Severe food allergies do not usually occur alone, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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If you have a severe allergy to one food, you probably have the same issues with other foods, as well as allergies to things like pollen that you inhale. That’s according to Robert Wood, principal investigator on a study that demonstrates the efficacy of a drug called omalizumab in managing these multiple allergies and an allergy expert at Johns Hopkins.

Wood: Virtually all of our patients with food allergy have other forms of allergy and most have allergic rhinitis and asthma. While this drug was only approved for severe asthma it works incredibly well for all levels of asthma so if you have a family where they're on the fence should I start this drug or not to think there's a possibility that they could that one shot that would treat all those things is pretty amazing and truly can treat all of those things.  :25

Wood says omalizumab binds to an antibody our bodies produce when we are allergic to something called IgE. While our bodies make many unique antibody molecules, all of those of the IgE subclass are bound by omalizumab, which is why it can help control the full range of allergic conditions. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.