- So, what's the relationship between allergies and asthma?

Are they the same, are they cousins, like what's going on?

- They might be cousins if we were talking about the pathophysiology family.

- Pathophysiology.

(upbeat music) - When we look at people with different types of allergies, we use something called the atopic triad.

And so they're basically these three types of hyper allergenic conditions, triad.

One of them is allergic asthma, one is eczema and one is allergic rhinitis.

By allergic rhinitis, I mean hay fever.

I mean the sneezing and runny nose that you would get from seasonal allergies.

And we call it that triad because people who have one often will have another and they often, those three conditions come together.

So anyone who has this condition, they tend to just be hyper allergic.

- So, what's eczema?

Is eczema an allergy, like is that an allergy in itself?

Does it cause allergies?

Like what is the relationship?

- Dang, so... - Did I stump you?

- Hold on, hold on, hold on.

- Stump the doc, I stumped the doc.

- Hold on, stop the press.

- I stumped the doc.

- I'm allowed to take like a minute to think about something.

- No, you're not!

- I'm just supposed to be like an encyclopedia?

- Yeah, you are, you are.

You're supposed to be like, "The answer to that is..." - Eczema can be caused by an allergy.

If you have an allergy to something that's gonna come in contact with your skin, that can cause an eczematous flare.

Like that adjective?

- Eczematous.

- That can cause a flare right.

- Ooh that sounds like a luxury car.

But here's the thing.

A lot of eczema is not caused by allergies themselves.

That's more of a hypersensitivity of your skin.

So what I was saying.

- That gives you like a tip off that you might also be sensitive to other things?

- We don't completely understand everything about why some people have really bad allergies versus others.

We know that there's a genetic link between people with food allergies.

But also children who have eczema, young babies, that's a strong risk factor for food allergies also.

- You say allergic asthma, is there another type of asthma?

- So it really depends on the trigger.

Asthma itself is this condition in which the tubes in your lungs can kind of spasm and they get narrower and then you have this immune response, which causes things like chest tightness, trouble breathing, wheezing, et cetera.

Allergies can induce that, however, other things can as well.

So things like certain respiratory colds can also cause that.

Now allergic asthma is when you get that reaction to an allergen, which we've talked about.

But you can also get it from occupational things.

Some substance you may be working with or around, for example, like cigarette smoke or other chemicals.

Kids can also get it from exercise.

We call that exercise induced asthma.

You can also get it from respiratory colds such as RSV or different types of viruses.

So it all depends on the trigger but oftentimes the symptoms can be very similar.

- So it's tricky for doctors to figure out if it's allergic asthma or asthma asthma?

The intellectual hairs on my back just stood up!

So we actually really take a good history, if and when parents talk to us about symptoms which sound like asthma.

- I keep journals of symptoms and reactions.

I take a lot of pictures, is that weird?

- Not at all.

- Like a white little dry patches and cracks and... - Those are helpful actually.

Those are helpful.

All that stuff is really helpful for doctors to be able to say like, "Is this an allergy or is it a cold, or is it something else, or..." It really helps them kind of narrow it down.

And remember, use your parental instinct because if it's like, you know, a skin condition but you're worried it may turn into anaphylaxis or a severe reaction, you're still gonna see.

- Yes, okay.

- If you see hives you don't know what it is, it's okay to call your doctor.

Breathing issue, even moving away from allergies we're gonna always say to call your doctor.

Because here's the thing, you might hear wheezing and say, "Oh, this is just asthma," but it could actually be an inhaled Lego.

Seen that before, which will also cause wheezing.

So you don't want to sit at home and try to play disease detective if your kid is having trouble breathing, because it could be a range of different things, not just asthma.

- So, asthma, eczema... - Allergic rhinitis.

- Allergic rhinitis.

- You got two out of three of the atopic triad.

And remember, so those things tend to cluster in certain individuals, but also genetics play a part.

It's hard to try to tease this out.

It's confusing for even me, less confusing for allergists.

So when in doubt... - Go to an allergist.

All right, so asthma and eczema, the end.

(laughs loud) - Like we already went there, but let's do it.

Asthma and eczema.

- Close.

(upbeat music)