www.canada.com/

Hay fever made Ella Martin’s pregnancy hell as she couldn’t take antihistamine, says David Mattin. So she tried a new remedy . . .
When Ella Martin, 25, discovered she was pregnant in November, only one thought kept her from complete happiness: hay fever. Every summer since her early childhood Martin had suffered the furiously itchy eyes, itchy throat and uncontrollable sneezing that characterise the seasonal allergy. Usually, she’d dose up on antihistamines to control the symptoms. This year, because of her pregnancy, that wouldn’t be an option. “I just thought, Oh God,” she says. “Being pregnant for the first time will be hard enough. But being pregnant, and hay fever?”

Hay fever, allergic rhinitis, is an allergy to seasonal airborne pollens, in which contact with those pollens causes an overreaction by the immune system. According to the NHS, it affects about 20 per cent of people in the UK, with May to September being the peak hay fever season. For some, the condition is only a mild irritant; Martin’s story, though, will be familiar to anyone affected severely.

This year, however, her condition has been alleviated by a drug-free and organic treatment called HayMax. The creation of an entrepreneur with no medical training, it’s fast gaining a reputation among those who habitually sneeze their way through summer. “I’ve had hay fever as far back as I can remember,” says Martin. “As a girl I spent a lot of summer afternoons lying down with cucumbers over my eyes feeling very sorry for myself. Even the skin on my face becomes itchy and red. It’s not attractive; I look like a trauma victim.”

In adulthood, Martin had controlled the allergy with conventional medicines: Piriton (chlorphenamine), an over-the-counter antihistamine tablet, and a cortico-steroid nasal spray prescribed by her GP. So when a friendly midwife told Martin in November that pregnancy would prevent her taking those medicines this summer, she worried. Antihistamine makers advise against using them while pregnant, not because there is evidence of harm, but because of insufficient evidence that they are safe.
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“May and early June were horrendous,” says Martin. “The constant itchiness was infuriating and meant that I couldn’t sleep; that’s hard enough when you’re up every two hours to go to the loo. So I was exhausted. I blew my nose so often that I got headaches. Hay fever was taking the joy out of my pregnancy.”

But when she visited a local heathfood shop in early June, it was for her boyfriend, Jason, also a hay fever sufferer. “Being pregnant, I assumed there would be no safe treatment for me,” she says. Staff recommended HayMax for Jason. “It came in a small pot, like a lip balm,” says Martin. Users of HayMax are instructed to rub a small amount of the viscous substance under the nose.

“That evening, my hay fever was really bad,” she says. “We read the HayMax label, and it said ‘Safe for pregnant women’. So when Jason applied some, I did, too. Straight away I stopped sneezing. I was amazed. In the days that followed, I used it first thing in the morning, and then whenever I felt a bout of sneezing coming. That has calmed my symptoms dramatically. Now I’m not sneezing all day, so I don’t get the runny nose or itchy throat. My eyes and face are less itchy, too. That means I can sleep.”

It seems miraculous. So what is going on? The treatment is the creation of Max Wiseberg, a former sales executive amd a hay fever sufferer. The way HayMax works is simple, he says. When applied under the nose the substance acts as a barrier and prevents inhalation of pollen through the nose. “Pollen sticks to the HayMax, instead of being inhaled,” he says. “Put simply: no pollen, no hay fever. Yes, pollen will still enter the body, through the mouth, for example. But if you can reduce the amount that enters, you can reduce symptoms dramatically.”

Wiseberg says that one pot of HayMax, which he makes on his farm near Bedford, will comfortably last the average sufferer through summer. He admits he has no medical training, and did not consult doctors during the development of his treatment, which is a combination of oils and beeswax. “I got the idea in 2002, after smearing Vaseline under my nose for my hay fever,” he says. “It provided a little relief, and felt horrible. So I worked to find a more effective, more pleasant pollen blocker. HayMax is the result; it’s more effective and nicer to use than Vaseline.”

Lindsey McManus, of Allergy UK, Britain’s leading allergy charity, says: “The principle behind HayMax is legitimate. Simple barrier methods can help to reduce hay fever symptoms. Wrap-around shades, for example, can help to keep pollen out of eyes. We’ve been telling people to smear Vaseline under the nose for years. Antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays are the most effective treatments but HayMax is safe to use in conjunction with those medicines.”

There have been no clinical trials of HayMax, but since its launch in 2004, Wiseberg has seen his work pay dividends. Last year HayMax won Best Organic Product at the Organic Trade Show. Approval from the Soil Association, the “stamp” of organic products, is pending. Now, it’s stocked at Superdrug and Waitrose.

