Research shows that the benefits to patients are quite modest, while the cost is quite high. Grazax is on the market England and costs £67.50 (about $100) for a mere 30 tablets! However, most patients taking Grazax still have to use other allergy treatments, including antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays.

After stopping Grazax, the small benefits did persist for another season, but only if patients have taken Grazax for at least three years.

There are no studies that compare Grazax with other treatments. The most obvious comparison would be with subcutaneous immunotherapy or allergy shots.

Source: Nursing Times

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Associate professor Mimi Tang of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute out of Melborne, Australia is working with a number of children with severe peanut allergies. After one year of the study, she already has 14 patients at the top dose of peanut allergen. That’s the equivalent of 6 to 7 peanuts on a daily basis.

Other recent studies have shown that starting with a very small dose of peanut allergen and working up slowly has been able to desensitize children. The starting oral dose is very low, equivalent to 1/1000th of a nut! But within a number of months, children have been able to eat larger and larger amounts of peanut flour or peanuts, and not react.

Tang’s experiment is adding another feature to the protocol, and that is a probiotic. The intention with adding the probiotic is to completely and permanently change the way the person’s body reacts to the peanut allergen. Tang says, “We’re aiming for a cure.”

Source: NineMSN

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Hives may also be referred to as urticaria, welts or wheals. They are characterized by a red, raised, itchy skin rash that tends to occur in round patches. Unlike an insect bite or sting, each hive can be as small as a few millimeters or as large as several inches. Hives usually occur in a batch, with several clustered on the face or extremities (arms, hands, legs or feet).

Hives are a result of the release of histamine in the body - this is their link to allergies. The release of histamine and other allergy-related chemicals cause both skin inflammation and fluid accumulation. This causes the distinctive round or oval shape to the patchy rash.

In many cases, hives are not treated because they don’t last long. If hives are stubborn, a physician may treat hives with antihistamines, corticosteroids or both of these drugs. If the problem is chronic, a wide range of treatments may be suggested, including antihistamines and corticosteroids as well as menthol-based creams, dietary changes, meditation or hypnosis, and avoiding any known triggers (including allergens).

If you get significant hives over a large portion of your body and they come on quickly, you should seek medical treatment. Hives can be indicative of anaphylaxis, the most serious and severe form of allergic reaction, especially if the hives come on quickly and are all over the body.

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Diet and lifestyle could be the reason behind more allergy sufferers. Professor Jean Emberlin of the University of Worcester says that lack of exercise, lack of sleep and stress can all cause your symptoms to be worse.

Stress is a particular culprit. Stress results in excess cortisol which will affect your immune system, making allergy symptoms more severe.

Want to get rid of that stress with a glass of wine? Studies done in both Spain and Denmark show that alcohol could be linked to allergic sensitization. In other words, you could be setting yourself up to be more allergic.

Poor diet will also work against you. The more your diet supports your immune system, the more likely your symptoms are reduced.

Not every healthy food is the right food for someone with seasonal allergies though. If you have birch pollen allergies, avoid apples and other tree fruit with stones, as well as tomatoes. Eating these foods can result in oral allergy syndrome.

Milk can also work against you. A new study shows that milk containing certain proteins can stimulate mucus production! Certain breeds of dairy cattle produce milk that contains beta-CM-7. This is the protein that causes the mucus problem. Don’t want to give up milk? The trick is to buy milk from Jersey, Guernsey, Asian or African breeds. Unfortunately, no milk carton will tell you whether your milk is from a certain breed. However, if you buy and drink either goat or sheep milk, you’ll also avoid beta-CM-7.

Sources: The Independent; Mercola.com

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Seems I’m not alone.

Colette Martin is also a mom who began the allergy journey in support of her son. He was diagnosed with eosinophilic esophagitis; his condition is triggered by wheat, milk, eggs, soy and peanuts - some of the most common food allergens. Having such a list of allergies in combination makes avoiding your allergens a real challenge. (Given my recent experience with the low oxalate diet in combination with the need to be gluten-free, I can totally relate.) Her site recounts her journey thus far, including products she likes and recipe substitutions that she uses.

With multiple allergies, the issue becomes complexity. Multiple allergies also ensure that the fast and easy convenience food that often helps make modern living a bit easier is off the table - literally.

Another site that I like for those of us with multiple allergies is Allergy Foodie. Anu Rao writes about her journey with her son, who was also diagnosed with multiple food allergies. Her son is allergic to all 8 common food allergens! Her passion for good food that is fun means that her blog is full of discussions of ingredients, allergy free eating and good nutrition. (This is a woman after my own heart!)

As we prove here at BeAllergyWise - you can thrive and live well, even with allergies!

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