Peanut Allergy Makes Asthma Worse

If your child has a peanut allergy in addition to asthma, it’s likely that their asthma attacks are worse, according to a new study.

In a study of 160 children between the ages of 5 and 18, children with peanut allergies had both more hospitalizations for asthma and a higher rate of corticosteroid usage.

However, when treating children with asthma, most doctors want to avoid both hospitalization and corticosteroid use. Corticosteroids can have side effects that are detrimental to growing bodies.

The lead researcher on the study, Dr Alyson Simpson, recommends that parents with children who have both peanut allergies and asthma work carefully with their child’s doctors to ensure that asthma is well-controlled. This will mean careful avoidance of asthma triggers as well as allergy triggers.

Source: Reuters

Will Peanut Allergies Soon Be Treatable?

Two studies presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) examine the use of oral immunotherapy in peanut allergic children and continue to add hope that a treatment may be on the horizon. See the news release here. This gives me some hope for my girls - even if we can just eliminate one allergy.