When it comes to keeping kids with food allergies safe at school, school nurses are often the quiet heroes behind the scenes. From managing allergy action plans and emergency responses to training teachers and organizing care for hundreds of students, their role is essential, but often misunderstood.

Kortney and Dr. Payel Gupta sit down with Elizabeth Elliott, a school nurse and President of the Maryland Association of School Health Nurses. Liz shares what really happens inside the health room and how school nurses coordinate care for students with food allergies and asthma. Plus, why communication between families and school staff is key to keeping kids safe.

After this episode, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for your school nurse and a better understanding of how to partner with them to make every school day safer for kids with allergies.

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Genentech for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Mucus plugging is a challenge in asthma care. It’s thick, sticky mucus that blocks the airways and doesn’t respond to regular inhalers. Even when inflammation improves, these plugs can lower lung function, limit how well medicine works, and make asthma harder to control.

In this episode, we break down the study: “Effect of Dupilumab on Mucus Burden in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Asthma,” published October 28, 2025. The analysis looks at whether dupilumab (Dupixent), a biologic that blocks IL-4 and IL-13, can lower mucus burden and improve lung function, especially in people who start with a high “mucus plug score.”

📌INFOGRAPHIC to follow along 

RESOURCES:

What is asthma?

What is type 2 inflammation?

When Asthma Is More Than Just Asthma: Type 2 Inflammation

More about dupilumab (Dupixent)

The Itch Review, hosted by Dr. Gupta, Kortney, and Dr. Blaiss, explores allergy and immunology studies, breaking down complex research in conversations accessible to clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Each episode provides key insights from journal articles and includes a one-page infographic in the show notes for easy reference.

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A special collaboration with the American Thoracic Society. 

This podcast was made in partnership with Allergy & Asthma Network.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Living with constant congestion, facial pressure, or a loss of smell can make daily life exhausting. For many people, these symptoms are more than just allergies or a lingering cold. They may be signs of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).

Dr. Rohit Katial joins Kortney and Dr. G to unpack what CRSwNP really is, how it develops, and why type 2 inflammation plays such a key role. Together, they explain what’s happening inside the sinuses, what symptoms to look for, and when it’s time to see a specialist.

More episodes to support CRSwNP

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to AstraZeneca for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Navigating food allergies is tough enough, but adding family dynamics to the mix can make things even more complicated. When loved ones don’t understand you or your child’s allergies or dismiss the rules meant to keep them safe, it can lead to conflict, hurt feelings, and stress for everyone involved.

Kortney and Dr. Payel Gupta sit down with psychologist Dr. Amanda Whitehouse to talk about how families can find common ground when emotions run high. Together, they unpack what it means to stay regulated in difficult conversations, how to set healthy boundaries with family members, and why understanding different coping styles can help prevent conflict before it starts.

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Genentech for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

For decades, allergists have focused on blocking what happens outside the mast cell: histamine, IgE, and interleukins. But now, there’s a new way to stop allergic inflammation before it even starts: by targeting what happens inside the cell with BTK Inhibitors.

Dr. Payel Gupta and Kortney are joined by Dr. Matthew Giannetti to unpack what BTK actually does and why inhibiting it represents an exciting breakthrough in allergy and immunology. Together, they explore how BTK inhibitors work, why this inside-the-cell approach is different from anything before, and what it could mean for people living with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU).

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Novartis for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Seeing your allergist on a screen instead of in the office might feel strange at first, but for many people with allergies, telehealth isn’t just convenient.  it’s effective.

In this episode, we sit down with telemedicine pioneer Dr. Jay Portnoy to explore how virtual allergy care works, what it can and can’t do, and how it’s helping patients get the care they need without the wait or the long drive.

Dr. Portnoy shares over two decades of experience leading allergy telemedicine programs in rural areas and explains how remote care has grown from a fringe idea into a standard part of allergy care. He and Dr. G also discuss the benefits for both patients and clinicians.

