Northeast Allergy, Asthma and Immunology News
Common Indoor Allergens and How to Avoid Them
Staying indoors when pollen levels are high won’t always save you from those awful allergy symptoms. Dust mites, pet dander, mold, and even cockroaches can cause allergy symptoms indoors. Here’s a rundown of the most common indoor allergy triggers to watch for and...
4 of the Most Common Food Allergies
A food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs after eating a specific food. Even trace amounts of the food can cause symptoms, such as hives, nausea, and swelling of the lips, face, tongue or throat. Food allergy affects roughly 32 million Americans,...
Signs of Immunodeficiency
Immunodeficiency disorders disrupt the body’s ability to defend itself against harmful substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. This type of disorder makes it easier for a person to catch viruses and bacterial infections. Primary immunodeficiency (PI)...
Tracking Pollen Levels and What They Mean
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, pollen can be your enemy in the spring and fall as grass, ragweed, and tree pollen flood the air, often through November. Fortunately, there are ways you can track daily pollen counts to help minimize your pollen exposure and...
Celebrating Halloween With Food Allergies
Halloween is usually a fun day filled with costumes, candy, haunted houses, and scary movies. While this year may look a bit different for most kids, parents of children with food allergies know that Halloween is always a challenging holiday. Common allergens, such as...
Who Should Get Allergy Tested?
Most allergy conditions, such as a mild case of hay fever, usually do not require any form of long-term treatment. Many individuals can control their allergies with the occasional over-the-counter medication. However, sometimes allergy symptoms can interfere with...
Benefits of Air Purifiers for Indoor Allergies
Allergens are usually harmless substances that may trigger an adverse immune response in some individuals. Unfortunately, allergens can be found almost everywhere, including inside your home. Some common indoor allergens include dust mites, animal dander, molds, and...
Common Skin Allergy Conditions and How to Treat Them
Have you ever developed a red, itchy rash or a series of blisters after coming into contact with a particular substance? If so, you know how unpleasant allergic reactions can be. An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system has an unusual response to a...
Best Face Masks for COVID-19
There are several ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Through social distancing, proper hand hygiene and face masks, you can help flatten the curve in your community. There are many questions surrounding face masks, and...
How Air Quality Affects Asthma
If you have asthma or are a parent to a child with asthma, you may have noticed that air quality affects the severity of symptoms. Living in a major city with higher levels of air pollution can lead to more severe asthma symptoms. The United States Environmental...
Home Remedies for Nasal Congestion
Nasal congestion is caused by anything that irritates or inflames the nasal tissues. Infections and allergies are two of the most common causes of nasal congestion in children and adults, but there are several ways to soothe a stuffy nose. If you are experiencing...
Understanding Food Allergy Statistics
Food allergies are incredibly common in the United States, with 32 million people living with at least one food allergy. Of these, it is estimated that 26 million are adults, while the remaining 6 million are children. Last year, these numbers were approximately half...
COVID-19 vs. Allergy Symptoms: Telling the Difference
As trees and flower buds release high pollen counts, allergy symptoms are flaring up at the same time as the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Since they share similar symptoms, such as coughing, many people are having a hard time distinguishing between...
Food Allergies at Work?
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must reasonably accommodate people with severe food allergies unless doing so creates an undue hardship for the employer. However, employers generally are prohibited from asking employees disability related...
Back to School with Food Allergies
It's estimated 15 million Americans have severe food allergies, and that number is expected to rise. As the article below notes, tell someone that you have a food allergy, and there’s a good chance they’ll roll their eyes in disbelief. This article follows one student...
Adult Food Allergies
A study from the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology found that 51% of people with food allergies developed at least one of them as an adult. While food allergies affect less than 4% of all adults, the number of people who have some form of food intolerance is...
Generic EpiPen to be Released?
The new generic EpiPen device will be available in both adult and junior dosing, but neither the manufacturer nor the FDA have confirmed when it will be available. It is expected to be provided through your regular pharmacy when it is finally released. See the full...
Back to School Forms
With back to school season upon us, please be sure to provide us with any school forms as soon as possible. As you can imagine, we receive many forms to complete, so we ask you to patient. Also, now is an important time to get in touch with your child's teacher(s) to...
Understanding Asthma
Asthma affects your airways, which go between your nose and mouth and your lungs. Your airways have the important job of carrying air in and out of your body, but triggers can inflame them to the point of malfunctioning, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute...
As Flu Spreads, Ways to Stay Healthy
Did you know colds and flu are a common causes of asthma flare-ups? With reports of the flu being widespread, it's important to stay has healthy as possible. This article offers a few simple tips.
What’s the Best Way to Clean Pillows?
Working on your spring cleaning around the house? For those of us with allergies, make sure to clean your pillows too. This short article and link to a video helps us understand how best to do it. See this video from the NBC Today Show.
Boston Area Startups Focus on Food Allergies
Did you see this? The Boston Globe has an interesting article on what some local startups are doing to help those of us with food allergies. It's great to see so much good work going on locally! http://bit.ly/2lk0PCv
Local Reports of Flu Increasing
Reports of the flu are increasing in the Boston area, according to local hospitals. If you haven't received a flu shot, now is the time to consider getting one. If you have concerns about an egg allergy, please give us call. Also, for older patients or those with...
Considering Allergy Shots?
Now is a great time to talk to us if you're considering allergy shots. It can take 4 - 6 months before reaching a maintenance dose, so it's a good time to get ahead of your allergies. You can reach us in Leominster, Sudbury, and Newton. Call us at (978) 537-4805 or...