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University of Eastern Finland findings suggest that consuming avocados during pregnancy is associated with a 43.6% lower likelihood of food allergy development in children by 12 months of age. Maternal dietary choices during pregnancy influence offspring health, particularly in the development of allergic diseases. Previous studies on maternal nutrition have examined the role of fruits, vegetables, and specific food categories but lacked investigations into the impact of individual foods on allergy development in children. The team conducted a prospective cohort study to assess how avocado consumption during pregnancy relates to childhood allergy outcomes. Data were obtained from the Kuopio Birth...

I recently started taking a very common antibiotic, Amoxicillin, that years ago I had no issue with. I had a slightly itchy rash develop a couple hours later. A rash I can live with, but it can be the precursor to a more serious reaction. I took Cipro years ago and was one of those people who have the rare reaction of it possibly causing abrupt Achilles tendon ruptures (I got aching precursors to this happening, but fortunately was at the end of course of it and didn't have a rupture). I suspect I might have an issue with Zithro...

Allergic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, and food allergies have been increasing in frequency over the last few years. They are typically caused by the immune system being hypersensitive to harmless substances in foods and the environment. Flavonoids are chemicals present in various fruits and vegetables that are known to have anti-allergic effects and show promise as natural allergic treatments. To better understand how these allergies can be treated, let's look at an interesting anti-allergic mechanism in our cells. In the intestines, specialized dendritic cells (DCs) produce an enzyme called RALDH2 (retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2) which converts retinal, a chemical...

Researchers have demonstrated how a novel approach to managing cow's milk allergy could transform how food allergies are treated. Food allergies occur when the immune system reacts abnormally to otherwise harmless food proteins, which can cause immediate symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, hives, and respiratory issues. Severe reactions can lead to anaphylaxis, a life-threatening condition requiring emergency medical attention. Now researchers have shown that cow's milk can be safely and effectively reintroduced to children with milk allergies which affects 2–3% of infants, marking a significant breakthrough in allergy management. Traditionally, IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy is managed through strict avoidance of...

Hundreds of thousands of Americans may be infected with a tick-born illness that causes an allergy to meat without knowing it, according to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention. Alpha-Gal syndrome, or AGS, is caused by the bite of a lone star tick, which can be identified by a white dot on its back. The saliva of the tick will cause those who have been infected to have a reaction to red meat, including pork and lamb. They may also have reactions to gelatin or dairy products. This illness can also infect all mammals, not just humans. Symptoms of the...

Climate change contributes to earlier, longer, and worse allergy seasons for millions in the U.S. that suffer from season allergies -- including 19% of children. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The first leaves and blooms of spring are arriving days to weeks early in the large parts of the southern and central U.S., according to the USA National Phenology Network. That's bad news for people with seasonal allergies -- about one-quarter of adults and one-in-five children in the U.S. Earlier springs, longer pollen seasons, and worse seasonal allergies are all linked to our warming climate

A new study has discovered that tattoo inks could be linked to cancer or organ failure. An analysis of 54 inks commonly used in tattoo parlors across America has uncovered that a staggering 45 of them contained unlisted additives, including chemicals known to pose alarming health risks. Multiple inks contained 2-phenoxyethanol, which can cause toxic effects in high doses. Researchers involved in the study found the most common additive to be polyethylene glycol, which is a compound that can cause acute renal failure. The study was led by Jonn Swierk from the Department of Chemistry at Binghamton University, and was...

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to help people with food allergies in the event they are accidentally exposed. It’s called Xolair, and it’s been used to treat asthma for two decades. Now, it has a new use. News4JAX spoke to a local mom Monday who said her 9-year-old daughter, Catherine, ended up in the hospital last year after having an allergic reaction to a pecan on Thanksgiving. “It gave me hives. And um I think made me stop breathing for a little,” Catherine said. Catherine said it wasn’t scary for her. But it was for her...

An existing asthma treatment shows promise for reducing food allergies in children and is one step closer to approval that could come by the end of March. Early data from a federally funded clinical trial showed children who received injections of the monoclonal antibody omalizumab could consume higher doses of peanut, egg, milk and cashew without allergic reactions compared to those who received a placebo. Omalizumab, marketed as Xolair and developed by Genentech and Novartis, has been on the market since 2003 as a treatment for allergy-induced asthma, chronic hives and an inflammatory sinus disease called chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal...

Covid patients are becoming harder to distinguish from those suffering from allergies or the common cold, doctors say. The most common symptoms of the virus are now sore throat, sneezing or congestion — the same as RSV, asthma or a pollen allergy. For comparison, in the early stages of the pandemic, Covid had very distinct symptoms - such as a dry cough and a loss of sense of smell or taste. Dr Erick Eiting, vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, which was hammered hard during the pandemic, said virtually every Covid patient in...

