New studies point to the environment as having a larger role in the epidemic growth of allergies

Ft. Lauderdale veterinarian Al Brunz faced losing the occupation he loved as wheezing episodes filled his days. A visit with an allergist showed him what he suspected. “Animals are my No. 1 allergy—I’m allergic to cats,” he said.

The incidence of allergies is rising quickly, and scientists use words like “epidemic” to describe the growth. Eight percent of children age 6 or younger have some type of food allergy, while only 1 to 2% of adults are affected, the National Institutes of Health reports.

Other allergic conditions are on the rise: Eczema --itchy allergic skin rash- is the most common skin condition in children younger than 11. Incidence has increased from 3% in the 1960’s to 10% in the 1990’s, according to the NIHs.

The allergic response remains full of paradox. Filth can cause disease and asthma attacks. Yet, new studies suggest clean living probably unleashes allergies. The thinking is that clean homes, food, and water have deprived us of the constant exposure to germs and parasites that our ancestors survived. Dr. Marc Rothenberg, chief of Allergy and Clinical Immunology for the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital refers to it as the immune system’s “delinquency problem.” He states that “The immune system has too much free time, and it is getting into things that it shouldn’t.”

Other theories abound including: the rise of allergy, asthma and autoimmune diseases, as whooping cough and measles diminished; childhood vaccines; antibiotic use in babies; environmental pollutants; and, finally, Western diets that include trans-fats. For Al Brunz, who loves jogging almost as much as animals, running through downtown Ft. Lauderdale, with all of its traffic and trucks, set off his wheezing. He suspects truck and car exhaust makes his animal allergy worse.

There is mounting evidence that immunotherapy -- allergy shots -- work well for treating inhaled allergies and insect-venom allergies, and these shots can prevent new allergies and asthma, especially in children. For Al Brunz, allergy shots have freed him to return to the things he loves – jogging, yard work, and most of all, animals. Immunotherapy – allergy shots – works by exposing an allergic person to progressively greater doses of the substance they are allergic to over a period of years. That is basically a cure for many people, said Ft. Lauderdale allergist Dr. Linda Cox. “Medications work, but when you stop the meds, the allergies come back, she said. “Immunotherapy is the only intervention that can modify the allergic disease.” (Summarized from SUN-SENTINEL, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Feb. 2003, by Health Correspondent, Stacey Singer)