TulsaAllergyNews

Help with Allergies, Asthma, and Sinus Conditions

Tag: Health

  • Sleep disordered breathing

    Often allergy patients have sleep disordered breathing and want to know if allergies contribute.  Most of the time, interruptions in your sleep due to allergy consist of congestion, snoring, sneezing, and possibly apnea.  Anything other than those symptoms should be evaluated for alternative causes.  Specialists dealing with sleep disorders are allergists, ENT (otolaryngologists) and pulmonologists.  There…

  • I usually don’t trash talk, but….

     You should be concerned about the effects of asthma medication on the developing fetus; fortunately, birth defects are rare and often overstated, but you always have to maintain vigilance for new developments.   Why the concern about atresia?    Maternal Asthma Medication Use May Cause Certain Birth Defects Approximately 4% to 12% of pregnant women…

  • What is the Best Method for Testing Allergy to Drugs?

    I must have a drug allergy….what is the best method for testing?  Countless times I have reviewed skin biopsy results that state evidence of a drug allergy.  Obviously, this is not a very specific method of diagnosis, so what does work?  I’ll copy the entire abstract for you and make some comments below.  In the…

  • Ouch! my tonsils are hurting me!

    All that wheezes isn’t asthma!  Ever heard that before?  A common finding in our clinic is “wheezing” or difficulty breathing not due to asthma, but as a result of large tonsils/adenoids.  A typical history is as follows: Snoring at night He wheezes–(it’s not really wheezing, but loud noises coming from the lungs is often labeled…

  • Complementary medicine to treat Asthma?

    I have a story for you….but first, “traditional” medicine is trying very hard to work with other methods for treating asthma.  The web page below reviews treatment of asthma using something other than “inhalers“.  Now on to the story…. I am a member of the Complementary Medicine Committee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma,…

  • Maybe this checklist would work for Asthma?

    Checklist for hospital discharge

  • Breathing Retraining in Asthma Management–I told you so!

    Many asthma patients or patients who can’t breathe are found to have problems with their breathing technique.  In medical terms, I use Vocal Cord Dysfunction, Spasmodic Dysphonia, Irritable Larnyx Syndrome just to name a few.  Some health care providers, including doctors, aren’t always familiar with the concept that vocal cord problems can cause difficulty breathing,…

  • Graphic cigarette labeling ruled illegal–what do you think?

    Because smoking has such an impact on respiratory health, I’m always interested in your feedback on articles that appear in USA Today on health.  What do you think about graphic advertising discouraging the use of cigarettes? Too graphic? Should scare people more? It really doesn’t change behavior? The full article is listed here:  gory details

  • The Teen Who Can’t Swallow–What To Do?

    The Evaluation of a Patient With Suspected EoE Our series is on eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and I’ve covered how you present with this condition and a little bit about what the heck this condition really is! The website reference is http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/754206?src=mp&spon=38 Patients with suspected EoE should be evaluated by both an allergist and a gastroenterologist. A careful history should include…

  • The Teen Who Can’t Swallow–What is it?

    What is the most likely diagnosis?  How did you do compared to your colleagues?        Your Colleagues Responded:   GERD    28%   Eosinophilic esophagitis Correct Answer  67%   Celiac disease    4%   Irritable bowel syndrome    1%   Eosinophilic Esophagitis: Definition, Epidemiology, and Pathophysiology Clinical Definition–summary only. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is chronic, inflammatory esophageal clinico-pathological condition.…