“I’ve never claimed that HayMax works for everyone,” says Wiseberg. “No hay fever treatment does. We’ve sold 100,000 pots now, and I’ve heard of 13 people who said it did them no good and hundreds who said that it worked.”

As for Ella Martin, she is in no doubt into which camp she falls. “It has changed my pregnancy,” she says. “I’ll definitely keep using it after the birth. Last week it was my birthday. I put on HayMax and we went to a restaurant for dinner. I was able to sit outside in the evening sun. It was perfect, and it would have been unthinkable if it wasn’t for this treatment.”

source:www.timesonline.co.uk

Allergy translation cards help to keep travellers out of danger

Food may be a universal language, but when something gets lost in translation, the consequences can be devastating -- and not just for your palate.

For as many as 3.3 million Canadians with food allergies, eating abroad can be like a game of Russian roulette. One false inflection or misspoken word in a foreign tongue can see an evening of haute cuisine end in a hospital visit.

But where most allergy sufferers might see this as a problem, one peanut-plagued man saw it as a business opportunity.
Over the past year, Kyle Dine has sold more than 1,000 "allergy translation cards" that help vacationers surmount the language barrier at restaurants. A recent commerce graduate of the University of Ottawa, Dine got the idea for AllergyTranslation.com after living in Sweden as an exchange student in 2005.

"It was a big eye-opener just trying to eat and stay alive over there," says Dine, for whom even a trace of nuts in his food could send him into anaphylactic shock.

"I'd see all these nice restaurants, but I'd end up going into a Swedish grocery store and buying a bag of Kit-Kat bars because they were less of a gamble."

Dine's credit-card-sized printouts can be tailored to almost any dietary restriction, with translations for more than 175 food allergies and 11 special diets in 22 languages, ranging from French, Spanish and German to Turkish, Slovenian and Croatian.

After paying an $8 fee, consumers are free to print as many of the customized cards as they want, then present them to waiters or chefs when dining out.

AllergyTranslation.com is just one of a growing number of linguistic services dedicated to niche audiences.

For vacationers who want to order a brewsky in 47 dialects, there's the nonprofit organization Esperanto-USA, which posts a list of free translations of "one beer please" on its website. According to pop-culture researcher Michael Mulvey, it's all part of a tourism landscape in which nobody wants to feel or look like an outsider. Discreet translation cards and online language services -- the latter unobtrusively accessed by any BlackBerry -- can help travellers blend in.

"We're more self-conscious than ever about standing out in a crowd just because of the nature of the political situation worldwide," says Mulvey, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Ottawa. "Nothing says 'mug me' like sitting in the middle of a square with a telephoto lens and a Frommers manual."

source:www.canada.com

New Custom Allergy Treatment Works, Patients Say

Michael Gibson said he used to get intense headaches brought on by severe allergies.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank them as 11, 12, 13," Gibson said. "Above the tip of the scale."

He said they were so severe that he couldn't work or sleep.
I started seeing a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins," he said. "I went as far as trying to see if we could get all the nerves on the left side of my head, that's how bad they were, killed so I wouldn't suffer anymore."

However, Gibson didn't need brain surgery. The cure for the excruciating headaches came from a drop of allergy medicine.

"This is a fairly new technique that has been brought to the U.S. from Europe," Dr. Suzette Mikula of Georgetown University Hospital said. "It is available to all patients who have allergies to pollens and foods."

Mikula said she sees a lot of people with severe allergies.

She said she has found that patients like Gibson are responding well to this relatively new treatment.

During the treatment, a blood test determines what a patient is allergic to. Then, a lab produces a serum tailor-made to each person. Patients put a drop under their tongue three times a day. They use less and less as time goes on.

"It's especially helpful to patients who can't make it to the allergy doctors for weekly allergy shots," Mikula said.

Patients said skipping these doctor visits is a big advantage.

However, there are some potential drawbacks to the treatment. Most insurance plans don't cover the drops and they can cost about $150 for a three-month supply.

Also, the medicine must be kept cold.

"I stopped using them because I was traveling, and you had to keep them refrigerated," patient Scott Stroud said. "So I wasn't very successful with them."

Stroud, a chronic allergy sufferer, did not stay on the drops long enough for them to make a difference. But after three sinus surgeries and a rough start to this year's allergy season, he said he is ready to try them again.

"I'm actually scheduled to start them up again in about a week," Stroud said.

Gibson said he thinks it is a good idea for Stroud to get back on the treatment. Gibson said the allergy drops are lifesavers.

