Recently, there have been a lot of stories related to living with food allergies and finding a cure. We have all read about the Peanut Patch and OIT therapy but there are other "alternative" options in the pipe line. These options are rather unique to say the least. One of these "unique" stories come from The Korea Bizwire entitled; Traditional Korean Drum Sounds Suppress Acute Allergic Shocks. Apparently a few doctors in Korea, "...verified the effects of sounds from a traditional Korean drum (called a buk) through animal experiments, and submitted a patent application in the U.S. regarding therapy related to the results." No, this doesn't mean you should run out and buy a Korean drum to carry along with your epinephrine but, it will be interesting to see how this story plays out.
Another interesting story that has been floating around for a while is about germs and gut bacteria helping to prevent allergies. A recent article, Worms (And Germs) May Be The Answer to Preventing Allergies is a little easier to wrap your mind around than Korean Drums. Last week scientists revealed that, "Their work showed exactly how worms can modulate the immune system to help combat allergies. The study also uncovered how the gut microbes can contribute to improving the effect of helminths." (A helminth is a parasitic worm, like a tapeworm or a fluke) This study was done on mice and is a long way from being approved for humans.
There has also been some interesting news about asthma in the recent months, particularly about exposure to dogs and farm animals early in life. Fox News Health published an article, Kids Who Have Puppies or Ponies May Have Lower Asthma Risk. The study, which was done in Sweden found that, “Dog exposure during infancy was associated with a 13 percent lower risk of asthma in school-age children, while farm animal exposure was linked to a 52 percent risk reduction.” Our son suffers from asthma on top of his food allergies. I found this particular article interesting because although we do not have a pony (my daughter and I dream of the day we do!) we have always had 2 dogs in the house. So, for us this study sounds great, but does not ring true. Maybe we should have adopted a pony and a few goats?
As allergy parents we are desperate for a cure, for answers, for anything that will keep our child safe. Wouldn't it be nice if one day those living with allergies could just play with their pony, swallow a worm or listen to the beat of a drum? For now we will have to dream of the sweet neighing of ponies and parasites squirming to the soft beat of a buk, while clutching our epinephrine.
There has also been some interesting news about asthma in the recent months, particularly about exposure to dogs and farm animals early in life. Fox News Health published an article, Kids Who Have Puppies or Ponies May Have Lower Asthma Risk. The study, which was done in Sweden found that, “Dog exposure during infancy was associated with a 13 percent lower risk of asthma in school-age children, while farm animal exposure was linked to a 52 percent risk reduction.” Our son suffers from asthma on top of his food allergies. I found this particular article interesting because although we do not have a pony (my daughter and I dream of the day we do!) we have always had 2 dogs in the house. So, for us this study sounds great, but does not ring true. Maybe we should have adopted a pony and a few goats?
As allergy parents we are desperate for a cure, for answers, for anything that will keep our child safe. Wouldn't it be nice if one day those living with allergies could just play with their pony, swallow a worm or listen to the beat of a drum? For now we will have to dream of the sweet neighing of ponies and parasites squirming to the soft beat of a buk, while clutching our epinephrine.
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