Why Are Allergies on the Rise?

Jared Novack won’t be rolling down any grassy hills this summer. Or this fall, winter or spring. Such contact with the green blades could leave him gasping for breath, eyes swollen, nose clogged, red welts on any part of his skin that touched the grass.






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Jared, 9, is allergic to grass, pollen, dust, mold, peanuts and tree nuts. His mother travels with an “epi pen” in her purse and a ready supply of Benadryl in case he comes in contact with any of his allergy triggers. And both she and her son are counting down the days until Jared’s yearlong allergy shot treatment finishes.


“He’s a trouper,” says his mom, Valerie Novack.


Rise in Allergies
Think you’ve been hearing more about kids with allergies lately? It’s no illusion; there really are more allergies among children today, with the overall incidence – whether of the classic runny-nose, itchy eyes rhinitis kind or of food allergies – having risen significantly in the past 20 years.


“Allergies are definitely more prevalent today,” confirms Marc Rothenberg, M.D., Ph.D., section chief of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati. In fact, the past five decades have seen tremendous growth in the incidence of all immune-based diseases, with allergies and asthma very much “the tip of the iceberg,” Dr. Rothenberg says.


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