"I'm better," Gibson said. "I feel better. And I'm going to do things this year I haven't done in a long, long time."

source:www.nbc4.com

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa First in Hawaii To Offer Allergy-Friendly Guest Rooms, Meeting Rooms and Spa

The JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina is the first property in Hawaii and one of the first in the nation to adopt the PURE(TM) system which creates an allergy-friendly environment. All of the hotel's 13 guest rooms and Presidential Suite on its 17th (top) floor have been converted to the system, and indoor meeting facilities and the Ihilani Spa will be converted by the end of the year.

The allergy-friendly environment can help ease respiratory problems, asthma and allergies that affect more than 70 million Americans.

"By providing PURE(TM) allergy-friendly hotel rooms and conference spaces, we offer our guests the benefit of being in healthy, more productive environments," said Steve Glen, general manager of JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa. "It has always surprised me how many travelers suffer from allergies and make special requests such as having down pillows removed. We are now exceeding their expectations by offering the ultimate allergy-friendly room environment."

The PURE(TM) system reduces or minimizes biohazards and other irritants from all room surfaces and filters them from the air.

"Bedding, carpeting, walls, furniture, air conditioning systems, and practically everything in the room is specially treated to remove contaminants and significantly hinder their return," said Glen.

One of the first to experience an allergen-friendly room at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa was Kelly Owen of Seal Beach, California, who stayed in the Presidential Suite. "The suite was fabulous. I can really feel the difference, especially the smell of the room. I sleep better and feel better," he said.

The innovative and rigorous conversion process designed by Pure Solutions ensures air conditioners are deep cleaned and sanitized then equipped with the company's patented Tea Tree Oil Cartridge, an all natural antiseptic and disinfectant. Soft surfaces are cleansed and sanitized to minimize contaminants that trigger allergies and a bacteriostatic barrier called Pure Shield is applied on virtually all surfaces to minimize the growth of bacteria.

To maintain ideal conditions in the room, a state-of-the-art air purification system is installed, creating air quality that averages four times cleaner than the threshold for asthma patients. In addition, special, micro-fiber hypoallergenic pillowcases and mattress covers are used in the room to eliminate dust and dander and dust-mite related allergens usually associated with common bedding.

The special purification technique is a one-of-a-kind high-tech cleansing and maintenance process developed by Pure Solutions, North America.

"It's a credit to the JW Marriott Ihilani that they are extending this convenience to their guests," said Brian Brault, Pure's chief executive officer. "They are on the leading edge of the wellness trend and today's customers are looking for that."

source:sev.prnewswire.com

Autoimmune and Inflammation - Allergy Drug Pipeline Report

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c62643) has announced the addition of Autoimmune and Inflammation - Allergy Drug Pipeline Report to their offering.

"Autoimmune and Inflammation - Allergy Drug Pipeline Report" contains detailed information on the current drug pipeline. This report provides insight into the pipeline status of allergy drugs by company and by stage as well as a summary of the latest news and developments in this area.

Scope of the report:

Each Therapy Area Pipeline Report provides the user with real detail on drug pipelines, by company and by stage, for each specific therapy area. The latest news, by company, also ensures that each report is fresh and up-to-date.

In addition to new developments and disease specific pipeline projects, each report also contains extensive information in tabular format on a company's full product pipeline and products by phase of development with regard to the therapy area.

Full pipeline details, by stage, are provided and include detailed product descriptions, information on partnering activity plus clinical trial intelligence. Each Therapy Area Pipeline Report also provides detail on the top 20 companies with products in the early stage of development and the top 20 companies with products in the late stage of development. Finally, each report also provides a comparison with other major indications in the disease hub based on Marketed Products vs. Pipeline Products

source:digital50.com

Allergy free food production

A Brisbane company is leading the way in Australia, with a major expansion into allergy free food products.

Statistics have shown the number of children with food allergies has doubled in the last five years.

Former CSIRO scientist Bob Hamilton was motivated to launch 'Earlee Products', which supplies manufacturers like Ingams and Woolworths with allergen free seasoned meat coatings, marinades and sauces.

They are now expanding to provide gluten, nut, dairy and soy free lines.

Mr Hamilton says it's quite easy to make a product that's allergen free, but the key is to maintain flavour.

Producing mainstream and allergy free foods under the same roof increases the risk of cross contamination. Earlee Products has become one of the first companies to separate its production line.

source:www.skynews.com.au

Allergy Therapeutics trials on hold, stock tumbles

U.S. regulators have placed clinical trials of an experimental hayfever vaccine on hold after a reported adverse event, dealing a blow to its British maker, Allergy Therapeutics Plc (AGY.L: Quote, Profile , Research).

