Allergy Specialist
Published: Apr. 29, 2024

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Allergy Resource Center

You’re not alone, allergies are not uncommon and as many as 15% of the people in the U.S. (roughly 50 million) have allergies. We’ve put together this Allergy Resource Center as an easy access collection of documents, videos, common questions and websites which have proven beneficial to our patients in managing allergies through the years.  If you have any questions please give us a call or ask an allergist via our online form.

Dr. Jonathan Malka Is the Director of Allergy/Asthma & Immunology at Pediatric Associates.  Dr. Malka and his team offer skin testing for foods and environmental allergens, desensitization and lung function testing, and measurement of allergic airway inflammation (Exhaled nitric oxide).  See below for some additional resources relating to allergies.  For more information about Dr. Malka, please click here.

Food Allergy Research & Education

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Pollen Forecast

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Allergy & Asthma Network

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Ask the Allergist

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Allergy FAQs Answered

Should pregnant women stop eating nuts? 

There is ongoing debate as to whether eating peanuts and tree nuts during pregancy affect the child's risk of developing allergic disease.  Data is limited, but some studies suggest that peanut and tree nut intake may promote immunotolerance.  In a recent study by Maslova et. al. J Allergy Clin Immunology, an assessment of 61,908 pregnant women's intake of peanut and tree nuts was conducted.  Eating nuts at least once weekly during pregnancy was associated with a reduced rate of allergic disease in offspring.  In conclusion, national birth studies finds no evidence that eliminating maternal peanuts or tree nuts consumption during pregnancy reduces allergic disease risk in children.  To the contrary, risk of asthma and other allergic diseases may be lower in children whose mother ate nuts (peanut and tree nuts) during gestation.  So for now, I wouldn't recommend changing your diet while pregnant unless further studies provide different findings.

At what age is my child ready to carry the EpiPen by himself?

Most pediatric allergists expect that by age 12 to 14 years, their patients should begin to share responsibilities with adults for anaphylaxis recognition and epinephrine auto-injector use; however, they individualized the timing based on assessment of patient readiness factors is to be considered.

Timing the transfer of responsibilities for anaphylaxis recognition and use of an epinephrine auto-injector from adults to children and teenagers: pediatric allergists' perspective. Elinor Simons, MD, MSc, Scott H. Sicherer, MD, F. Estelle R. Simons, MD. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. <a href="http://www.annallergy.org/issue/S1081-1206(12)X0004-8" target="_blank">Volume 108, Issue 5</a> , Pages 321-325, May 2012 

Is it possible for a child to outgrow nuts and peanut allergies?

We estimate that 20% of patients with peanut allergy will  outgrow it, and approximately 9% of the patients will outgrow their tree nut allergy.

Clin Exp Allergy. 2010 Sep; 40 (9): 1303-11. Epub 2010 Jul 20. How do we know when peanut and tree nut allergy have resolved, and how do we keep it resolved? <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Byrne%20AM%5BAuthor%5D" target="_blank">Byrne AM</a>, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Malka+J%5BAuthor%5D" target="_blank">Malka J</a>, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Burks+AW%5BAuthor%5D" target="_blank">Burks AW</a>, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Fleischer%20DM%5BAuthor%5D" target="_blank">Fleischer DM.</a>

After a first blood allergy test, when is recommended to re test? 

We recommend blood test once per year, the idea of the blood test is to follow the allergy over time and evaluate when if possible the food can be re-introduced into the patient’s diet.</p>

Nutr Res. 2011 Jan; 31(1):61-75.Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: summary of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel report. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Boyce%20JA%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=21310308" target="_blank">Boyce JA</a>, et al.

Does longer exclusive breastfeeding reduce the risk of asthma? 

Yes, in a recent study of over 1,000 children showed that exclusive breastfeeding for a mean of 4 months led to a lower incidence of wheezing and respiratory symptoms for the first 4 years of life, with the most significant effect occurring in the first 2 years of life.</p>

Sonnenschein-van der Voort AM, Jaddoe VW et al. Duration and exclusiveness of breast feeding and childhood asthma-related symptoms. Eur Respir J. 2012:39;81-89

How safe is allergy medicine, like Claritin, long term for kids?

Safe.

My 14 year old son wakes up sometimes sneezing and I don't know why.  He is lactose intolerant.  If he is allergic, which he probably is, can he acquire asthma in the future?

First of all, an intolerance to milk doesn't necessarily mean that one is allergic.  If one has allergies, there is a greater predisposition for asthma; one would look for nighttime cough, prolonged cough with viral illness or cough with exercise.

Dr. Malka, I wake up in the middle of the night sneezing uncontrollably.  It takes me several minutes to stop. The same thing happens when I am driving at times.  What could it be?

Sneezing can be triggered by many causes such as allergens, temperature changes, or smells.  The best way to determine the cause of sneezing is a proper allergy evaluation.

ALLERGY RESOURCE VIDEOS

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“My son has allergies and asthma. Knowing that they are always available makes me feel secure my child will be ok.”

- Ericka T.

Ask the Allergy Specialist

Do you have a question about managing allergies? We’re glad to help. Submit your question below and one of our physicians who specializes in allergies will be happy to answer. Please allow us a little time to respond as we want to make sure to get you the best answer, directly from an allergist. If you are having a life threatening emergency please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

You can also call the Pediatric Associates Department of Allergy and Immunology directly at (954) 965-7400.

PA - Ask the Allergy Specialist