Thursday, July 15, 2010
Allergy Injections Schedule
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Spring Allergy Symptoms are on the Rise
What can an Allergy Sufferer do to get Allergy Relief?
If you have disabling allergy symptoms from allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis or asthma you can take these steps for allergy relief.
· Take your allergy medications daily throughout the allergy season. There are several excellent medications available over the counter for the allergy sufferer. Oral antihistamine tablets such as loratidine and cetirizine can be taken daily to help the sneezing, runny nose and itching. A very good eye drop allergy medication, ketotifen eye drops, is available over the counter which can give relief of allergic conjunctivitis.
· Stay indoors during peak pollen times of the day. Pollens are usually highest in the mornings so it would be advisable to do any outdoor activities in the afternoon or evening. If some outdoor chores need to be done, it would be a good idea to delegate these to non-allergy sufferers.
· Rain washes the air. An excellent time to really enjoy the outdoors is immediately after it rains. Rain is nature’s means of cleansing the air thus take advantage of the outdoors after it rains.
· See a Board-Certified Allergist. An allergist has several years of professional medical training thus can really understand your allergy problems better. Make sure to check that he is board-certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, since some doctors claim to be allergists when they do not have the rigorous training required to become an allergist.
You can visit the ABAI website to find board certified allergists in the area. You can also check Cincinnati Magazine’s list of “2010 Top Doctors in Cincinnati” for allergists recommended by physicians in the community.
Get allergy relief. Stay well, stay healthy.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Severe H1N1 Swine Flu Up in South
By Daniel J DeNoon
WebMD Health News
March 29, 2010 -- H1N1 swine flu hospitalizations in Georgia have returned to October levels, triggering a nationwide CDC warning that too many at-risk people have not been vaccinated.
The Georgia findings today spurred the CDC to hold its first national news teleconference in weeks. During the height of the pandemic, the CDC scheduled two or three such news conferences weekly.
"Georgia had more than 40 hospitalizations from lab-confirmed H1N1 influenza this past week, and for the third week in a row had more of these than anywhere in the country," Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's respiratory disease center, said at the news conference.Read the Full Article
Change in Allergy Injections Schedule - April 2010
We will also be closed on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Allergy injections will not be given that day.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Climate Change and Allergies?
By Mary Brophy Marcus
From USAToday
Global warming could be notching up allergies and extending allergy season around the world, recent research suggests.
In one study, discussed this month at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans, researchers tracked season duration and prevalence of sensitizations for five types of pollens in one region of Italy from 1981 to 2007. They reported that over time, there was a progressive increase in the duration of some pollen seasons.
"Allergies and asthma seem to be increasing everywhere, and we don't know why that is," says David Rosenstreich, director of the division of allergy and immunology at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. Rosenstreich says global warming probably is not the only culprit; many factors seem to be coming together to create a "perfect storm of allergy and asthma."
He points to the changing geography of New York as an example. Just north of the Bronx lies a solid blanket of woods for 100 miles. "There are more trees in that area now than there were 100 years ago. It used to be all farms. Now, in spring, right smack in the middle of the Bronx, we have an enormous amount of pollen blowing in — a huge epidemic of asthma and allergies every spring that the hospitals prepare for."
Read more from USAToday
Affordable Domains and Web-Hosting
Saturday, March 13, 2010
FraggeAllergy.com
Go to www.FraggeAllergy.com and learn more about our practice.
Feel free to give us comments so we can make it better.
Thanks!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Change in Allergy Injections Schedule - March 11, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Low Vitamin D Levels Linked to Asthma
From WebMD Health News
Many children with asthma have low blood levels of vitamin D, and the insufficiency seems to place them at risk for more severe disease.
