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Demery Ardell Wilson filed a petition last month in Texas’s 269th Judicial District Court of Harris County, which claimed he asked for no onions on his burger, but got some anyway, the “Today” show reported. Wilson accuses Whataburger of failing “to act in accordance with the appropriate standard of care,” and which caused him to “suffer personal injuries.” Wilson said he ordered a meal on July 24, 2024, at an undisclosed Whataburger location, USA Today reported, and that when he ate it, he had an allergic reaction that needed medical attention. He did not specify what he ordered, but the...

Groundbreaking research indicates that controlled peanut exposure can help children with certain peanut allergies build lasting tolerance, challenging the traditional avoidance method and offering a new, effective treatment pathway. A study at Mount Sinai has shown that children with a high tolerance for peanuts can significantly increase their resistance to allergic reactions by consuming controlled, increasing amounts of peanut butter over time. This approach, safer and cheaper than current therapies, suggests a major shift towards personalized allergy treatments that could revolutionize how food allergies are managed. Breakthrough in Peanut Allergy Treatment Children with high-threshold peanut allergies who gradually increased their...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says a previously announced recall of certain bags of Lay’s potato chips in Oregon and Washington now falls into “Class I” status, its highest risk level. The FDA’s update means the agency found “reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” Frito-Lay issued a recall of a limited number of 13-ounce bags of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips in December due to undeclared milk in the product, after being alerted through a consumer contact. The original recall announcement said, “Those with an allergy...

Turmeric has been a healing remedy in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It comes from the rhizome (root) of the Curcuma longa plant and has a warm, earthy flavor. Turmeric's active compound, curcumin, is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant with many health benefits, from soothing joint pain to enhancing digestion and immunity. 1. Arthritis (Joint Pain) Arthritis is a broad term that describes over 100 conditions that cause joint inflammation, pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, typically develops due to age-related "wear and tear." Other types, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic...

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...

The media giant has withdrawn a controversial attempt to settle a wrongful death case in arbitration. It had previously argued a one-month Disney+ subscription was a waiver against suing the company. Snip Why is Disney being sued? The lawsuit revolves around the death of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor from New York, who ate with her husband and mother at the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant on October 5, 2023. They had chosen the location because it was advertised by both the restaurant and Disney as being particularly accommodating with food allergies. However, despite seeking assurances from the wait staff,...

Despite progress in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the U.S. since its peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital-acquired AMR infections remain well above pre-pandemic levels, according to a major new study examining AMR before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic in 120 US hospitals. The study was led by Dr. Christina Yek from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and is being presented at this year's ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April). It reveals that AMR rates remain high largely due to the persistence...

Delta Air Lines is backing one of its flight attendants, who is accused of discrimination for failing to make allergy accommodations for a traveler on a flight from New York City to San Diego. When a California family asked that no almonds be served on the Oct. 2022 flight due to a teenager’s allergy, the flight attendant denied the request, according to a complaint filed to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Deborah Gianulis and her mother, Deena Gianulis, filed the complaint in Oct. 2023 on behalf of Deborah Gianulis’ teenage son, identified only as K.C. As the complaint states,...

The first patients were recruited at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London to begin clinical trials. The first clinical trial of a new vaccine candidate to treat cat allergies has been given the all-clear, according to a French-Canadian pharmaceutical company. This is the first human test to evaluate the safety and ability of the new vaccine to provoke an immune response in adults who are allergic to cat dander, the company Angany said. There is no current cure for cat allergies, which is a life-long condition but there are over-the-counter medicines that can help to relieve symptoms.

A CRISPR-alternative has been used to create eggs that are unlikely to trigger allergic reactions. That’s a potentially big deal for millions of children who are allergic to eggs — not just for their diets but also for their immune systems. The challenge: Allergic reactions are caused by the immune system mistaking something usually benign, like peanuts or pollen, for a harmful invader. Depending on the severity of the allergy, this can lead to anything from a mild rash to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Eggs are a pretty common allergy, with up to 2% of children experiencing a reaction to them. Most...

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...

