Asthma and allergy awareness

May 2, 2012

Ask the Expert: The asthma epidemic

The sharp increase in asthma since the 1980s — some 34 million Americans now suffer from the condition — has confounded health professionals.

8:22 PM PDT, March 20, 2012

Pollen season started early, but healthy strategies can help fight allergies

The signs are everywhere: thick layers of yellow dust, trees laden with blossoms, and the intermittent sounds of sneezing. Pollen season on the Peninsula kicked off at the beginning of the month, and concentrations have registered as "high" at least one day a week since.

February 10, 2012

Salt therapy: A cure for breathing and skin problems?

At spas opening up in Florida and throughout the country, clients sit in special rooms infused with high concentrations of salt. They say it opens up their sinuses, drains mucus, reduces swelling of the bronchial tubes and boosts their immune systems.

3:52 PM PST, February 7, 2012

Tamara Dietrich: How to keep allergens away from kids

If you're of a certain age, like me, your childhood memories of food at school are sweet and sentimental.

February 13, 2012

Asthmatics' options now that Primatene Mist is off the market

Asthma sufferers have long relied on inhalers for relief from wheezing or coughing attacks. But as of Dec. 31, Primatene Mist — the only available over-the-counter asthma inhaler — was taken off shelves because of its adverse effect on the environment. Other inhalers are available, but these require a doctor's prescription.

12 most common skin irritants

If you wonder why your hands are always dry or you have itchy skin, one of these 12 may be the cause for blame.

Video: Allergies, Changing your eye color

WGN reports on tips for combating allergies with a scratch of the skin and allergy shots in certain areas.

3:19 PM PDT, May 25, 2011

BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and some news from the world of health

Ragweed sufferers suffer longer in these cities

The sneezing, eye-watering, itchy-throated misery that comes with allergies is on the rise, led by a growing numbers of Americans sensitive to ragweed and mold.

May 25, 2011

Your nose already knows: It's a bad allergy season

For allergy sufferers, the sounds of spring have arrived, in the form of sniffing, sneezing and coughing.

April 25, 2011

The Healthy Skeptic

Alleviating season allergy symptoms naturally

It's hard to feel upbeat about spring weather if you suffer from seasonal allergies. While other people can spend all day outside without a sniffle, you can barely look at a field of grass or an oak tree without turning into a watery, miserable mess.

12:05 PM PDT, April 11, 2011

Sneeze-proof your home

You don't have to look far to find environmental allergy triggers. In fact, nearly all of them can be found inside your home. Fortunately, they're relatively easy to lessen or banish. Follow these tips from allergy specialists to allergy-proof your abode.

12:02 PM PDT, April 11, 2011

Getting older, getting asthma

Asthma is often overlooked in older patients, but why?

11:59 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Aging out of allergies

Two years after outgrowing a peanut allergy, Holly Sweenie finally took a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to school. "It took me a long time to get up the courage to pack one," said Sweenie's mom, Susan, of Canton, Mass. "I assumed allergies were something she'd always have."

11:55 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Home away from home for those with allergies

At a time when hotels promise everything from custom ice-cream room service to complete wedding proposal preparations, it's no surprise that they're also offering hypoallergenic rooms.

11:57 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Why do more of us have allergies, asthma?

If you think that people are scratching, wheezing and sneezing more frequently, you're right. Worldwide, eczema, asthma, hay fever and food allergies have nearly doubled in the past 20 years, says Dr. Marc McMorris, clinical associate professor at University of Michigan and medical director of the university's allergy specialty and food allergy clinic.

11:53 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Tiny specks of trouble

Anyone who's yearned for a clean house can attest to the seemingly supernatural properties of dust. No sooner have you banished it from the bookshelf than it peeks out from under the bed, shape-shifting from powdery and puffy to sticky and stringy. But the menace of dust can extend beyond the realm of housekeeping and damage your health in serious ways.

11:50 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Food allergies not tied to eczema for most

Eczema is notoriously difficult to treat in children. The torturous dry-skin disease causes intense itching and sleeplessness, and sometimes parents try making dietary changes in addition or in place of conventional treatments.

11:46 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Asthma & allergies research roundup

First-born child? Sorry about that. The likelihood of food allergies shrinks the lower down in your family birth order your are, according to a study out of Kyoto University in Japan. Surveying of the parents of 13,000 children between ages 7 and 15, researchers found that 4 percent of first-borns suffered from food allergies.

11:42 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Breathing life into the game

If you compiled a roster of world-class athletes with asthma, the list would be long — and impressive. From marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, to former NBA stars Dennis Rodman and Dominique Wilkins, to tennis star Mary Joe Fernandez and Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, asthmatics have set records and won medals in nearly every sport.

11:39 AM PDT, April 11, 2011

Promise this will only hurt for 5 years

Michelle Jason's allergies were so bad that constant migraines arose from her clogged sinuses. Surgery unclogged them, but she knew it was time to do something drastic.