Living with Allergies (Teen's Guides) - Softcover

This is an essential teen's guide to living with allergies.Allergies are fairly common, affecting more than 60 million Americans, or about 1 in 5 people. When people experience an allergic reaction to something, the immune system thinks the substance - for instance, food, dust, pollen, or medicines - is harmful to the body. In response, it sends off a false alarm in the form of an allergic reaction, which may occur in the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, skin, or intestinal tract. Milder reactions come in the form of slightly itchy eyes, a runny nose, itchy throat, or other uncomfortable symptoms. Severe allergic reactions, on the other hand, can be life threatening. Although there is no medication that can cure allergies, there are many effective treatments available to control many of them.This accessible new guide provides all the information teens need to understand allergies and their consequences on daily life. Loaded with helpful sidebars, appendixes, and real-life cases, this straightforward resource is sure to be very useful for teens coping with allergies.

Paul M. Ehrlich, M.D., a pediatric allergist, has been in practice in Manhattan for more than 30 years. He is a clinical assistant professor in New York University School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and is on staff at Beth Israel Medical Center. Ehrlich is a fellow with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics. Elizabeth Shimer writes about health for books, magazines, and Web sites. She was lead author on Natural Hormone Solutions and Natural Calm, and has done writing and research for more than 25 other health books. Shimer is a copywriter and copyeditor for the National Women's Health Resource Center. She lives in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.