by Tripp Underwood on March 21, 2012
Spring has sprung early this year, which means allergy season will likely happen early as well. But for some kids allergies don’t cause itchy eyes and sneezing, they cause something not typically thought of as an allergic reaction: Eczema.
Just like seasonal allergies, also known as “hay fever,” eczema (or atopic dermatitis), occurs when a person with allergies comes in contact with triggers like pollen, dust mites or pet dander. But instead of the nose, lungs and eyes being affected, some people get dry, itchy, scaly skin and rashes on their cheeks, arms and legs. In the early spring, when pollen counts are high, it can be particularly bad for some people. The itching tends to get worse at night leading to many sleepless nights for some families.
“Depending on the severity of the case, eczema can be a real problem for some children and their parents, ” says Karol Timmons, RN, MS, CPNP, an eczema expert and pediatric nurse practitioner at the Division of Immunology at Children’s Hospital Boston. “In many cases the condition gets better as the child gets older, but for some kids it takes years of prevention and treatment to keep it from negatively affecting a child and family.” Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on March 5, 2012
By Andrew MacGinnitie, MD, PhD, associate clinical director of the Division of Immunology at Children’s Hospital Boston
As the days get longer and warmer, most people’s thoughts turn to baseball, barbecues and breaking out their summer clothes. It’s a carefree time for many, but as an allergist spring is my busy season. In the northeast trees pollinate first, which means many allergy sufferers notice symptoms as early as April. (After an unseasonably warm winter like this one, it can happen even earlier.) Grass pollen season arrives in the late spring and continues through June. Ragweed is the dominant fall allergen and is typically present from August until the first hard freeze.
Because allergies and colds share symptoms many parents have a hard time telling the two apart. Both allergies and colds (also known as viral infections) can lead to runny noses, nasal congestion and sneezing. But the main difference between the two is that colds tend to last only for a few days, where allergy symptoms last for much longer. Allergies also tend to cause an itchiness or irritation in the eyes and nose, and colds typically don’t. So if your child’s sneezing and sniffling lasts for more than a week and his eyes and nose are itching he most likely has seasonal allergies and not a cold.
When they’re not being mistaken for colds, seasonal allergies are often called “hay fever” but that’s a misleading term— allergies won’t cause a fever and hay is not a cause. But despite those inaccuracies, hay fever is a pretty telling description considering how miserable allergies can make you feel. Depending on how severe a person’s allergies are, their symptoms can be as bad (or worse) than the flu. Studies show that during pollen season school attendance and performance for children with allergies suffers significantly. Full story »
by Claire McCarthy on February 21, 2012
Dr. Claire McCarthy is a primary care physician and the Medical Communications Editor at Children’s Hospital Boston. Along with her blogs here on Thriving, you can find her at the Huffington Post and Boston.com. Follow her on Twitter @drClaire.
Claire McCarthy, MD
The Boston Globe recently reported on a Children’s Hospital Boston study that shows a preventative approach to treating asthma can keep kids out of the Emergency Department (ED) and save money on health care spending. Here, Dr. Claire talks about the medical professionals whose commitment to keeping children healthy supports these innovative approaches to medicine.
I have known Susan Sommer, a nurse in the Community Asthma Initiative (CAI) at Boston Children’s, for nearly twenty years—we met at Martha Eliot Health Center when we were both working there. I was so happy when she started working with CAI, because she is the perfect person to do that kind of work. There are three things that are undeniably true about Susan. First, she really cares about people. I mean really cares, as if each and every one of us were family. Second, she’s really smart. Third, she gets real life.
That last one isn’t to be taken for granted, especially when we’re talking about medical professionals. Sadly, it can be said about us that we often have our heads up in the clouds. We prescribe things based on science and studies—which is good, don’t get me wrong, medical treatments should be based in science and studies. But when patients leave the hospital and go home, real life has a way of, well, getting in the way. Full story »
by Tripp Underwood on February 20, 2012
Marquis and his mother (middle) received educational home visits from Children’s nurse manager Massiel Ortiz
The journal Pediatrics released a study from Children’s Hospital Boston that shows a preventative approach to treating asthma can keep kids out of the Emergency Department (ED) and save money on health care spending.
The study is based on data collected by Children’s Community Asthma Initiative (CAI), which has been working closely with low-income residents of Boston with asthma since 2005. By sending nurse practitioners and community health workers into the homes of families whose children are frequently hospitalized for asthma, Children’s staff was able to identify asthma triggers in the families’ homes and offer education on avoiding them.
