Allergy-Associates

Yes. And let me tell you why.  In 1720 the average life expectancy in this country was 25.  A hundred years later in 1820 it was 41.  Then in 1920 it hit 54.  Currently it is in the mid-70’s.  Despite all the marvels of modern medicine from antibiotics, to trans-vascular heart surgery, to organ transplantation, the major reasons for this improvement in life expectancy boil down to the big three S’s:  sanitation, shoes, and shots. It is hard to believe…

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Harvard researchers recently published their findings regarding allergic disorders and susceptibility to Covid-19.  The study was conducted on 220,000 people between January and May of this year.  Previous to this study it has been known that people at greater risk for and from this virus include those: over 65, with pre-existing lung disease, with chronic kidney disease, with diabetes, with hypertension, with heart disease, obesity, with cancer, smokers, with immune compromising illnesses, with organ transplants and with HIV.  Now it…

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The recently published Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology had an update on rhinitis.  Rhinitis incorporates two Greek words:  rhinos, meaning nose, and itis, meaning disease or inflammation.  The condition falls into two categories; allergic rhinitis or non-allergic rhinitis.  The former is pretty straightforward in that it is caused primarily by airborne allergens such as pollen, dust mites and animal dander but to a lesser degree (and not quite as obviously) due to food allergy.  Despite the nasal focus of…

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There are five types of immune proteins called immunoglobulins (Ig):  IgG, IgD, IgA, IgM and IgE.  In general, these immune proteins are an integral part of our host defense system.  However, just as Benedict Arnold turned traitor to the American cause, so too our immune proteins can sometimes go awry.  This is the definition of auto-immune disease, i.e. our own immune proteins attack us.  There are two ends of all five immune proteins and they are called the F ab…

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It may seem hard to believe but every day we breathe in more than 10,000 liters of air.  Depending on the degree of pollutants in that air, the human lungs can either cope with it or not. As I write these words, I can’t help but think of one of the “I Love Lucy” episodes where she and Ethel get a job in a candy factory hand wrapping expensive chocolates as they come down a conveyor belt.  Early on, the…

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Even though bacteria far predate human existence, we have co-evolved once humans hit the scene.  It may be hard to believe in terms of cell count but our total number of human cells (10 trillion cells) is exceeded by a logarithm by the number of bacteria in our microbiota (100 trillion cells).  We humans carry roughly 35,000 different species of bacteria on us and in us.  Despite the very large variety of bacteria on planet earth only about 100 species…

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Recently I got a severe leg abrasion when I had an accident on my motorcycle.  I needed surgery to clean the leg and stop all the bleeding.  Three days later my leg got red and swollen and itched.  My surgeon gave me an antibiotic thinking it was infected.  But the culture was negative, and the leg kept getting worse.  Then, he gave me prednisone and the leg got better quickly.  Any ideas? Well, I’m no Dr. House, but since I…

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Floridians need to be aware that jellyfish can not only be a source of an unpleasant sting, but also of allergic reactions.   In fact, life threatening allergy (anaphylaxis) was first described in 1901 by two scientists; Charles Richet and Paul Portier who were studying jellyfish.  They began their studies at the behest of Prince Albert of Monaco who was an avid oceanographer.  He asked them to study the sting of the Portuguese man-of-war.   They used the venom from both the…

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Over the past thirty years there has been a dramatic increase in both obesity and food allergy.  In fact, the rate of increase for both conditions has followed the same identical track.  For this reason, and others, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine have done exhaustive research to see if there might be a common cause.  As it turns out a high fat diet is the answer.  The rise in obesity is directly linked to the high fat content…

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