A member asked:

Do people in the same family suffer from an immune disorder such as allergies, asthma, or arthritis?

4 doctors weighed in across 2 answers

It is possible: Allergic diseases can "travel" in families however, parents don't pass on specific allergies or specific diseases. For example, a parent would not pass on their cat allergy to their child and if a parent has allergic rhinitis it does not mean the child necessarily will.

Answered 10/3/2016

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Dr. Gary Steven answered

Specializes in Pediatric Allergy and Asthma

Typically: Tendencies toward allergies and other immunologic diseases definitely run in families, but there's a lot of variation. Allergic parents won't necessarily have allergic kids (70% risk if both parents are allergic), and non allergic parents might have allergic kids. Only an allergic tendency, not necessarily specific allergies, is passed on; kids might not have the same allergies as their parents.

Answered 3/26/2013

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