Food Allergies and News From Annual Conference of ACAAI

Last week, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) held its annual meeting in Phoenix. The organization, established in 1942, is made up of over 5500 health professionals and is dedicated to improving patient care in the areas of allergy and immunology.

Presenters at the meeting shared studies and research, much of it pertaining to food allergy. I've tracked down a few pieces of relevant presentations. As more is released, I'll share it. In the meantime, this will be of interest to those of us in the food allergy arena:

In a session titled "The Ability of Adults and Children to Visually Identify Peanuts and Tree Nuts", Co-authors: Todd L. Hostetler, MD, and ACAAI Member Bryan Martin, MD, (The Ohio State University/Nationwide Children's Hospital) report on a study in which only 50% of nut allergic people (ages 6 and up) could identify a picture of the nut they are are allergic to.

In "Adverse Reactions to H1N1 Vaccine after Tolerating Seasonal Flu Immunization", Amber M. Patterson, MD, (The Ohio State University/Nationwide Children's Hospital) says that tolerance to flu vaccine one year does not suggest future tolerance as the amount of egg in the vaccine varies widely.

In "If Kissing or Sex Leaves You Tingly, Is It Love or Allergies?" Dr. Sami Bahna talked about how allergic reactions to kissing and other intimate acts are more common for those with food and medication allergies.

Something else I've been watching for awhile is the use of Chinese herbs as a cure for peanut allergy. There was a session at the meeting, "Chinese herbs can complement proven allergy treatments", in which it was reported that Food Allergy Herbal Formula, previously shown to reduce anaphylactic reactions in peanut allergic mice, has now been shown to be safe for humans. Sounds promising!

Dr. Bahna, president of ACAAI, raised the ire of some in the food allergy community with several statements about bans 9or not) of peanuts in schools and airplanes.  Check it out and see what you think.

For more information on the ACAAI annual meeting, scroll through the Twitter conversation. More information about the organization can be found at their website.

Did any of these reports have a specific interest for you? I'm thrilled with the continued research on all fronts of food allergy. Let's continue to talk about egg allergy and flu vaccine and peanut allergy bans and promising food allergy cures. Let's keep making forward progress!