Adventures of an Allergist Mommy

Image by Getty Images via Daylife In this season of influenza pandemics, our vaccine-naive little ones were scheduled to be subjected to not one, but 2 separate influenza vaccines, in a total of 4 doses! Ouch! Well, here's some good news from GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Pandemrix, one of the H1N1 vaccines currently being distributed and administered around the world. A single shot may be sufficient to confer protective immunity! The study is not yet complete, but preliminary results look promising... Son #2, who was none to happy with me when I gave him seasonal influenza vaccine 1 of 2 on Wednesday, would be pleased (if he had any idea what any of the fuss was about)! http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711241_print

Halloween is an exciting time for children... costume parties, silly music, bags and bags of CANDY... Yep. It's the candy part that gets our undies all in a knot. Never mind the damage all that sugar does to those little teeth (Here's an idea-our dentist buys back candy at $1 per pound and sends it to our troops overseas!). For the parent of an allergic child, the concern is more about the damage that the hidden food allergen might do to our kids. The zombie costumes are ghoulish enough- do we really need to amp up the freakishness with hives and giant swollen lips? The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology offers some Halloween tips here: http://www.aaaai.org/patients/elements/1008/08halloween_checklist.stm I think these ideas are a great start, but I do doubt the practicality of distributing your own safe snacks to neighbors in advance of trick-or-treating. (Not really fair to expect them to keep track- or even be able to recognize your kid if he or she is in...

From the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: MILWAUKEE – With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that an initial analysis of 1,400 adults hospitalized for H1N1 found that 26% had asthma, how can the more than 34 million Americans with asthma protect themselves from the virus and complications? An article set to appear in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) recommends that people with asthma who have suspected or confirmed influenza should be strongly considered for antiviral medications because of their increased risk of developing a complication such as bacterial pneumonia. Additionally, most patients with asthma should be vaccinated with the seasonal and 2009 H1N1 inactivated vaccines. “People with asthma are at high risk of serious complications from influenza infection, including H1N1, but vaccination can significantly reduce this risk. If you have asthma, seasonal influenza and H1N1 vaccination is recommended. B...