Archive for February, 2009
February 23rd, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
Milk allergies are a reality for millions of people. One major problem is that milk products and derivatives of milk are in so many of the food products we consume. It is very difficult to completely avoid milk products and byproducts as we go about or day to day life as food consumers. It is a very real problem for parents of children. Once they are out their sight treats like a caramel apple or milk chocolate can bring on an allergic reaction.
Symptoms can manifest themselves in a variety of maladies. Vomiting, diarrhea, hives are three of the most common. Bloating, gas, watery eyes, skin rashes that can also include acne are among others. An asthmatic who also suffers from milk allergy can have complications with their asthma condition as a result or his or her allergy to milk. Another reaction is ear infections and hyperactivity, particularly in children. Minor milk allergy symptoms can go undiagnosed for years.
As a result of ongoing research more information is being made available for those who suffer from milk allergies. Also more and better alternatives to milk are being made available. Milk allergy sufferers are denied this valuable source of calcium in their diet and more palatable alternatives are important in replacing milk and milk productes for the allergy sufferers.
Soy products that were once ghastly are now quite delicious and soy milk itself is now do to improvements quite delicious and resemble milk quite well. Tofu is a great alternative to cheese. With products like these, milk allergy symptoms can easily be avoided. Take a short trip to your supermarket and you’ll find plenty of alternative dairy products. No longer will you have to avoid the common foods that you like the most, easy alternatives can be used.
One ingredient in milk is lactose, or milk sugar. Lactose intolerance is a type of milk allergy where the person experiencing the allergy is intolerant to the lactose in the milk itself An enzyme called lactase is responsible for breaking down lactose in the digestive process. It is estimated that up to seventy percent of the worlds population is lacking in this enzyme and some have none at all. This has caused problems in the past when international care packages of food relief were taken to countries on the African continent to fend off starvation and the milk products in the food was consumed by lactose intolerant people there.
Avoidance is the most common treatment for milk allergies. But as I stated previously that can be difficult. Anything containing the word casein should be avoided. Careful screening of preprocessed food labels is a must. Beyond that there has been some buzz about energy based allergy treatments. Many people have claimed to have been completely cured of all symptoms of milk allergy after undergoing an energy based allergy treatment. Energy based allergy treatments are quick and are not long and ongoing. They are an entire topic in themselves so I can only brief you on the topic here.
Sven Ullmann
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/milk-allergy-symptoms-131333.html
February 23rd, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
Food allergies happen when your immune system messes up. Your immune system is supposed to protect you from disease and germs. If you have a food allergy your immune system makes a mistake and thinks the food is going to harm you.
The response is the same whether it is a food allergy, an allergy to medicine, an allergy to a flower or tree, or an allergy to peanuts. Although the foods themselves are not harmful the reaction the body has can be life threatening.
In recent years we have heard a lot about the peanut food allergy mainly because the reaction is usually very severe leading to anaphylactic shock.
Here’s what can happen if a child or adult for that matter eats a peanut topped brownie which they have a food allergy to - the antibodies in the body over react releasing histamine in the blood.
The histamine released eyes, throat, nose, respiratory, skin, and even the digestive system can be affected by the food allergy. The reaction could be mild or severe and it can happen almost right away or a couple of hours later.
Some of the first signs of a person suffering from a food allergy can be a runny nose, hives, itchy skin, tingling lips or tongue. Other signs can include tightness in the throat, hoarse voice, coughing, wheezing, stomach pain, diarrhea, and nausea or vomiting.
And with a serious food allergy anaphylaxis occurs which is a severe allergic reaction that comes on suddenly and with several serious problems all occurring at once - the heart, digestive system, respiratory all react at the same time and the breathing tube narrows while the tongue swells making breathing difficult if not impossible - this is a medical emergency.
If you have a serious food allergy and not necessarily to peanuts you need to make sure you know exactly what you are eating. If there is any doubt don’t eat it. You might also carry the proper medication with you.
