The 2011 American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting

The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting is currently underway in San Francisco. Food allergies are, of course, among the many topics that are being discussed. I have been following the #AAAAI hashtag, @utahallergy, and @allergistmommy (she is a must-follow, by the way) on Twitter and thought I'd share some of the things I learned.

• Sensitization alone is not sufficient for diagnosis of food allergy. Diagnosis should be based on a combination of sensitization (blood tests) and clinical symptoms.
• There is insufficient evidence to recommend dietary modification/restrictions from allergens during pregnancy. In high risk food allergy families, peanut may be a notable exception.
• Peanut and sesame oils may contain trace amounts of protein (depending on how they are processed), so should be avoided.
• Those who tolerate baked milk are more likely to outgrow their allergy, and faster than those who don't.
• Approximately 75% of children with food allergy will tolerate heated egg or milk.
• As moms, we do our very best for our children. Please never blame yourself for child's allergy. INCREDIBLY complicated. (I particularly appreciated this comment since I keep asking myself what I could have done better/different to prevent my child's allergies.)

There are many more on Twitter. I have mentioned only a few to give you an idea of the valuable content you can find there.