Correction WAS: On April 19, 2007, Dr. Larry L. Needham, Chief, Or...

[Guest guest]

Tom wrote: " ... <snip> ... I can recall my doctor telling my mom that

my sister, who had allergies, would grow out of them as she grew older

because this was what normally happens with allergies. You grow out of

all but the most severe as you get older. Seldom do you acquire them.

Seldom do they get worse ... <snip> ... "

This misperception must be corrected.

Allergies are T-cell mutations and as such, you cannot outgrow them.

Allergies can, however, go into remission and sometimes they do. This

does not mean you are no longer allergic; it means you are in remission

and not reacting as would be expected because of the remission.

Some allergies worsen with subsequent exposure and this is generally

true of such allergies as peanut allergies and shellfish allergies

which can eventually become anaphylactic level allergies.

Just as autism is not particularly well understood in the '00s,

allergies were not particularly well understood until just recently,

and even now, there are still many medical practitioners who are not up-

to-date on the facts regarding allergies.

So while many think they have outgrown their allergies, they will find

that at the next 'change' in life, these same allergies will resurface

as they come out of remission.

Raven

Co-Administrator