In a study of 99 kids with asthma, 47% had vitamin D insufficiency. Compared with children with normal levels of vitamin D levels, those with vitamin D insufficiency:
- Had poorer lung function
- Had higher levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE), an immune system protein the body makes in response to allergens that tells you the likelihood that you're allergic
- Were more likely to need inhaled and oral steroid medications to reduce airway inflammation and mucus production
- Were more likely to need long-acting beta-agonist drugs that relax muscles in the lung's airways, improving a patient's ability to breathe freely and reducing asthma symptoms
Friday, March 5, 2010
Oral Immunotherapy for Egg Allergies Shows Promise
The investigators enrolled 55 egg-allergic children between the ages of 5 and 18 years and randomized them to receive either a daily dose of egg white solid OIT (n = 40; 62% male; mean age, 7.13 years) or a placebo (n = 15; 60% male; mean age, 7.07 years). All patients underwent initial escalation, build-up, and maintenance (at 2000 mg) for a total of 44 weeks, followed by an oral food challenge.
Results at the end of the study showed that 21 of the 40 children who received the OIT passed the oral food challenge, whereas none of those who received the placebo did.
These results are encouraging and hopefully in the near future, allergists will be able to offer therapeutic options for patients suffering from food allergies. Researchers are also pursuing oral immunotherapy to other foods such as peanuts.
Source: Medscape Medical News
Asthma Severity Remains Stable in Pregnant Women Continuing Their Medication
From Medscape Medical News
March 5, 2010 — Asthma severity during pregnancy is similar to severity in the previous year if women continue to take their prescribed medication but is more severe if they discontinue it, according to the results of a study reported in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
"Early investigators suggested a rule of thirds: in one third of women, asthma improves during pregnancy; in one third, asthma becomes worse; and in one third it remains the same," write Kathleen Belanger, PhD, from Yale University School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues. "However, assessment of improvement has often been subjective, and exacerbations have been measured by hospitalizations and emergency department visits. No studies have used the more common clinical endpoints of symptoms and medication use to assess exacerbation during pregnancy."
See Abstract
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Food Allergies: Suspect, Test, Avoid
From WebMD.com
March 15, 2006 -- The nation's major allergy organizations have agreed on how best to diagnose and manage food allergies.
The new "practice parameters," from a panel of allergy experts, are a state-of-the-art guide on how to detect and treat food allergy.
Food allergies are common -- and commonly misunderstood by doctors as well as patients, says panel co-chairman Jay M. Portnoy, MD, who is chief of allergy, asthma, and immunology at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., and vice president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
"I see patients all the time who go to a doctor, skin-test positive for lots of different foods, and are advised to avoid all of these foods," Portnoy tells WebMD. "It makes their life miserable. And it turns out they are not truly allergic to all these foods after all."
Portnoy's complaint rings true with patient advocate Anne Muñoz-Furlong, founder and CEO of The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN).
"Some parents never suspect food allergies until their child ends up at the emergency room -- where they might be told it is a food allergy, or they might not," Muñoz-Furlong tells WebMD. "Or if the child first has mild symptoms, like eczema, they may not realize it is a food allergy. And then the entire family suffers until a diagnosis is made and the food is eliminated from the diet."
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Panel Critical of FDA's Asthma Drug Ruling
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Health News
March 1, 2010 (New Orleans) -- A leading panel of asthma experts today criticized a new FDA ruling that long-acting asthma drugs should be used only for the shortest period of time required to achieve control of asthma symptoms and then discontinued.
The panel agreed with the FDA warning that the long-acting drugs Serevent and Foradil should never be used alone, but rather in combination with other asthma-control medications called inhaled steroids.
But the move to limit use of Serevent and Foradil as well as the combination drugs Advair and Symbicort puts patients at risk of full-blown, deadly asthma attacks, says William Busse, MD, chair of the department of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.
All of the drugs are a member of a class of drugs called long-acting beta agonists (LABAs), which the FDA cautions can provoke a sudden, fatal asthma attack.
"But the risk to a patients from LABAs is very remote," Busse tells WebMD.
The risk of having a deadly attack if you suddenly stop taking the LABA medication once control is achieved is much greater, he says.
Busse was chair of the panel that wrote the asthma bible that most doctors follow -- the 2007 National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma.
