Blog

By Danielle Hegedus The thought of spring cleaning is sometimes met with mixed responses. Some people dread it. Others find the intensive cleaning cathartic. However, spring cleaning is especially important if you or anyone in your family suffers from asthma or allergies. Cleaning can cut the amount of allergens in the air and the potential for dangerous flare-ups. But dust and fumes kicked up during spring cleaning may irritate your asthma and allergies. This makes it essential to take...

In January we told you about proposed regulations that could limit your access to allergen immunotherapy (allergy shots). The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is proposing rules that would likely limit the ability of allergists to mix allergen extracts for their patients. That may mean that allergy shots are simply not available to many people - or are available, but not covered by insurance. The insurance coverage of this treatment may also be restricted. The Asthma and Allergy...

FDA News Release FDA proposes ban on most powdered medical gloves For Immediate Release March 21, 2016 Release Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a proposal to ban most powdered gloves in the United States. While use of these gloves is decreasing, they pose an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury to health care providers, patients and other individuals who are exposed to them, which cannot be corrected through new or updated labeling. The proposed ban...

Congress is taking steps to improve how schools across the country manage asthma. The federal bill is called the School-Based Asthma Management Programs Act (HR 4662). The bill encourages states to improve asthma care in schools. Schools that adopt improved asthma management programs and policies would have a better chance of receiving federal grant money for asthma programs. Representatives Phil Roe (R-TN) and Steny Hoyer (D-MD) are the sponsors of the bill. The bill calls for: stocking...

In our second post in our “AAFA Explains” series, we look at claims that salt treatment (also known as halotherapy) can improve your asthma. “Salt rooms” are popping up in the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and elsewhere. These rooms charge you a fee to enter, like a spa. Salt crystals coat the rooms and the air is salt-laden as an attempt to mimic naturally occurring salt caves.The history of natural salt caves as an asthma remedy is ancient.

Bigwall Enterprises of Clarendon Hills, IL, issued a Class II voluntary recall of a personal steam inhaler sold at Walgreens. The product is called the " WARM STEAM Personal Steam Inhaler ." Product labeling reads in part: "Well at Walgreens***WARM Helps relieve symptoms of stuffy nasal passages, congestion or scratchy throats due to cold, flu or allergies." It also reads: "Adjustable control to regulate flow of steam; Soft touch facial & nasal masks." Reason for recall: "The public...

AAFA does not support the changes proposed by USP because we believe they pose a real threat to quality of care. We strongly urge the USP to keep existing guidelines for allergen immunotherapy in place so that millions of patients across the United States can continue to receive the treatment they need.

Press Release Contact: Melissa Graham mgraham@aaaai.org (414) 272-6071 Onsite Press Room (March 4-7): (213) 743-6242 POVERTY WIDENS GAP IN CARE FOR ASTHMA AND ALLERGIES Researchers Examine Socioeconomic Disparities at AAAAI Annual Meeting Los Angeles, CA – Socioeconomic disparities are a cause for concern in patients with asthma and allergies, according to several studies presented at the AAAAI Annual Meeting. “We found that patients who have asthma and come from lower income households –...

New research shows omalizumab to be a promising treatment or prevention option for virus-induced asthma exacerbations, an important public health issue that affects every child with asthma.

New studies about how to prevent food allergy – particularly peanut allergy – are leading to a revision in federal health guidelines for doctors and families.

We still do not know what causes some people to get asthma. If a child has a family history of asthma or allergies, a specific allergy or had a mother who smoked during pregnancy, they have a higher chance of getting asthma early in life. A respiratory virus, an illness that occurs in the lungs, is one of the most common causes of asthma symptoms in children 5 years old and younger. Although both adults and children experience respiratory infections, children have more of them. Some...

Be kind. Be nice. That is the message that a father with terminal cancer gives when he and his family are removed from a plane after his young son has an allergic reaction to a dog.