Pediatric allergology in Austria

Abstract

The nature of the fern allergens identi®ed needs to be elucidated. IgE antibodies in our patient did not seem to be directed against cross-reacting carbohydrate determinants on glycoproteins that can be commonly found in pollens and foods and also in Ficus benjamina (®g) leaf extract (unpublished observations).Diagnosis of fern allergy is simple: the most important step is to consider it. As no commercial extracts are available, testing should be performed with fresh fern leaves by the prick-to-prick method. Therapy is simple and consists of removal of all ferns, as there seems to be cross-reactivity between different fern species (2).