I stumbled across some very interesting information today. Apparently, a lot of us are being treated for “true” allergy (which is proven medically by the presence of IgE antibodies in our blood) when we don’t have it! In fact, according to an article in the Journal of Family Practice, research indicates that as many as two-thirds of people undergoing allergy treatment could be misdiagnosed. At issue seems to be making use of  testing that confirms allergies and excludes other conditions. The article goes on to say that even allergy specialists were only 50% accurate in their ability to determine a diagnosis of allergy by history and physical examination compared with lab tests.

This means that an awful lot of us could be walking around thinking we have allergies when we have something else going on.

It could be as simple as getting a RAST blood test or a skin prick test. While these tests are not 100% accurate either, they are the best diagnostic tools to date. This shouldn’t necessarily give you a great sense of comfort though: according to an article by Dr. …

According to a study by Harvard researchers, global warming could actually mean more pollen. The results of the study showed that ragweed could produce approximately 60% more pollen with double the current levels of CO2. If the global warming experts are right, we could have exactly those conditions sometime between 2050 and 2100.

It makes sense. Blog writer Thomas Ogren points out that if we add organic matter to the soil, we get increased plant growth; why wouldn’t they also produce more if they were getting more carbon dioxide out of the air? CO2 is a basic necessary component of the photosynthesis cycle. Plants use carbon dioxide to create sugars, and expire out the oxygen that we need to breathe.

It’s always been a good deal.

The ragweed study was done inside a controlled laboratory setting. So, you might think that we’re off the hook. Think again! A different team of researchers looked at what might happen if excess carbon dioxide was pumped into a pine forest. In that case, the pine trees tripled their production of both cones and seeds. Overall, the two studies suggest …

Look out mothers: there is yet another reason to feel guilty! Seems that research shows that mothers who are wrestling with major depression and significant anxiety also have children who are more likely to have asthma or allergies! This association doesn’t apply to adopted children, but only biological offspring.

The culprit is in the genes: researchers hypothesize that the genes that predispose you to depression may also predispose you to allergies. In fact, in other studies, it was shown that the relationship works both ways. Not only do children of depressed parents have more allergies but also parents of allergic kids have more depression. However, there is no such relationship between depressed mothers and adoptive children, nor does it apply between fathers and either biological or adoptive children.

As someone who has suffered with both depression (in my 20s) and allergies (starting in my 20s), and who is also the biological child of a woman who had allergies, I find it fascinating to think that all these things could be somehow interrelated. Who’d have thought that crying because you’re depressed or crying because your allergies are …