Kids often suffer from milk and eggs but the often will outgrow these. Severe allergies are commonly seen in peanuts, shrimp, and fish and these do not usually disappear with age.
Not sure how to tell if you have a food allergy? Sometimes it’s pretty easy to figure out. Hives may appear or perhaps stomach problems occur. But other times it’s harder to tell. And sometimes even if you know you have a food allergy determining to what can be really difficult.
Many medical professionals believe that allergies are genetic and inherited so if you have a parent that suffers from hay fever you can expect to do so yourself. Food allergies can resolve themselves over time.
It is important that you do not confuse a food allergy with food intolerance such as with lactose intolerance which can cause severe stomach pain and diarrhea. But that doesn’t make it an allergy.
For some food allergies it’s as simple as not eating the food anymore. Other food allergies are harder to diagnose and harder to avoid. You should see a doctor that specializes in allergies. The doctor will ask you a lot of questions to help determine if you have a food allergy.
A liquid extract of the food or foods that are suspect is used to determine the food allergy. A tiny scratch is made on the skin and then a drop of the extract placed on the scratch. The doctor will watch for the development of a red spot which will indicate you have a food allergy to that particular food.
Once a food allergy is determined the doctor will decide on the best course of action and whether treatment is needed. Once you know what your allergy is it becomes much easier to deal with.
Ramone Stevenson
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/food-allergy-133024.html
February 18th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
The World Health Organization says, every year, hundreds of millions of people are becoming ill with preventable chronic respiratory diseases. One of the most common allergies is said to be hay fever, which is caused by contact with ragweed. Scientists now say the increase in ragweed is stimulated by climate change. VOA’s Melinda Smith has more on this condition.
Duration : 0:1:52
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Technorati Tags: Allergy, chronic, diseases, fever, hay, health, illness, news, patients, pollution, ragweed, respiratory, Smith, smoke, VOA, who
February 14th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
I’ve had allergy problems my whole life, but I have the worst reactions around cats. Would allergy shots only lessen the symptoms or would they eliminate my reactions all together?
Allergy Immunotherapy (allergy shots) is a treatment option that helps to re-train your immune system so that you won’t over-react to benign substances like the dander from cat hair. It’s most likely that you are allergic to one of several proteins that are secreted by sebaceous and salivary glands from cats (which are then spread all over the cat’s fur by licking).
Clinical studies have shown that a proper course of treatment with allergy shots can result in significant relief in as little as 3 months, but a longer duration of treatment is generally required to develop a tolerance to the allergen (in this case, cats). In some people, allergy shots that are are maintained for 3-5 years appears to offer long-term relief. In fact, allergy shots are the only allergy treatment available that has the potential to cure your allergy since it targets the basic allergic mechanism of your disease. Most medications that you are familiar with (prescription or over the counter) only target the symptoms and thus provide temporary relief (claritin, zyrtec, benadryl, nasonex, etc). When you suspend treatment with these medications your allergic reactions are likely to return.
An important question to ask your allergist is whether the maintenance dose being prescribed in your shot(s) is in line with what has been shown to be effective in clinical studies. Several large organizations of leading allergists have endorsed dosing guidelines for immnuotherapy for common allergens like cat hair. Your allergist should be following these guidelines to help ensure you are receiving the most effective treatment possible.
February 14th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
I have tried several allergy pills over the years, they are now all over the counter and don’t work. When I get a celestone allergy injection it works right away, is there a pill similar to that injection?
Celestone injections work for you because this is a “corticosteroid”. (IT is not the same as illegal steroids that athletes use to bulk up.) It is actually NOT an allergy med — it stops the allergic response in a totally different way. I imagine you are NOT getting these very frequently! If you are getting them frequently, your doctor is mis-using them.
Is your doc using this medicine to stop an asthma attack? There are good asthma pills that are taken daily, of different sorts, to help prevent asthma attacks. People with asthma also use “rescue inhalers” (they breathe in the medicine) that have steroids in them to stop a wheezing attack.