A four-year phase 2 clinical trial demonstrated that a peanut allergy treatment called sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT, is effective and safe, while offering durable desensitization to peanuts in peanut-allergic children. SLIT is a treatment using a tiny amount of peanut protein that is the equivalent of only 1/75th of a peanut kernel. It is taken under the tongue, where it is absorbed into the body. The research shows that a 4 mg dose of peanut SLIT provides strong desensitization that would be expected to protect against accidental exposures to peanut in the majority of children. …The current trial was designed...

People with relatively high levels of lipids in their blood are less likely to develop allergic conditions such as eczema and asthma. These lipids cause genes that play a key role in allergic reactions to be less active. "We already knew that lipids in our blood, such as triglycerides and cholesterol, can influence the behavior of immune cells," says Professor Bas Heijmans. "We have now shown that these lipids dampen the activity of genes that play a key role in allergies." As a result, allergic reactions are less likely to occur. The researchers began by mapping which genes are active...

The prevalence of food allergies is increasing worldwide, approaching an epidemic level in some regions. In the U.S. alone, approximately 10% of children and adults suffer from food allergies, with allergies to cow's milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts being the most common. Some patients have mild symptoms that might not need medical attention, leaving these cases unreported. Food allergies, or food hypersensitivities, result from the overreaction of the immune system to typically harmless proteins in food. They can manifest as a spectrum of symptoms, ranging from itching, redness and swelling for milder reactions, to vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing and...

Researchers with the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute have simulated how climate change will affect the distribution of two leading allergens – oak and ragweed pollens – across the contiguous United States. The results, published in the journal Frontiers in Allergy, may make your eyes water. Using computer models, the team, led by Panos Georgopoulos, a professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice at the Rutgers School of Public Health, found that by 2050 climate change significantly will increase airborne pollen loads, with some of the largest surges occurring in areas where pollen is historically uncommon. “Pollen...

Wanting to stop sheriff’s deputies from carrying out a court-ordered eviction last week, Rorie Woods turned to a “dangerous weapon,” authorities said. Woods allegedly pulled up to the home where the eviction was taking place, got out of her SUV and walked back to the flatbed trailer she had towed to the tony neighborhood in Longmeadow, Mass., a town of nearly 16,000 on the Connecticut state line. Then, she unleashed hundreds of bees from the hives she had brought, according to the sheriff’s office. Multiple deputies were stung before they could arrest Woods, officials said. She has since been charged...

The husband of a woman who died after eating a Pret a Manger wrap has told an inquest of the harrowing moment she collapsed unable to breathe. Celia Marsh, 42, died on December 27, 2017, after eating a super-veg rainbow flatbread.The wrap had contained yogurt that was supposed to be vegan but was later found to have traces of dairy protein in it. The mother of five suffered from a severe dairy allergy and Avon Coroner’s Court was told she “religiously avoided” all such products following a near-fatal allergic reaction months earlier. Mrs Marsh’s death followed that of 15-year-old Natasha...

Spring is in full swing, and normally that means allergies for many. But with COVID-19 cases increasing again, you may be asking yourself if you have the virus or if it’s just allergies. Allergies affect as many as 60 million people per year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And this allergy season, coronavirus infections are back on the rise in Los Angeles County, with a 40% increase in cases, public health officials said last week. Pair that with gusty winds picking up in the next few days, and you’ll be asking yourself...

Symptoms from the new omicron variant’s subvariant — named the BA.2 variant— might be mistaken for spring allergies, experts recently told CBS News. Why it matters: The coronavirus pandemic has hit a lull period in the United States. As spring emerges, the new coronavirus variant symptoms might be mistaken for simple spring allergies.

Ernesto Di Maio is severely allergic to the yeast in leavened foods. "I have to go somewhere and hide because I will be fully covered with bumps and bubbles on the whole body," he says. "It's really brutal." Di Maio is a materials scientist at the University of Naples Federico II where he studies the formation of bubbles in polymers like polyurethane. He's had to swear off bread and pizza, which can make outings in Italy a touch awkward. "It's quite hard in Naples not to eat pizza," he explains. "People would say, 'Don't you like pizza? Why are you...

Three common antihistamine medications have been found in preliminary tests to inhibit infection of cells by the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, University of Florida Health researchers have found. Their findings, based on laboratory tests of cells and a detailed analysis of nearly a quarter-million California patients’ medical records, are published today in the journal Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. The data may support the launch of a randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine whether the specific antihistamines can treat or even prevent COVID-19 in humans, the researchers said. Earlier this year, Leah Reznikov, Ph.D., an assistant professor of physiological sciences...