"The fact that the [FDA ruling] runs counter to the asthma guidelines without any new information being introduced is of real concern," he says.Read Full Article from WebMD.com
Cheap Domains. Affordable WebHosting
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Human Variable Responses to Medications
Dr Greenberger also shared interesting data from separate studies how cigarette smoking negatively affects the response to inhaled and oral steroids in asthma patients. Another excellent reason to quit smoking.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Conquering speedskating and asthma
From www.AAAAI.org
I thought it appropriate to share this video, in this time of the Winter Olympics, of a speedskater who chose not to let asthma control her life.
Samantha, age 27, has been competing in speedskating as well as in cross country and track since she was 12. Her asthma, allergies and other illnesses haven't dampened her competitive spirit.
Samantha took a break from skating to discuss the challenges she faced before she was diagnosed with asthma and allergies. The story begins with help from an allergist who was able to put Samantha on the life-long road to victory.
Q: What went through your mind when you were diagnosed with asthma and then allergies?
A: When I was diagnosed with asthma, I was relieved. For the longest time, doctors could not identify what was going on with me, which was quite frustrating. With the right diagnosis, I could actually do things to make myself better and lead a more 'normal' life.
My allergist also determined that I have allergies, and he was actually able to pinpoint what I was allergic to. I was thankful that my doctor did all of the necessary tests at one time so that I didn't have to keep guessing about what was going on with my breathing. I could start creating a plan with him to best fit my needs.
Q: What obstacles have you faced in speedskating and other competitive sports?
A: I have allergy-induced and sport-induced asthma. I faced obstacles not only in speedskating, but in high school sports like cross country and track and field.
Since cross country is an outdoor fall sport, my asthma was an issue whenever the ragweed count was high. Unlike cross country, speedskating is done (for the most part) indoors in a controlled arena. The cold has actually been better for me and has limited the amount of asthma-induced issues.
Q: Do you to prepare differently for practices and competitions?
A: Living with asthma has definitely changed my preparation for practices and competition. There is a routine I follow in terms of warm up. I know my body well enough to feel when I need to do more of a particular exercise so my lungs are functioning to their full potential. I also make sure I have my inhaler with me at all times for both competitions and practice.
Q: Have you ever had to stop in a race because of an asthma attack?
A: Fortunately, I have never had to stop a race because of an asthma attack. Preparation is the key. From the time I was diagnosed, my doctor put me on a plan that included allergy shots, medication and learning my warning signs. To this day, I am thankful to him for instilling the importance of discipline in taking my medications and taking a pro-active role in my health and well-being so my asthma did not get in the way of what I really want to do in life.
Q: Have you ever wanted to quit skating because of your asthma?
A: I am a very strong-willed person and firmly believe that you are directly responsible for your destiny. A kind of mind-over-matter thought process, if you will. I have never wanted to quit skating just because of my asthma.
Q: Do you discuss your asthma with other skaters?
A: No, I don't talk about my asthma with other skaters. I am sure not a lot of people even know I have this condition. It's not that I don't want to. If the subject came up, I would talk about it, but it's not really something I feel needs to be shared.
A: I would tell them to go for it. Dream big, and don't let your asthma get in the way. I have never looked at my asthma as being a disability, and I would tell them to never listen to people who think it is one. Focus on what you can do and what you have done despite the asthma
Thursday, February 25, 2010
How to Relieve Indoor Winter Allergies
Cold winter weather keeps us indoors, and that can mean more allergy problems. Gas fumes, household sprays, indoor mold, and pet dander can all trigger wheezing and runny noses.
"You don't have any pollens in winter," says Douglas H. Jones, MD, of the Rocky Mountain Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Group in Layton, Utah. "But you still have the indoor stuff — cats, dogs, cockroach droppings, dust mites, and mold," he told Everyday Health.
Use these tips to cut your winter allergy woes:
• Keep rooms thoroughly dusted and vacuumed to cut down on dust mites and pet hair. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter and change filters according to manufacturers' suggestions.
• Replace furnace filters every two to three months and use high-efficiency air filters to remove the maximum amount of allergens.
