What is Oral Immunotherapy (OIT)? Oral Immunotherapy (OIT) — a process that regularly exposes the patient to increasing amounts of the foods they are allergic to, with the goal of desensitising the body and protecting against anaphylaxis from accidental exposures. How does OIT work? Initially, we need to confirm that the patient is definitely allergic […]
Severe allergic reactions to wasp or bee stings is not something that we see much of within a Paediatric Allergy Practice thankfully. Severe reactions to insect venom are rare and when they do happen, they are much more common in people who have been stung multiple times and in practice this usually means adults, most […]
There are usually two ways that pet allergies result in extensive discussions within my practice. The first will be when there is a possibility that a family pet is contributing to the severity of a child’s allergy symptoms – most typically this will be rhinitis and asthma but sometimes possibly eczema. The other scenario will […]
Allergy to medications in children are quite rare but it is not at all uncommon for families to come to see me because of a concern that their child might have had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. Most people imagine that allergy to antibiotics such as penicillins are common and indeed, some years ago […]
Alongside allergies to tree and grass pollen, allergy to house dust mite is the most common respiratory allergy that I see amongst my patients. However, unlike pollen allergy which is seasonal and is only troublesome for a few months of the year, house dust mite allergy can be a significant issue all year round. The […]
In order to acknowledge a wide range of concerns surrounding allergies during the pandemic, Professor Adam Fox worked closely with The Allergy Team to develop and respond to a series of commonly asked questions. If my child has an allergic reaction, will we still get the help we need? Obviously hospital services are under very significant strain […]
This spring and summer have seen some of the highest recorded levels of pollen in living memory. The snow in March delayed the start of the tree pollen season which then resulted in a number of different trees pollinating at the same time, something that the Sunday Times described as a “pollen bomb”. Inevitably, the […]
Every summer I often find I am chatting with parents of my food allergic patients about their anxieties around summer holidays with sometimes exotic trips planned to far-flung places. Inevitably this raises all sorts of issues around eating safely when overseas. It is perhaps a positive reflection on how good food labelling legislation has been […]
With the remarkably high pollen counts this year, hay fever seems to be more of a problem than ever. Whilst many suffer only mild symptoms, for an important minority, the impact on quality of life can be very significant, despite good advice about taking antihistamines and nasal sprays. For those patients whose symptoms remain troublesome, […]
Eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis) is common in children but a proportion of individuals continue to have problems through into adulthood. It is important to realise that in the majority of individuals, the underlying cause for eczema is probably a hereditary issue leading to dryness of the skin. Eczema can be a miserable condition […]