For example, a mother who cleans every inch or her home but then places the broom and duster back in the closet could still be exposing her child to asthma inducing mites. Trained CAI staffers, many of whom have asthma themselves, teach participants the proper way to clean a house to fully remove dust and other potential asthma triggers like pest droppings and mold. The program also provides special coverings for bedding and vacuum cleaners with specific, asthma fighting filters, free of charge. Full story »
by Tripp Underwood on December 2, 2011
A warm scarf or turtleneck-style neck-warmer that covers over the nose and mouth keeps the air a child breathes warm enough to ward off cold temperature-related asthma symptoms.
Winter usually ushers in plenty of exciting outdoor activities for kids, like sledding and snowball fights. It’s a lot of fun, but the chilly air can be tough on kids with asthma.
“The cold, dry air of winter can really irritate a child’s asthma,” says Amy Burack, RN, MA, AE-C, program manager of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Community Asthma Programs, a division of the hospital’s Community Asthma Initiative (CAI).
And when asthma symptoms flair, it leads to more than discomfort. For many children, it can lead to a trip to the Emergency Department or worse, hospitalization. Asthma continues to be the leading admitting diagnosis at Children’s Hospital Boston.
To counteract those numbers Burack and her colleagues at the CAI have worked hard with families in local communities to help educate people about how to better manage their kids’ asthma. In five years the Initiative has successfully contributed to cost savings by reducing Emergency Department visits and hospitalizations and improved quality of life through a reduction in lost school days for children and missed work days for caregivers.
Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on August 15, 2011
Immunology celebrates its 100th birthday this month
Written by Joshua Feblowitz
One hundred years ago, a British scientist by the name of Leonard Noon attempted to treat hay fever by injecting patients with of small amounts of grass pollen. Inspired by successful vaccines for diseases like smallpox, Noon hoped to cure patients of their allergy by helping them build up an “active immunity” to the pollen.
In his laboratory at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, Noon carefully prepared “pollen extracts” to test his theory. To study patients’ reactions to pollen, he sprinkled the extract directly into their eyes – undoubtedly a very unpleasant experience, as anyone with seasonal allergies can imagine. Finally, he injected patients with the extract over several weeks in increasing amounts, successfully reducing their sensitivity to the pollen.
Noon’s 1911 study represents the first successful example of allergen immunotherapy, a treatment that involves gradually exposing an allergic person to an allergen to coax their immune system into tolerating the substance. Although Noon never uses the word “allergy” in his original paper – at the time the term was just 4 years old—his discovery marked the beginning of a new era for allergy research and treatment. Today, allergen immunotherapy continues to be employed by innovative researchers around the world, including right here at Children’s Hospital Boston. Full story »
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on August 4, 2011
Written by Joshua Feblowitz, a Thriving contributor who has lived with severe food allergies his whole life.
image: flikr/Amarand Agasi
As food-allergic children reach their teens, they face many new challenges in allergy management, including a first date and even a first kiss, both of which hold hidden dangers. For parents, these romantic milestones can be especially stressful because they happen outside of their watchful, protective view.
Unfortunately for food-allergic teens, dating frequently involves dining out and all the potential allergens that come with it. In addition, research and personal anecdote has shown that kissing can sometimes cause a cross-contact reaction. On top of these dangers, teens are generally known to take more risks when it comes to their allergies or feel self-conscious about them. As a result they may resist previously established rules around exposure, or be shy explaining their dietary needs, which can lead to trouble.
So, what’s a worried parent to do? The simple truth is, as teens start dating (and being more socially independent in general), they must also start learning how to manage food allergies on their own. Here are a few things you can do as a parent to help navigate this transition safely, smoothly and with minimal conflict: Full story »
by Tripp Underwood on June 16, 2011
For many of us, buying organic snacks and toting recyclable grocery bags is the extent of our eco-conscious consumer habits. But for the extremely earth friendly, there’s a eco-shopping trend gathering steam called BYOC (bring your own container), where shoppers bring glass jars and containers with them to market to fill with products like coffee, grains, olive oil and even natural household cleaners. Most items are available in bulk, without all that pesky packaging.
From an environmentalist standpoint BYOC makes sense. Less packaging means less cereal boxes in our overcrowded land fills, fewer plastic bottles lingering on for the next few millennia and tree-lined streets free of plastic bags entwined in their branches.
How strong is the risk of contamination in non-packaged food?
It could also lead to more healthful eating. Eco-friendly stores tend to lean toward natural products, so if you’re shopping BYOC style, you’re far more likely to have choose between two types of whole grain cereal than between Fruity Pebbles and Lucky Charms.
From a parental point of view, one of the real advantages to BYOC shopping could be the lack advertising aimed at your kids. Take a stroll down an aisle at your local grocery story and you’re likely to see hundreds of cartoon characters hocking unhealthy food directly to your children. You can try to explain to a six-year-old that just because Dora the Explorer is featured on a box doesn’t mean it has to go into the cart, but don’t expect the conversation to go smoothly. Full story »