Shares in company tumbled nearly 19 percent to a six-month low of 96-1/2 pence on the news.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration placed a hold on clinical studies of Pollinex Quattro -- the company's main product hope -- following a report of a rare adverse event, which the doctor involved in the study said might be related to the treatment.

Allergy said in a statement it was cooperating with the U.S. agency but did not believe Pollinex Quattro was the cause of the problem.

"We believe the evidence strongly supports the view that the event was unlikely to have been caused by Pollinex Quattro and we are seeking urgent clarification of the FDA's position," Chief Executive Keith Carter said in a statement.

Allergy had been hoping to launch its hayfever vaccine, which is designed to help moderate and severe sufferers, in 2009 in the United States. The latest setback to the Phase III clinical trials programme could delay that timetable.

The product has already been given on a named-patient basis to around 100,000 hayfever sufferers in Germany in recent years. Named-patient prescribing is a system that allows doctors to give an unlicensed drug to a specified individual.

The vaccine is given in four injections over a three week period. It costs 450 euros ($619) for four shots in Germany but the price is likely to be higher when it is fully launched, partly reflecting subsequent development of the product.

source:/investing.reuters.co.uk

Allergy drug firm hit by trials setback

Shares in Allergy Therapeutics plunged 22 per cent yesterday after US regulators placed the pharmaceutical company's experimental hayfever vaccine on clinical hold after a report of side-effects.

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the rare reaction of a patient taking Pollinex Quattro, the company's key product hope, which is in phase three trials in the US.

Allergy said it is co-operating fully with the FDA, and added that having reviewed the data it is unlikely that the side-effects were caused by the drug.

A spokesman added that almost 2,000 people have taken part in two separate phase-three trials in the US for grass allergies and ragweed. One 40-year-old man reported dizzy feelings, numbness and a lack of co-ordination while playing golf, two months after his last injection, and was treated in hospital for three days. He was back in work after two weeks.

"We believe the evidence strongly supports the view that the event was unlikely to have been caused by Pollinex Quattro and we are seeking urgent clarification of the FDA's position," chief executive Keith Carter said.

Allergy had been hoping to launch the vaccine, which is designed to help moderate and severe sufferers of hayfever, in the US by 2009. The timetable could now be delayed due to the setback. Shares in the company fell 26p to 93p yesterday.

Gary Waanders, an analyst at Nomura Code with a buy rating on the stock, questioned why the FDA has taken "what appears to be an extreme position regarding the vaccine's safety". "We believe these symptoms could be related to any number of coincidental conditions," he added. "With this in mind we are very surprised by the hold and expect that the FDA has adopted its position due to recent challenges to its drug safety reviewing process."

The vaccine is already available in Germany, where it has been given to 100,000 hayfever sufferers on a named-patient basis, which is a system that allows doctors to give an unlicensed drug to individuals. The drug, which costs €450 for four shots in Germany, is given in four injections over a three-week period.

source:news.independent.co.uk

Allergy shares sneeze

Shares in Allergy Therapeutics plunged 22pc after America's drugs regulator froze a trial of its hayfever vaccine when a trial patient fell ill.

Allergy, which has one of the most advanced portfolios of drugs in Britain's biotechnology sector, said it was "collaborating fully" with the US Food and Drug Administration to discover why the patient developed numbness several weeks after receiving the experimental vaccine.

Allergy's vaccine, Pollinex Quattro, is already used in Europe under controlled conditions and has been taken by about 90,000 patients, without serious side effects being discovered.

Ibraheem Mahmood, an analyst at Investec, said: "The Food and Drug Administration is the most conservative regulator in the world. If we had to guess we would say this was caution by them and that it is unlikely to be caused by the drug."

source:www.telegraph.co.uk

Explaining allergy

When the body’s immune system overacts, we have what is called an allergy.

An allergy is not an infection. It manifests because of your own body’s immune response.

All our bodies are primed to defend against foreign substances invading it, such as bacteria, viruses etc. This is a natural protective mechanism.

Sometimes, we have an exaggerated immune response when our body is in contact with certain foreign substances. These substances cause most people no harm, but our bodies sometimes see it as harmful. Thus, we are “allergic” or “atopic” to that particular substance.

These foreign substances that produce allergies in allergic people are called “allergens”.