• Use a humidifier to reduce dry air. Don't go overboard, though, and make the air too humid, which encourages mold and dust mites. Experts recommend a maximum humidity of 50 percent. Change the water and clean the humidifier regularly to discourage the growth of bacteria and mold.
• Bathe pets once a week to minimize dander, and keep them out of the bedroom if you have allergies.
• Wash sheets weekly in hot water to kill dust mites and consider hypoallergenic cases for pillows, mattresses, and box springs.
• Wear a dust mask when cleaning.
• Beware of gas stoves, warns National Jewish Health. They release nitrogen oxides into the air that can irritate the lungs, especially in those with asthma or other lung problems.
According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, between 40 and 50 million Americans suffer from allergies.
© 2010 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Get Cheap Domains. Affordable WebHosting
Sunday, February 21, 2010
'Exciting' advance reported in peanut allergy therapy
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
San Diego, California (CNN) -- Peanuts are like poison for people who have severe food allergies to them. For some, ingesting even a tiny piece of peanut can trigger a potentially fatal reaction.
But new research is showing that immunotherapy, a method of giving a small dose of peanut to a patient in a controlled setting and then increasing the amount over a few months, may help temper these reactions. It's the same principle as allergy shots, only done with food.
The research, conducted at Cambridge University Hospitals in the United Kingdom, was presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The Cambridge group will begin a randomized controlled trial next month with 104 children involved, similar to the peanut study done already, but with controls, said researcher Dr. Andrew Clark of Cambridge University Hospitals.
Some 30,000 Americans go to the emergency room each year because of severe food allergies, said Dr. Stefano Luccioli of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Food Additive Safety. Food allergies affect about 4 percent of adults and 6 to 8 percent of children under 3, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Researchers took a group of 23 children allergic to peanuts and gave them small amounts of peanuts to eat daily, usually starting with 1 mg, said Clark. The peanut quantity was increased carefully every two weeks, until the children could eat about five peanuts.
They took this dose daily for at least six weeks, mostly tolerating it well except for some temporary mouth itching or abdominal pain, he said.
The results showed that 21 of the 23 children, or 91 percent, can safely eat at least five peanuts every day without any reaction. One of the children can get two peanuts a day, and one dropped out of the study. After six months, 19 of them could tolerate 12 peanuts at a time, and after one year, 15 participants could tolerate 32 peanuts. Participants said they didn't have to carefully read food labels or fear the allergy anymore, Clark said.
Read full CNN article
Get Cheap Domains. Affordable Web-Hosting
Thursday, February 18, 2010
FDA Mandates New Safety Controls for Long-Acting Beta Agonists
From Medscape Medical News
By Robert Lowes
February 18, 2010 — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that manufacturers of long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) must now state on product labels that asthma patients must not take LABAs on a long-term basis unless their condition cannot be adequately controlled with other medications such as inhaled corticosteroids.
The labels also must state that the LABAs should never be used alone in the treatment of asthma in adults or children.
Roughly 95% of asthma patients using an LABA receive it in combination with a corticosteroid in a single inhaled product such as Advair Diskus, Advair HFA, or Symbicort, according to the FDA.
As a result of the new warnings labels required by the agency, patients who gain control of their asthma through these combination corticosteroid products need to be switched to a corticosteriod alone or some other "controller" medication, with no LABA added.
Recent analyses of clinical trials show that LABAs are associated with a higher risk of severe worsening of asthma symptoms, resulting in hospitalization, intubation, and sometimes death for adults and children alike, according to the FDA.
"We think the greater public health benefit is to reduce the use of LABAs, but keep them available for patients who really need them," said John Jenkins, MD, director of the Office of New Drugs in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at a news conference today. "There is still a benefit to these drugs for patients who aren't absolutely controlled on asthma-control medications."
More information is available on the FDA Web site.
Get Cheap Domains. Affordable Web-Hosting
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Pill Shows Lasting Benefits Against Hay Fever
From Reuters Health Information
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Feb 15 - A prescription pill approved in Europe for the treatment of grass pollen allergies seems to have lasting benefits, a new study finds.
