Atlanta Allergy at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

This past weekend, thousands of allergy experts from around the world gathered at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Atlanta Allergy & Asthma physicians participated in the five days of important information and essential research presented at the meeting.

Several members of the Atlanta Allergy team presented important data on topics ranging from anaphylaxis to the future of allergy care. These national meetings serve as a forum for new scientific knowledge, ideas, and experiences that help your doctors provide optimal care for allergic, asthmatic, and immunologic diseases.

Some interesting findings presented at this year’s meeting:

• Prevailing allergy myths have a long shelf life with primary care physicians. Learn more here.
• 15 percent of children with food allergies had a reaction at school, highlighting the importance of the new stock epinephrine laws. About of quarter of the epinephrine administrations involved kids who did not know they had an allergy at the time of the reaction. Learn more here.
• In a study done using pollen data from the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma pollen counting station, it was noted that tree pollen (traditionally a symptom trigger in the spring) is becoming an increasingly important allergen in the fall in Atlanta. One reason could be the increased use of this tree as an ornamental in landscaping. This study reinforces the importance of allergy testing to identify your individual allergic triggers.
• Four more surprising finds came from research presented at the meeting.
1. EMERGENCY EPINEPHRINE SAVES LIVES!
   15 percent of school-age kids with severe allergies have a reaction at school.
   More than 50 percent of those that received emergency epinephrine didn’t know they had an allergy. They had first time reactions while at school.
2. ALLERGY MYTHS: Not every doctor knows the right facts about allergies.
   Only 50 percent of internists knew the best first treatment for a severe food reaction is epinephrine.
   85 percent of internists thought the flu shot should not be given to patients with egg allergy.
   Only 27 percent of the pediatricians knew the most common causes of food allergy in children under four years of age are both egg and milk.
3. Penicillin Allergy – NOT SO FAST!
   Many people are told they are allergic to penicillin, but are never tested. Recent studies show that more 94 percent of people who believe they’re allergic to penicillin tested negative for penicillin allergy.
4. ASTHMA 101
   A new study found that some teens know more about treating their asthma than their parents.
   While teens get much of their info from social media, the most commonly viewed asthma YouTube videos often missed the mark.