to vaccine-induced immunization stress-related response (ISRR), suggested findings from a small study presented here. Cases of ISRR — a non-allergic condition that mimics many of the symptoms of anaphylaxis — may help explain why rare anaphylactic reactions to mRNA COVID

A one-food elimination diet (1FED) could be just as effective as the popular six-food elimination diet (6FED) for patients suffering from eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a randomized trial showed. Removing animal milk alone led to histological remission at 6 weeks in 35% of people by eosinophil count, which was statistically no different than the 42% in

Your wedding is supposed to be the best day of your life — and there are several things to keep in mind to limit allergy making an objection on your big day. Whether you (or your most important guests!) have food or environmental allergies, there are a few things to avoid or alter to keep

Black Americans bear a much higher burden of asthma than white Americans. Compared to white Americans, Black Americans are five times as likely to visit the emergency department due to asthma, two times as likely to stay in the hospital due to asthma, and three times as likely to die from asthma. This is why

SAN ANTONIO — Patients with asthma at one large academic medical center were not prescribed a biologic therapy very often over a 5-year period, a researcher reported, although patient adherence to a prescription was also problematic. Just 3.7% of patients received a new biologic prescription within a year of referral to a specialist, according to

SAN ANTONIO — Epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) administered through an investigational skin patch over 12 months led to more responses — with favorable safety — compared with placebo in peanut-allergic toddlers with and without other food allergies or atopic dermatitis (AD), according to two subanalyses of the phase III EPITOPE trial. Among children ages 1 to

Why You Need to Rinse and Spit Did you know there is a connection between oral health and asthma? When you use an asthma inhaler that has corticosteroids [CORE-te-coh-STAIR-oids] in it, the medicine can stick to the inside of your mouth. When the medicine stays in your mouth, it may cause problems with your teeth,

Intranasal corticosteroids (INCs) improved quality of life for children suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis, the RAISE randomized trial showed. Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5) scores improved significantly more for children assigned to daily intranasal mometasone spray (Nasonex) along with daily saline solution rinsing with a nasal nebulizer compared with the saline routine alone,

SAN ANTONIO — Among patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE), monthly injections of the investigational biologic garadacimab reduced the mean attack rate substantially in the phase III VANGUARD clinical trial. During the 6-month trial, the average monthly HAE attack rate dropped to 0.27 in the garadacimab group versus 2.01 for the placebo group (P<0.001), representing a