Dear Dr. K: I tested negative for celiac disease and I’m not allergic to wheat, but I feel better when I avoid gluten. Why? Your question is a good one in a specific sense and in a global one. It is reliable maxim that the feedback your body gives you is a more sensitive crucible for problems than any medical test. If your body tells you to avoid gluten, then you should do so. In an effort to explore your…
The University of Maryland Medical School has discovered taste receptors found on the tongue are also in human lungs. The specific receptor in the lungs is for tasting bitterness. Of exceeding interest is the lung receptor being connected with the muscle that regulates airway contraction and relaxation. The Maryland scientists feel they can help treat asthma by manipulating the bitterness receptor. Perhaps this will mean lemon or rhubarb inhalers!
The ears are self-cleaning structures. The use of Q-Tips can pack the wax into the canal causing a blockage or can over dry the canals and lead to itchy ears. The wax (cerumen) is a natural moisturizer for the ear canals. It also has anti-bacterial properties. Let it do its jobs.
If you are allergic to milk, keep in mind that beef is a related protein and can caused a cross-reactivity allergy.
Another reminder: to reduce pollen and mold being brought into your house by pet dogs, rinse their paws on the way back inside. A shallow pan with water at the back door or the garage works well for this task. Also, the human inhabitants can leave their shoes outside to the same end.
If you open the windows in your home, keep in mind that it takes about 24 hours for the central air conditioning filtration to remove the pollen and mold that came into the house once you close the windows.
Researchers in Britain recently published an article in the journal Neurology about the use of IV aspirin for chronic migraines. They did a five-year study on 168 patients with severe, frequent migraines. The patients were given IV aspirin for 15 days a month for three months. Over the ensuing five years, 25 percent of the patients experienced a dramatic improvement in headache severity and frequency, and 40 percent had a moderate improvement. Two patients dropped out of the study. One…
Inhaled corticosteroids are an important therapy for a variety of lung conditions, especially Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. It has been known for several years that inhaled steroids increase the risk of pneumonia in patients with COPD. Whether this is also true in asthmatics has not been studied. A recent research paper in the Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine indicates that inhaled steroids do not raise the risk for pneumonia in asthmatics. In the cited clinical…
One of the most common rashes that allergists are asked to see that is non-allergic in origin is Molluscum Contagiosum. The rash tends to be a source of great consternation for parents, while the child who is afflicted generally is unaware or at least unperturbed by the rash. The parental angst comes primarily from the fact that the rash lasts for weeks, even months, and can slowly spread. The child’s indifference comes because the rash neither hurts nor itches. The…
Research continues to seek an explanation for the escalating frequency of allergy problems and asthma. The leading hypothesis for this phenomenon of burgeoning allergies is the Hygiene Hypothesis. Simply stated, it posits that we are too clean, which leaves immune systems idle. This idleness leads to deviant behavior in the form of allergy, asthma and autoimmune conditions. Researchers at the University of Munich just published their findings in this regard in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their study included…