By Charnicia Huggins
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters Health) -- The holiday season can be hazardous
to more than your waistline -- Christmas decorations and holiday foods can
trigger allergic reactions. Food is the most common culprit, according to
experts at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Maryland.
People allergic to nuts, for example, should be aware that they can turn
up in unexpected places. For example, peanuts are sometimes used as a thickening
agent in soups and gravies.
The best advice, said Dr. Franklin Adkinson, Jr., professor of clinical
immunology at Johns Hopkins, is to be careful. "Don't be afraid to ask if nuts
are lurking in the pie you're eyeing on the table," he said in a Johns Hopkins
statement.
In addition to nuts, a Christmas tree can also be a source of misery for
allergy sufferers. Many people react to the sap of evergreens, said Adkinson,
which causes a rash similar to that caused by poison ivy. "Others suffer from
non-allergic rhinitis, triggered by the smell of tree boughs and needles," he
said.
Furthermore, the scent from the resin of the trees can be irritating to
patients with uncontrolled allergies like hayfever or asthma, said allergy and
asthma specialist, Dr. Steven Kagen of the Wisconsin Kagen Allergy Clinics.
"Almost all patients with asthma can to some degree experience a flare of
breathing difficulties when in a home or apartment with an evergreen tree," he
said. However, this is not a true allergy, Kagen explained to Reuters Health.
"It's a sensitivity. Mold spores living on the trunk of the tree can get into
the air, but it is not enough to induce an allergic reaction or an asthma
attack."
Use an artificial tree in homes where there are individuals who have
asthma, Kagen advised. "Avoidance is the treatment of choice," he added.
