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Skin scratch testing reveals a false-positive peanut allergy

DEAR DR. ROACH: I recently underwent skin scratch testing for food allergies. I was shocked that among the positive findings was peanuts. I have eaten peanuts all of my life (I’m 55) and have never had any type of reaction to peanuts. I was given an EpiPen and was told to avoid peanuts. The same skin testing results were confirmed by a second allergist. I’m afraid that avoiding peanuts will sensitize me to them when I feel that I’m currently desensitized. I do have chronic inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis, so I don’t want to ingest something that may cause an ...

Pope vs. president is a fight everyone loses

President Trump and Pope Leo are in a war of words right now — when they should be allies, not enemies. Both want peace, but the president intends to get it by winning a war against Iran, while the pope thinks the war isn’t worth fighting. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said Sunday on his Truth social-media network, in a post blasting the pontiff as “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.” With midterm elections just seven months away, Catholic voters suddenly find themselves in the crossfire between the ...

Dear Annie: How to handle in-laws hurling insults

Dear Annie: I have been married for 12 years to a good man whom I love very much, but I dread nearly every holiday, birthday dinner and casual Sunday visit with his family. On the surface, my in-laws are charming, polished and the sort of people everyone else describes as “so nice.” But behind that polished exterior is a steady drip of cutting remarks aimed almost entirely at me. My mother-in-law has a talent for delivering insults with a smile. She will look at a meal I brought and say, “Well, that’s certainly ... rustic,” or ask whether I am “still doing that little job ...

Borderline-diabetic browses other options for drinking caffeine

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 57 years old and love Pepsi, Coke, and unsweetened iced tea for the caffeine, which greatly improves my mood and gives me more energy. Unfortunately, I am borderline diabetic and get horrible kidney stones. I need a caffeine replacement source. Drinking more water does not do the trick. I gag trying to drink coffee. I have no interest in gas-station energy drinks or shots. Chocolate has too much sugar. Anything with sucralose or artificial sweeteners leaves a horrible aftertaste. I’ve gone months without caffeine, and I feel rundown. Are there any natural ...

San Francisco’s latest radical experiment

San Francisco, a city long associated with exotic ideas, has been experimenting with a radical notion — cracking down on car thieves. Unlike some of the city’s other adventures, this one is actually working out. Car break-ins are down 85% from 2023, and are down 50% the first three months of 2026, compared to the first three months of 2025. This is good news for residents and tourists, and bad news for auto repair shops that did a brisk business in new car windows. Smash-and-grab break-ins were such an ingrained part of San Francisco life that an argot grew up around ...

Why Democrats should shun Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer, is having a bit of a moment. Democrats are quarreling over whether he should be kept at arm’s length. What kind of opinionator is Piker? He said in 2019 that the United States “deserved 9/11.” When someone challenged him online about his anti-Israel rants, Piker replied with vituperation: “You ... baying pig. You ... bloodthirsty violent pig dog.” In the same clip, referring to Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Piker praised the Al Qaeda terrorist who disfigured him. “What the ... is wrong with this dude? Didn’t he go to war and like literally lose ...