WVIZ/PBS ideastream®: Attacking Allergies
Watch "Attacking Allergies" on-demand.
An estimated one in five Americans suffers from some type of allergy. Pollen, mold, dust, certain foods and animals cause misery for millions. For some unfortunate few, peanuts or bee stings can be the kiss of death.
Starting in mid-June, ideastream launches Attacking Allergies - multiple media coverage to explain what happens when the body’s immune system goes awry… why allergies are on the rise… and what you need to know about one of our nation’s most chronic health problems.
Types of common allergies:
Food: Milk, soy, wheat, shellfish, fish, peanut, treenut, egg
Insect: Honeybees, yellow jackets, hornets, wasps, fire ants
Drug: Penicillin, sulfa, barbiturates, anti-convulsants, insulin, iodine
Airborne: Dust mites, mold, cockroaches, pollen, ragweed, pet dander
Dust Mite Facts:
• Dust mites feed off dead skin cells. On average, one human is able to feed 1.5 million dust mites per year just through shed skin.
• Within 2 years 10% of the weight of your pillow is probably a mixture of dead and alive dust mites.
• Your mattress holds as many as 10 million dead and alive dust mites.
• About 80 percent of the material seen floating in a sunbeam is actually skin flakes.
Dust consists of:
incinerator and cigarette ash, combustion products, fibers: wool, cotton, paper and silk, fingernail filings, food crumbs, glass particles, glue, graphite, human and animal hair, insect fragments, oil soot, paint chips, plant parts, pollen, polymer foam particles, salt and sugar crystals, human and animal skin scales, soil and fungal spores, stone particles, tobacco, wood shavings
Dust Mite Resources:
American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Environmental Health and Safety Online
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Funding
Funding for the coverage of health topics comes from the Dr. Donald J. Goodman and Ruth Weber Goodman Philanthropic Fund of The Cleveland Foundation; The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation; Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation; The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation; The McGregor Foundation; The Saint Luke’s Foundation; The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland; The Woodruff Foundation; and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Ohio.
Resources
Schedule
- Watch on WVIZ/PBS
- Friday, June 25 at 8:30 PM
Feagler & Friends: Host Dick Feagler interviews Dr. Mirie Hosler, an allergist at University Hospitals, who talks about why allergies are on the rise and what people can do to keep their own allergies at bay. - Wednesday, June 30 at 8:00 PM
Attacking Allergies: This program shares stories from a handful of Northeast Ohioans battling different kinds of allergies, it also examines what happens to your body during an allergic reaction, and looks at common forms of treatment as well as some recent advancements. - Listen to 90.3 WCPN
- In-Depth Coverage on Morning Edition (6-9 AM)
- Friday, June 18
Q&A: Why allergies are a chronic health problem affecting more and more Americans. - Monday, June 21
Itchy eyes, runny noses, uncontrollable sneezes, wheezing lungs – those are a few of the symptoms an estimated 35-million Americans contend with because of seasonal allergies. But what happens inside the body during a reaction? ideastream Health Reporter Gretchen Cuda explains. - Monday, June 21
Audio Postcard: 27 year-old Shawn Pawlowski farms over one hundred acres of land a year despite chronic ragweed allergies that can wreak havoc on his work if left untreated. - Wednesday, June 23
Ragweed, grass and pollen are common causes of allergies outdoors, but many things indoors too can cause allergic reactions that sufferers aren’t even aware of. ideastream Health Reporter Gretchen Cuda has the story. - Wednesday, June 23
Audio Postcard: Eight year-old peanut allergy sufferer Dominic Flasco and his mother Staci in Stow talk about how Dominic’s peanut allergy affects their day to day routine. - Thursday, June 24
Q&A: ideastream’s Eric Wellman interviews Dr. Tcheurekdjian from the Allergy and Immunology Associates in South Euclid, on how to prevent allergies and examine why they are on the rise. - Thursday, June 24
Audio Postcard: Five year-old Emma Smith and her mother Evelyn Fuller talk about giving away the family cat because of Emma’s cat allergies. - Tuesday, June 29
Most allergy sufferers manage their symptoms with medications and accept the runny noses, puffy eyes, itchy throat and rashes as part of life. However some doctors are prescribing a new way to stop allergies that is as simple as a few drops under the tongue. Health Reporter Gretchen Cuda tells us how. - The Sound of Ideas (Weekdays at 9AM)
- Tuesday, June 22
host Dan Moulthrop talks with local doctors on the front lines of attacking allergies to understand the good, the bad and the ugly about allergies - what they do in our bodies and how to keep them at bay.
View the Program
Play "Introduction & Faces of Allergies"
Meet various people from Northeast Ohio affected by different types of allergies.
Play "Anatomy of an Allergic Reaction"
Itchy eyes, runny noses, uncontrollable sneezes, and wheezing lungs are some of the symptoms of allergies, but what is happening inside the body during an allergic reaction? This segment explains and also describes various microscopic allergens.
Play "Diagnosis & Treatment"
This segment explains how skin prick testing is used to identify specific allergens which wreak havoc for patients and how testing results pave the way for some patients to receive allergy shots. Tongue drop therapy is highlighted as an alternative to shots, as well as various lifestyle adjustments.
Play "Diagnosis and Food Allergies"
Food allergies are on the rise in this country, but doctors can't pinpoint exactly why. In addition, there is no guaranteed treatment - other than diligent avoidance - making food allergies increasingly difficult for families to manage.
Health Calendar
