Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA)
ASCIA is the most authoritative allergy and immunology organisation in Australia. Please take time to navigate through ASCIA’s site as there is a wealth of great information. ASCIA is affiliated with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and is very active in allergy education. If you are looking for a consultant allergist or immunologist then there is a state-by-state list of members and contact details for you.
Asthma South Australia
A very informative site and user-friendly.
Anaphylaxis Australia
This is an award-winning Australian site devoted to the support of severely allergic children. If your child is at risk of anaphylaxis (severe allergy) to a food or food ingredient, then this is the site to visit – often! There is a huge amount of information on food ingredients, recipes and food/product alerts. The site is beautifully presented, and the cartoon characters will appeal to parents and children alike. If your child is allergic to peanuts or egg or any of a host of other foods, then a weekly trip to this site should be part of your routine.
Allergy and Asthma Network – Mothers of Asthmatics Inc
This is one of the best consumer organisations devoted to allergy and asthma. Although North American based, there is a wealth of useful information for anyone with allergies and asthma. There is an up-to-date news section, tips for better control of allergy and asthma, and a market place where excellent pamphlets, books and even videos can be purchased. I also recomend this site to schools. You can become a member which entitles you to regular newsletters.
The Food Allergy Network
A terrific site for people with anaphylaxis (severe allergy with swelling or collapse) to foods such as nuts, milk or egg, and so on. There is a regular newsletter which is worth a subscription. Especially good for parents as it has recipes which avoid different allergens. Also excellent for school teachers and in fact I think every school should subscribe to this newsletter and it should be circulated to each teacher.
Asthma Victoria
A good local resource.
Global Initiative for Asthma
The National Institutes of Health in the USA and the World Health Organisation sponsored this initiative. It is a comprehensive document on most aspects of asthma. Some medical knowledge might be helpful and Australian readers would do well to remember that local recommendations may differ slightly. Nevertheless, the principles of asthma treatment as outlined in this site are excellent.
Quackwatch
There is a lot information available on “new-age” or so-called “holistic” medicine. Some of these treatments and tests are dubious. This site discusses the evidence for and against many of these procedures. It makes interesting reading. And some of the material is relevant to allergy and asthma.
I should add that I do not believe that because a treatment is “alternative” or outside mainstream medicine, it is bad. Quite the opposite. One of my favourite books is an old text on Tibetan Buddhist Medicine. I’ve learnt a lot about the “whole person” (rather than diseases) from this book. But, for specific interventions, evidence-based medicine is the gold standard.
Medical Journal of Australia
The MJA is an excellent general medical journal and should be of particular interest to the general public as well as health practitioners. Some articles (not enough!) are available on-line. In addition, this site offers valuable links to health services in Australia and is a good resource.
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
The American Academy is major and authoritative source of allergy and asthma information. It contains a wealth of reliable and up-to-date information.
National Asthma Council Australia
The National Asthma Council in Australia arose out of the National Asthma Campaign which was a shared initiative of The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Asthma Foundations. This site provides other useful links to health services and information in Australia.
Superb comprehensive allergy site edited by Dr Ves Dimov from Chicago
Edited by Melissa Sweet, lots of good stuff on health issues and policy in Australia
For emergency physicians and for anyone else interested. Huge amount of data. And often fun reading. There is no doubt this is one of the best medical blogs available.
Excellent resource from an allergy group in New York
