The family of drugs known as beta-blockers have long been known to be potential aggravators of allergy, Now, new recent research (published in Cutis), shows that beta-blockers can lead, in some people, to the development of psoriasis.
Dear Dr. K: I’ve lost my sense of smell. Could this be due to allergy? The answer to your question is, yes, it could be, but it is unlikely. I say that because on your recent visit here your allergies were under excellent control and the only time I’ve seen anosmia (loss of sense of smell) from allergy is when it is severely out of control. A complication of allergy that frequently causes anosmia is nasal polyposis. Treatments of the…
The American Journal of Medicine had a recent review article titled, “Placebo: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Placebo effect is defined as any improvement in discomfort or illness resulting from an intervention possessing no physical effect. Historically, the best research techniques always include a placebo control group and double-blinding — that is, neither the researchers nor the study patients know which group is which until the study is completed. Interestingly, surgery and physical manipulation of the body, such…
A study outlining the use of weekly azithromycin for COPD patients with frequent exacerbations was published recently in the world’s leading general medical journal, Lancet. “Frequent” was defined as three or more episodes in a year of these episodes of sustained worsening of these patients’ conditions. Several cogent reasons warrant attempting to prevent these exacerbations. First and foremost, they make the patient sick and can lead to hospitalization, and sometimes to death. Also, each exacerbation can worsen the overall degree of lung impairment, kind of…
Are you having trouble with recurrent viral infections? Perhaps it’s because you also have a worm (helminth) infection. Immunology research recently published in Science suggests that. Parasitic worms are strong activators of T-helper cell 2, a lymphocyte that then produces cytokines that can help kill helminths, but that also turns off production of the cytokine interferon, which is a mainstay for fighting viruses. Helminths also reprogram the macrophages (“big eaters”), a type of white blood cell, so that they fight…
Believe it or not, the greatest increase in anosmia is coming from texting! This stems from the dramatic increase in “rear-ender” automobile accidents due to texting while driving. The whiplash injury frequently seen in these mishaps causes disruption (tearing) of the olfactory nerve as these fibers pass through the cranial bone into the nasal chamber. Other neurologic problems that can cause loss of smell include meningitis, benign and malignant brain tumors in the frontal lobe area, and cerebral artery aneurysms….
If you have high blood pressure and a cough, the latter could be caused by your anti-hyper-tensive. The two most common culprits are Beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors.
A leading cause for AGE (acute gastroenteritis) here in Florida is accidently swallowing water from pools and water parks.
If you have a latex or rubber allergy you may also be buffeted by eating the cross-reactive foods: avocado, banana and chestnut.
Heads up. This article is truly only intended for a very, very select group of individuals with severe food allergy. It addresses a very special situation when foods are found as an excipient (non-active ingredient) in a medication. Excipients are added in manufacturing to protect, support or enhance stability or bioavailabilty of an active ingredient. The amount of food found as an excipient is truly miniscule, and therefore, 99.99-plus percent of people actually allergic to that given food would not…