The drug, called Grazax, offers an alternative to allergy shots. Dissolved under the tongue, the pills contain a small amount of grass-pollen extract. The drug is taken daily, starting several months before the start of the allergy season and continuing for three years thereafter.
In the new study, researchers looked at the medication's long-term effects in patients who had stopped using it after the recommended three years. They found that, compared with patients who had been given a placebo, Grazax users had one-quarter fewer hay fever symptoms one year after stopping the medication.
They also had less need for antihistamines and other allergy medications, according to a report in the January issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
These longer-term findings, the researchers write, support Grazax as a treatment option for people whose hay fever symptoms fail to improve with standard medication.
Dr. Stephen R. Durham, of Imperial College London in the UK, led the study, which was funded by Denmark-based ALK-Abello, the maker of Grazax. Durham and several co-researchers on the study have received research grants and other funds from the drug company.
The findings are based on 257 adults with grass pollen allergies, confirmed through allergy tests. They were randomly assigned to take either Grazax or inactive placebo tablets every day, beginning four to eight months before the next grass pollen season. They continued the therapy for three years.
Over those three years and for one year after stopping the treatment, the patients rated their daily symptoms and allergy medication use.
During the year following treatment, patients in the Grazax group reported a 26 percent reduction in symptoms like congestion and itchy, watery eyes compared with the placebo group. They also had a 29 percent reduction in medication use and gave higher ratings to their quality of life.
Those differences were similar to those seen during the three years of active treatment, according to the researchers.
During the last year on treatment, 15 percent of Grazax patients had side effects believed to be caused by the treatment -- the most common being itching and swelling in the mouth, ear itchiness and throat irritation.
A clinical trial aimed at winning FDA approval for Grazax is currently underway.
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2010;125:131-138.
Get Cheap Domains. Web-Hosting
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Allergy Injections Schedule
Monday 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
We will periodically post changes that may be occur
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Secondhand Smoke Exposure Linked to Sleep Problems in Children With Asthma
From Medscape Medical News
By Laurie Barclay MD
January 20, 2010 — Exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is associated with increased sleep problems among children with asthma, according to the results of a study reported online January 18 and to be published in the February print issue of Pediatrics.
"Adult and adolescent smokers report difficulties with sleep," write Kimberly Yolton, PhD, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and colleagues. "Young children who are exposed to tobacco smoke have poorer sleep quality. Children with asthma report more sleep problems and are more sensitive to the respiratory effects of tobacco smoke."
The goal of this study was to analyze the association between exposure to SHS and child sleep patterns among a group of 219 children with asthma who were enrolled in an asthma intervention trial and who had regular exposure to tobacco smoke at home. SHS exposure was measured with serum cotinine levels, and the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire was used to evaluate sleep patterns based on parental reports.
Statistical analyses allowed adjustment for covariates of age, sex, race, maternal marital status, education, income, prenatal tobacco exposure, maternal depression, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment total score, household density, asthma severity, and use of asthma medications.
SHS exposure was associated with longer sleep-onset delay (P = .004), sleep-disordered breathing (P = .02), parasomnias (P = .002), daytime sleepiness (P = .022), and overall sleep disturbance (P = .0002).
"We conclude that exposure to SHS is associated with increased sleep problems among children with asthma," the study authors write. "As SHS exposure increased, parents reported that their children had longer delays in sleep onset, more-frequent parasomnias and sleep-disordered breathing, increased daytime sleepiness, and greater overall sleep disturbance."
Limitations of this study include lack of generalizability to children without asthma; wide variance of the degree of SHS exposure; sleep data based only on parental reports; and lack of information on prematurity, which could be an important contributor to sleep problems.
"We report significant associations between SHS exposure, as measured with a biological marker (serum cotinine levels), and sleep problems in children with asthma," the study authors conclude. "Reduction in SHS exposure is an area with the potential for significant impact in the pediatric population."
The National Institutes of Health supported this study. The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Get Domains and Web-Hosting