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This Spring Break Free
In a special report titled Why You Should Sweat Climate Change, USA Today explores how climate change is affecting Americans, citing for example that more children are getting asthma and allergies. In an interview with TIME Magazine last spring, Dr. Alvin Sanico discussed that because of warmer weather through winter, pollen counts started going up much earlier and caught a lot of people by surprise. You can track pollen counts in your area by using the widget on the right from pollen.com. This spring, get expert help and break free from asthma, sinus and allergy problems.


Ford Focuses on Allergy with Fusion of Health and Technology
The automaker Ford has developed a way for drivers to check pollen counts while on the go. Drivers of vehicles equipped with the Ford SYNC AppLink can use voice commands to access information. The data is aggregated by the Allergy Alert app, which takes into account the vehicle's location provided by a GPS receiver. Read more details in the announcement from Ford.

100 Most Challenging Places for Asthma and Allergies
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) cites Baltimore Maryland as one of the most challenging places to live for people with asthma or allergies. Baltimore ranks 64th in the 2012 list of Asthma Capitals and 84th in the 2012 list of Allergy Capitals. The ASAP@GBMC has teamed with the AAFA Maryland-DC Chapter and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology to provide free asthma screening and public education on how to reduce, recognize and respond to asthma attacks. Although asthma and allergies can be challenging conditions, they can certainly be controlled with the right approach.

An Old Dog Tale That Keeps Going
The Washington Post published a story headlined "Hypoallergenic pets may be only a myth based on a study of 60 dog breeds." Researchers in Detroit found that the homes with so-called hypoallergenic dogs actually did not have lower levels of dog allergens compared to those with other breeds. You can read more about common misconceptions about canine (and cat) allergens in a blog and an interview with the Baltimore Sun by Dr. Sanico. The good news is that pets could continue to provide joyful companionship instead of consternation, for those who choose to keep them, if successful strategies are applied.


Dr. Sanico has been selected as a Top Doctor in a list published by the US News & World Report based on nominations submitted by other doctors and reviewed by the physician-led research team of Castle Connolly. Each year, they survey thousands of physicians and other healthcare professionals and ask them to identify excellent doctors in every specialty in their region and throughout the nation.