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During allergy skin tests, your skin is exposed to suspected allergy-causing substances (allergens) and is then observed for signs of an allergic reaction. Along with your medical history, allergy tests may be able to confirm whether or not a particular substance you touch, breathe, or eat is causing symptoms. (Mayo Clinic)
environmental health and frequently lectures on the subject at New Jersey hospitals, elementary schools, high schools, and universities. The impact of environmental chemicals on the human nervous, immune, and endocrine systems is of particular importance to Dr. Cohen, who works with patients in her Princeton office to identify and implement both conventional and alternative therapies. This whole body approach entails examining nutrition, household chemicals, air filtration, sleeping habits, lifestyle, genetics, and habitual stressors. Dr. Cohen believes that genetics and the environment are both significant factors as to whether or not a child suffers from food allergies.
chronic illness into their own hands. According to Dr. Cohen, increased exposure to toxic chemicals within our environment is leading to greater rates of both allergies and chronic illness. Factors like contaminated drinking water, abrasive household cleaning products, air pollution, air fresheners, hairspray, shampoos, and beauty products serve as irritants for a host of allergy-
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
In her recent text, Integrative Environmental Medicine, Dr. Cohen details how families can reduce their habitual exposure to chemicals, many of which, are linked to “everything from type 2 diabetes, obesity, thyroid disease, asthma, allergy, autoimmune disease,” and more. This work is a literary extension of The Smart Human LLC (thesmarthuman.com), a company she founded in 2013 that “seeks to educate, coach, and empower everyday people to make safer, smarter choices for human health.” As indicated on The Smart Human’s website, “There are over 90,000 chemicals currently registered and available for commercial use in the United States … to make all kinds of things like plastics, cosmetics, food additives and preservatives, computers, fabrics, toys, furniture, cars, etc. Known as ‘EDCs,’ these endocrine disrupting chemicals can antagonize the body’s entire system through allergies, sleep disruption, hormone imbalance, sugar regulation, anxiety, and inflammation. “ Slated to be released this year, Dr. Cohen’s new book, Non-Toxic: Guide to Living Healthy in a Chemical World, seeks to educate the general public on how they can take matters related to allergies and
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PRINCETON MAGAZINE SPRING 2020
related illnesses. One simple way to improve these matters is to remove synthetic/chemical products from the home. Also helpful are changing the filters on your HVAC system regularly and vacuuming with a HEPA filter vacuum to remove dust and pesticides from the furniture. So, what role does geography play in the rise of childhood allergies? While peanut and shellfish allergies are generally prevalent everywhere,
children in urban areas are increasingly challenged by environmental factors related to high population densities, such as diesel exhaust, tobacco smoke, ozone, and NO2 (a gaseous air pollutant composed of nitrogen and oxygen). The article “Geographic Variability of Childhood Food Allergy in the United States,” published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics (Volume 51, Issue 9), notes that repeated exposure to these conditions increases the risk of developing asthma and allergies. According to NJ.gov, “All of New Jersey’s 8 million residents are breathing in unhealthy amounts of ozone pollution at some point during the summer. Approximately 620,000 N.J. residents have been diagnosed with asthma, which can make them more sensitive to air pollution. In general, children and the elderly are more sensitive to air pollution.” The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) offers programs aimed at cleaningup the state’s air. It is recommended that families and sensitive groups monitor air pollution levels in their town by checking the Air Quality Index (AQI ) or calling 800.782.0160. The five pollutants used in the AQI are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, groundlevel ozone, particulates, and sulfur dioxide. The American Lung Association in New Jersey (lung.org) actively works to protect the quality of the air that New Jersey residents breathe. This includes keeping children off tobacco, helping people to quit smoking, and making strides to reduce the concentration of soot and general pollution in our backyards. As recently as 2017, PSEG closed its two coal-burning power plants in New Jersey. The Hamilton and Jersey City plants were sold to a Chicago-based developer with the intention of transforming the sprawling industrial sites into “state-of-the-art industrial parks to serve the growing need for regional warehouse-distribution hubs in central and Northern New Jersey.” (“PSEG Sells Defunct Coal Plants in Jersey City and Hamilton for Redevelopment,” NJspotlight.com). PSEG has also sold its interest in two coal-fired plants in Pennsylvania and appears to be moving to be moving towards cleaner energy initiatives, such as off-shore wind and solar energy. Orsted, the world leader in offshore wind development (orsted.com/en), is currently working with PSEG to operate New Jersey’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm known as Ocean Wind (oceanwind. com). Located 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, Ocean Wind is intended to produce 1,100MW of electricity and reliable energy and is expected to be fully operational by 2024. Although food and environmental allergies are more prevalent, families should take heart that food labels are becoming more transparent, and that access to public information on safety precautions, air quality and water alerts, medical services, and allergen-free options is finally becoming mainstream. Epinephrine auto-injector. Epinephrine is a life-saving drug that treats the symptoms of a severe allergic reaction by stopping the airway from swelling. (healthychildren.org)