There ARE oral (taken by mouth) corticosteroid pills, but these types of steroids are typically an emergency type measure, for after a very bad allergic reaction.
If you are very allergic, you’d also want to consider carrying an epi-pen at all times. This in a medicine that is injected by needle when you have a bad reaction to food or insect bites.
I have found the allergy pills that are supposed to be “non-sedating” (don’t make you sleepy) to not be too effective, either! The only one that works for me is tripolidine, which WILL make you sleepy. It’s in Actifed and the generic equivalent of Actifed. You must ask for it at the pharmacist’s counter, tho, because it has another ingredient in it that the pharmacists must register.
Be sure to ALWAYS tell any doc or NP (Nurse Practitioner) or PA (physician’s assistant ) about ALL the medicines, herbs, vitamins, supplements, etc. (including herbal drinks and teas) that you are taking, as some medicines or herbs might interfere with other ones.
Have you considered allergy shots? For me, they have made a major difference in my life: i can be outside, or go to a friend’s house with a cat or dog, but before the shots i could not do this. I carry an epipen and an inhaler at all times. I also wear a necklace with an alert on it that i have asthma.
I hope you are seeing a CERTIFIED allergist for your allergy management!
i hope this helps!
kathy MSN, RN
February 14th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
Most restaurants use MSG in their food preparation, but it’s not noted on the menu, as peanut products are. It can even be listed generically as “natural flavorings” as an ingredient. My friend developed a sudden and severe allergy, and died an agonizing death from anaphylactic shock, because she specifically asked the person selling it, and he said it didn’t (don’t think he knew). Can’t something be done?
i ate msg, make me fat. i have kind of a way to see where the glutamate is hiden.
1. if our heart keeps very fast when you smeel the food, probably has msg.
2.in case you acidentally eat msg, take some taurine suplement ( it worked in diabetics)
3. Avoid any processed food ( its the safest think to do)
4. There are 4 natural foods that have it naturally, that optional to avoid it but you feel much better if you dont eat them: corn,soy,diary and weast.
In restaurants, avoid chinese and in japanese eat without wasabi. Avoid any food in seasonings and french fries from restaurants, they usually put msg instead of salt on it.
i know that really hard to believe, but the big companies first think in money not in the clients heath…
February 11th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
The advantages of visiting the Allergy Asthma and Immunology Department at The Everett Clinic.
Duration : 0:1:46
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Technorati Tags: allergies, Allergy, Asthma, clinic, doctor, everett, health, healthcare, kids, medical, medicine, pediactric, testing
February 7th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
A film of food allergic children produced for general awareness which premiered at the Food Allergy Initiative Northwest inaugural benefit dinner in May 2007.
www.faiusa.org
Duration : 0:5:53
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Technorati Tags: Allergy, health, kids
February 7th, 2009 -- Posted in Asthma |
More than 20 million Americans have some form of the disease known as asthma. Get the basics on this common condition.
Duration : 0:3:11
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Technorati Tags: Allergy, Asthma, attack, breathe, bronchi, coughing, doctor, health, homer, iliad, lung, mark, medicine, physical, science, spitz, symptom
February 6th, 2009 -- Posted in Allergy |
Mike Tringale, M.S.M.: Mike is the director of External Affairs at AAFA, a consumer and patient advocacy organization serving more than 60 million people with asthma and allergies. Mike has written and edited articles for consumer health magazines such as Health Monitor, Coping Magazine and Asthma Magazine, as well as for medical periodicals such as Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and Academy News. Dr. William Berger: Dr. Berger is one of the nation’s foremost experts on allergies and asthma. He practices both adult and pediatric allergy and asthma in Mission Viejo, Calif., and is clinical professor in the College of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Immunology at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of many academic papers and general press articles in the field of allergy and asthma.
Duration : 0:10:3
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Technorati Tags: Asthma, berger, broadcast, good, health, mike, news, tringle, william
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