The word allergy was coined in 1905 by an Austrian paediatrician named Clemens Pirquet. It is derived from the Greek words “allos”, meaning different or changed, and “ergos”, meaning work or action. Thus allergy roughly means “altered reaction”.

But I thought allergies were only confined to people with asthma?

No. There are many types of “allergic” diseases, including asthma and allergic rhinitis, and all come under the broad spectrum of allergy.



How does allergy manifest? Is it only itching? Or does it involve sneezing?

The parts of the body that are prone to react to allergies are the nose, skin, eyes, lungs, and stomach.

For example, in allergic rhinitis (commonly known as “hay fever”), you have runny nose, blocked or stuffy nose, sneezing, itching, and sometimes a lot of throat clearing because the liquid drips from behind your nose into your throat.

Allergic rhinitis is the most common of the allergic diseases. Some people have it seasonally, especially during spring, where a lot of pollen is released. Some people have it all through the year, and this is usually caused by indoor allergens such as dust mites, animal dander, or moulds.

Asthma is another very common allergic disease. Here, there is shortness of breath, wheezing and chest tightness caused by the inflammation and spasm (narrowing) of the lung’s air passages (bronchial airways). A lot of people also have cough.

The eye is another commonplace for allergies. Allergic conjunctivitis is the inflammation of the conjunctiva, which causes redness, watery and itchy eyes and swelling.

In the skin, it manifests itself as “hives” (called urticaria). These are intensely itchy swellings that can occur on any part of your body.

Allergic reactions can also manifest as allergic eczema (atopic dermatitis). There is redness, itching, and dryness of the skin. This is common in children.



Do people die from allergies? I remember seeing this TV programme about a man who ate a peanut. He started to swell. He was dead within minutes.

This sounds a bit drastic, but yes, people have been known to die from allergies. Allergic shock (anaphylactic shock) sends the body into massive immune response overload, causing the tissues and organs to swell and the blood pressure to drop dramatically because the blood vessels turn leaky. This is usually in response to a food being eaten or a sting (for example, a bee or scorpion sting).



How will I know if I’m allergic to something? It would be very difficult to pinpoint the source.

You are right. It can be very difficult. You have to go back to the patterns of your behaviour, or whether there has been a new addition to your household.

For example, you were never allergic to anything before. Suddenly, a new dog arrives. Then you begin to sneeze violently and have watery eyes. But your wife and children have no reaction.

Solution: you are very likely allergic to the dog’s hair (animal dander)!

Apparently, there was a period of “sensitisation” to the dog hair that had occurred in you in the past that you weren’t aware of. It may range from months to years. You have previously been in prior contact with dog hair and your body began to develop an immune reaction to it.

So when the new dog came into your house – wham! Allergic reaction.

source:thestar.com.my

Chrome Crooner Trace Adkins Walks For Food Allergy Awareness

Country star Trace Adkins will lead this year's (07) Walk for Food Allergy series in America to honour his daughter's battle with eating issues.

The Chrome singer will serve as the honorary chairman of the awareness drive, which will take place in 20 cities across America, beginning next month (Aug07).
Adkins' six-year-old daughter, Brianna, was diagnosed with a peanut allergy when she was 18-months-old, following a severe reaction to peanut butter.

She is also allergic to eggs and milk, according to Cmt.com.

As WENN went to press it was not known which of the 20 events Adkins would take part in.

source:www.postchronicle.com

Concern Over Allergy Increase

Britain may be facing a growing rate of allergy linked to modern lifestyles, it was claimed today.
As many as 24 per cent of people in Britain have had allergy-related illnesses diagnosed, it was reported today.

The Times said it had obtained information about a study conducted at Nottingham University of GP diagnoses.

The sample of 422 surgeries found that 24 per cent of patients were identified as having at least one allergic disease in 2005.

This had increased from 19 per cent in 2001.

The survey suggests that most of these cases relate to eczema and asthma. The figures suggest there could be about 5.8 million patients with each of the conditions.

The research found that cases of peanut allergy had doubled.

The paper quotes Dr Pam Ewan, an allergy specialist at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, as saying: "It is a massive epidemic, and the lack of provision is startling. GPs are not well informed about allergy at all, but particularly about food allergy and that is because they are not trained in it.

"So GPs have gained knowledge by self-learning or self-interest, then if a GP wishes to refer to a specialist he will have a problem because there is a very small number of these."

And Stephen Durham, president of the British Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, told the paper: "There is no doubt that the modern Western lifestyle leads to an increase in allergies, as homes with fitted carpets and central heating can allow allergens such as dust mites to thrive."

source:www.staffnurse.com