Life with Allergy

 People allergic to penicillin are nearly twice as likely to receive a less effective antibiotic during hospitalization, with more side effects, those who are not allergic to the drug, an analysis published Monday by JAMA Internal Medicine found. Photo: Unsplash.com In all, 16% of hospitalized patients have a penicillin allergy, with 45 percent of allergic reactions to the drug involving hives or rash, the researchers said. Most of those allergic to the antibiotic, 64 percent, received a "broad-spectrum" beta-lactam -- a class of drugs that acts on a wide range of disease-causing bacteria, they found. Use of broad-spectrum antibiotics has been linked with development of resistant bacteria, or those that don't respond to drug treatment. Read more on  Upi.com

For someone with a food or drug allergy, the risk of life-threatening anaphylactic shock lurks around every corner. A new Northwestern Medicine study shows there might be a pill that can be taken proactively to prevent mild to life-threatening anaphylaxis, no matter the cause. Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening systemic allergic reaction that can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen. It occurs in about one in 50 Americans, though many believe the rate is higher (closer to one in 20), according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. If a person's blood pressure drops so low during anaphylaxis or their airway closes up enough that they can't get enough oxygen to their organs, they enter anaphylactic shock. How do the drugs stop an allergic reaction before it begins? The drugs used in the study are known as BTK inhibitors. BTK stands for an enzyme called Bruton's tyrosine kinase, which is found inside cells, including mast cel...

The Health Promotion Board Singapore website has reported that 20% Singaporean children are suffering from asthma. Common symptoms of asthma are shortness of breath, wheezing or noisy breathing together with persistent coughs, especially at night. According to Professor Hugo Van Bever, Head of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Department of Pediatrics at National University Hospital Singapore (NUH), younger children who are suffering from Asthma are typically caused by viruses while older asthmatic children are commonly caused by allergy. Contrary to many misconceptions, dust is not an allergen, but it is an indoor air pollutant that may irritate respiratory airway. The real culprit is actually house dust mites (HDM) that are mainly found in the pillows and mattresses. Medical reports have found these microscopic creatures to be common allergens among children suffering from allergies. It is not the mites that cause reaction; it is their droppings that trigger asthma and o...

Quite possibly one of the most difficult things about being someone who has histamine issues is dealing with the changing seasons. Running noses, itchy, watery eyes, these are all part and parcel of life for some people. With over 24 million people in the US currently dealing with this problem, if you're someone who can't deal with the pollen or even a beloved pet's dander, you are definitely not alone. Making a trip to an allergy specialist may be just the thing to help you to take back control of your life and enjoy it to the fullest. One of the first things that is done at this special type of doctor is to determine what you might be allergic to and what you may not be. Most people have a pretty good idea of the things that set off the symptoms but without an allergen test, nothing is 100%. Usually, when you do visit with an allergy specialist, they can help you to figure out exactly what is causing your symptoms and find better ways of treating that particular cause. It...

Summer, spring and fall are the seasons where pollen allergy is very common. In these seasons, trees, grasses, and weeds release pollen grains. These grains travel through the air to fertilize plants. However, some of the pollen grains did not reach the plants. Instead, they enter the nose and throat of the humans. In this situation, they trigger the immune system and resulted to the formation of allergic reaction. Plants produced pollen grains. It is used for plant reproduction.  Reproduction in plants can happen in two different ways. Some plants use pollen grain to fertilize its own flower. Others undergo cross-pollination. Cross pollination happens when the pollen grain is transferred from one flower to another. Insects, through feeding, contribute to the transfer of pollen grains. Some plants do not rely on insects for pollen grain transfer. Instead, they use wind for pollen grain transport. However, pollen grains that are released by weeds, grasses, and tress are the most c...

The labeling of food is often one of the most confusing parts of maintaining a healthy diet. Everywhere we look there are words like, "Organic," "Non-GMO," "Local," "Fair Trade, "Sustainable," "Gluten-Free," and the list goes on. What do these words mean? It would seem that most people have the term "organic" down as "something that's grown without the use of chemicals, such as fertilizer or pesticides." What we usually don't talk about is how organic foods are usually also grown using crops that mimic the way nature intended plants to grow. This kind of crop provides sustainability in the environment. Photo by  Phuong Tran  on  Unsplash "Non-GMO" is becoming a more commonplace term. GMO stands for genetically modified organism and about 93% of people say that they want GMO foods to be labeled, mostly so that they can avoid them. These foods are bioengineered to be great for factory farm...