The theme for World Allergy Week 2022 (5 to 11 June) is respiratory allergic diseases, including asthma. The importance of the connection between allergic airway diseases and asthma is reflected in the ASCIA 2022 Conference program and ASCIA online resources:  

• The ASCIA 2022 Conference program features a Challenging Asthma Symposium as well as a Pollen Allergy Symposium.  Discounted earlybird registration and abstract submission close on 4 July 2022.
• ASCIA allergic rhinitis e-training for health professionals has recently been updated to include information about chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and is available at https://etraininghp.ascia.org.au/
• ASCIA has recently developed a CRSwNP Position Paper which is available at www.allergy.org.au/hp/papers/crswnp
• The ASCIA website includes respiratory allergy resources www.allergy.org.au/allergic-rhinitis 

World Allergy Week is a global campaign of the World Allergy Organisation (WAO), which aims to raise awareness of the impact of allergic diseases in our communities. 

WAO will host its official World Allergy Week 2022 webinar on Thursday 9 June, beginning at 8:00 am US Eastern Daylight Time. (Click here to search for your corresponding time zone.) Duration: approximately 90 minutes - Click here to register. 

The connection between asthma and allergic airway diseases is important, and it is known that asthma and allergies in the upper airways frequently co-exist. This can aggravate breathing difficulty, wheezing, cough, and other respiratory problems. Treating asthma and upper airway allergies together helps improve both problems. Integrated diagnostic and therapeutic approaches become even more important with severe and difficult-to-control disease. Fortunately, there are treatment options and patient education tools that can help to address such challenges.

This news item was issued on 8 June 2022 by Jill Smith, CEO of ASCIA, the peak professional body for clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.