Episode 29: Exposures to chemicals in our environment and the allergy / eczema epidemic

What do microplastics, dishwasher rinse-aid, air pollution and processed foods have to do with eczema? Join us as we explore why allergic diseases were rare for our grandparents but now affect two billion people worldwide.   Explaining the link is our guest, Professor Cezmi Akdis. He is a global leader in immunology, specializing in allergic diseases, editor-in-chief of Allergy, and a Professor at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.  (If you like our podcast consider supporting it with a tax deductible donation.) Read the transcript.

Research discussed in this podcast:

Scrubbing away our collective health

Does the epithelial barrier hypothesis explain the increase in allergy, autoimmunity and other chronic conditions?

Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

Epithelial barrier hypothesis: Effect of the external exposome on the microbiome and epithelial barriers in allergic disease 

The Baby and the Biome (Avery, 2022).

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of itch and pain in atopic dermatitis and implications for novel therapeutics

Cumulative Use of Strong Anticholinergics and Incident Dementia

Living with Itch - A Patient's Guide