So how do you know when telehealth is enough and when it’s not?

What we cover in our episode about virtual allergy care and telemedicine:

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Genentech for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Multiple food allergies are a daily stressor for millions of families. From avoiding social events to fearing accidental exposures, it can feel like living in a constant state of alert. Until recently, there were no FDA-approved treatments that targeted more than one allergen at a time.

In this episode, we break down the study: “Omalizumab for the Treatment of Multiple Food Allergies,” published in 2024 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Known as the OUtMATCH trial, it’s the first large-scale study to show that omalizumab (Xolair), a biologic already used for asthma and hives, may help people with multiple food allergies by raising the threshold for reactions.

We explain how omalizumab works by blocking IgE, the antibody that triggers allergic reactions, and how the study measured changes in reaction thresholds (the amount of an allergen a person can ingest before reacting). We also explore the trial design, results, safety profile, and what all of this means for the day-to-day management of food allergies.

📌 INFOGRAPHIC to follow along 

The Itch Review, hosted by Dr. Gupta, Kortney, and Dr. Blaiss, explores allergy and immunology studies, breaking down complex research in conversations accessible to clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Each episode provides key insights from journal articles and includes a one-page infographic in the show notes for easy reference.

___

Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Genentech for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

When people get hives or swelling, they often think it’s caused by an allergy. But in the case of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), the culprit is often your own immune system. CSU isn’t your typical allergic reaction, instead, it’s frequently an autoimmune condition, where the immune system misfires and activates mast cells without any external trigger.

In this episode, Dr. Payel Gupta and Kortney unpack what it means for CSU to be autoimmune and autoallergic. They explain how IgE and IgG antibodies can trigger histamine release, leading to hives and swelling. You’ll also learn why allergy testing isn’t useful for diagnosing CSU, and how tests like IgG food sensitivity panels can do more harm than good by leading to unnecessary food avoidance and confusion.

What we cover in our episode about autoimmune CSU and chronic hives:

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Novartis for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Indolent Systemic Mastocytosis (ISM) is a rare but often underrecognized clonal mast cell disorder. From random hives to gut pain and brain fog, ISM can feel like a medical mystery.

We continue our review of “Management of indolent mastocytosis and mast cell activation syndrome - A clinical yardstick,” published in June 2025 in The Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. This is Part 2 of our discussion, with a focus on indolent systemic mastocytosis. We look at what causes it, how it’s diagnosed, and how to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.

In this episode, we break down this complex mast cell disease and how doctors use baseline serum tryptase, KIT D816V testing, and HaT screening to find answers. Plus, we explain how treatments like antihistamines, mast cell stabilizers, and avapritinib can help people live better with ISM.

📌 INFOGRAPHIC to follow along

The Itch Review, hosted by Dr. Gupta, Kortney, and Dr. Blaiss, explores allergy and immunology studies, breaking down complex research in conversations accessible to clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Each episode provides key insights from journal articles and includes a one-page infographic in the show notes for easy reference.

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Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Blueprint Medicines for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.

Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) is a confusing and often misunderstood condition. If you’ve ever wondered about MCAS symptoms, serum tryptase testing, or how treatments like antihistamines, sodium cromolyn, and even omalizumab fit in, this episode is here to help.

We review the findings from “Management of indolent mastocytosis and mast cell activation syndrome - A clinical yardstick,” published in June 2025 in The Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Because the paper covers both diseases, we’ve split it into two parts. This episode focuses on mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).

GET THE INFOGRAPHIC - summary of this episode

The Itch Review, hosted by Dr. Gupta, Kortney, and Dr. Blaiss, explores allergy and immunology studies, breaking down complex research in conversations accessible to clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Each episode provides key insights from journal articles and includes a one-page infographic in the show notes for easy reference.

Made in partnership with The Allergy & Asthma Network.

Thanks to Blueprint Medicines for sponsoring today’s episode. 

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider for any medical concerns.