Spain’s Health Ministry on Tuesday recommended that people who haven’t been vaccinated against Covid-19 or didn't complete their vaccination due to potential allergic reactions or other side effects from the vaccines available until now, instead have the newly approved Novavax inoculation. Spain’s Public Health Commission has agreed to allocate the new Novavax vaccine to “people who had not yet been able to get vaccinated or who have received an incomplete vaccination due to allergies to any of the components of the other available vaccines, or due to medical advice”. Novavax will therefore be aimed at over-18s with severe immunosuppression whose...

Most people with allergic reactions to the first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine from either Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna can safely receive the second dose, a new study shows. The rates of allergic reactions to these vaccines have been reported to be as high as 2%, with anaphylaxis, the most serious kind, occurring in up to 2.5 of every 10,000 vaccine recipients, the researchers said. They reviewed data on 189 adults with first-dose reactions to one of these vaccines, such as flushing, dizziness or lightheadedness, tingling, throat tightness, hives, and wheezing or shortness of breath. Most of these adults -...

A human plasma cell. =============================================================== For the millions of us plagued by hypersensitive, overactive, or downright abusive immune systems, it can feel like you're constantly fighting your own physical self. From incessant allergies to life-threatening anaphylaxis and debilitating autoimmune disease, the system that's supposed to be protecting us can be problematic when it goes wrong. Now, we might be closer to fixing these issues in an entirely new way. Using transgenic mice and cultures of cells taken from human tonsils, researchers have now found evidence of how our bodies might defend against the mistakes that result in conditions such as...

ive Alaska health care workers experienced adverse reactions after getting the COVID-19 vaccine this week — including two cases that were considered serious — but health officials continue to emphasize that such reactions are both rare and treatable while the vast majority of vaccine recipients were fine. A Fairbanks health care worker was treated for a “probable” serious allergic reaction on Thursday after she received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Foundation Health Partners care system. Additionally, on Friday evening, Providence Alaska reported that two caregivers who received the COVID-19 vaccine experienced non-life-threatening, mild reactions. Those incidents follow reactions experienced...

Coughing, sneezing, runny nose, congestion, body aches, chills—obviously, you know you’re under the weather when symptoms like these appear, but how can you tell which storm it is? Certain signs could point to the common cold or flu, while others may be more serious and present as early signs of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Even more confusing as we head into spring? Some might simply be an indication of seasonal allergies. Here, a doctor explains how to figure out what your body may be dealing with. Allergies: runny nose + itchy eyes Welcome to spring,...

Holcomb was on his way back in April to Austin from Las Vegas after celebrating his birthday, but had a connecting flight in Phoenix. He says he had an allergic reaction to a support dog belonging to another passenger. American Airlines, in a statement, says it makes accommodations for dogs “American makes every effort to accommodate all passengers, including those traveling with and seated near service or support animals,” a statement read. Holcomb says the passenger offered to switch seats but after no one volunteered, a flight attendant and a pilot got involved. Holcomb says he questioned why he had...

19 percent of the nationally representative group reported having a food allergy. But only 10.8 percent said they had symptoms consistent with an allergic reaction to food, such as hives, swelling of the lips or throat, and chest pain. The main culprits behind these allergies were shellfish, milk, and tree nuts. Those who didn’t have a convincing food allergy instead reported symptoms like stomach cramps, a stuffy nose, or nausea. The findings, published Friday in JAMA Network Open, roughly match up to estimates from other studies, including those that confirmed a person’s food allergy with testing or medical records. In...

"An 11-year-old New Jersey boy died on New Year’s Day after suffering a severe allergic reaction to the smell of fish being cooked at his grandmother’s home in Brooklyn, New York, according to reports."

A study from the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at New York's Mount Sinai hospital found that from 1997 to 2008, peanut allergies tripled from 1-in-250 children to 1-in-70. Among children, allergies to peanuts and other types of food continues to climb, but experts say there is some progress in controlling or preventing life-threatening reactions. A food allergy, defined as a reaction that occurs when the immune system attacks harmless proteins, is an ailment that drugmakers are working to treat. One method involves treatments that introduce small amounts of peanuts to allergy sufferers, which gradually increases the amount to build toleranc...