Medical Questions & Answers » Allergy

Permanent Treatment of Allergy

medicalquestions — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:24:05 +0000

How are allergies treated? Is there any permanent cure? I have to live on antihistamines for my rash that keeps flaring up for no apparent reason.

The treatment of an acute allergic reaction will depend on where it occurs, its severity, and its duration. Antihistamine drugs are the mainstay of treatment and may be given by tablet, mixture, injection or cream. They are best used early in the course of an allergic reaction or if an exposure to an allergy-provoking situation is expected. Unfortunately, in past years only sedating antihistamines were available, which caused drowsiness as an unacceptable side effect, but now a wide range of safe and effective non-sedating antihistamines are available.

Once the reaction is established, a severe attack may require steroid tablets or injections, adrenaline injections, or, in very severe cases, emergency resuscitation. Other drugs may be used in specific allergy situations (eg. lung-opening drugs in acute asthma).

There are a number of substances that can be used on a regular basis to prevent certain allergic reactions. These include sodium cromoglycate (Intal and Opticrom) and nedocromil sodium (Tilade—asthma spray only) which may prevent hay fever, asthma and allergic conjunctivitis if used several times a day throughout the allergy season (often spring). They are available as inhalers, nasal sprays and eye drops.

A small number of patients are so allergic to certain substances (eg. bee stings or ant bites) that they must carry an emergency supply of an injectable drug (usually adrenaline) with them at all times, and must inject themselves it they suspect that they have been exposed to the allergic substance.

Once the substances that cause an allergy in an individual have been identified, further episodes of allergic reaction may be prevented by desensitisation. This involves giving extremely small doses of the allergy-causing substance to the patient, and then slowly increasing the dose over many weeks or months until the patient can tolerate the substance at the maximum likely exposure level. The desensitisation is normally given by weekly injections.

If you can find out what is causing your allergy reaction, it may be possible to have a course of desensitisation, and be cured.

Best Cure for Cold

medicalquestions — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:00:20 +0000

What is the best cure for a cold? I get several a year, and I end up in bed for a week every time. Medical science must be able to do something to help me!
If you catch a cold, there is nothing a doctor can do to cure it. He or she can certainly prescribe medications to ease the symptoms and make you feel more comfortable, but please do not pester him or her for antibiotics, because they do not help the problem at all.
The more you rest, the faster the problem will go away. Those who insist on working while feverish and miserable prevent the body from building up its defences rapidly, and pass the infection on to their work mates.
Aspirin or paracetamol, rest at home and medications for the cough, sore throat, runny nose and blocked sinuses are the best remedy. The usual cold will last for a week, but some people are luckier and have a brief course, while others are particularly unlucky, and the first cold may so lower their defences that they can catch another one, and then another, causing cold symptoms to last for many weeks.
Many vitamin and herbal remedies are touted as cures or preventatives for colds, but when subjected to detailed trials, none of them can be proven. If any medication, vitamin or herb could be found to help this condition, the entire medical profession would be delighted to recommend it.

I keep getting one cold after another. Why does it always have to be me?
You are just very unlucky. Several hundred viruses can cause a cold. Once one virus infects you, you should develop life-long resistance, but because there are so many possible causes, you will still catch colds. Gradually your resistance to infection will improve though, and colds will occur less frequently.
Because they have not been exposed to many viruses, children develop more colds than adults. Unfortunately, once you do catch a cold, it becomes easier to develop a second one. This second cold knocks you about even further, weakening you so that a third one can be caught. This unpleasant chain of events can sometimes continue for months.
Some people also have genetic factors that either protect them or make them more susceptible to viral infections. Stress, both physical and mental, can also reduce the body’s resistance to infection. Extremes of temperature are a cause of stress, and an indirect cause of recurrent colds.

Get Rid from Itching

medicalquestions — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:48:32 +0000

I am 26 year old. I faced urticaria for 4-5months. A red swelling starts from pin-tip size and swells to a large area and gradually disappears. Sometimes severe itching is also there. It becomes unbearable when it’s on the face, especially the eyes and lips. Again it has occurred and I am still suffering from it. Some doctors suggested allergy test because of allergic reactions to certain foods. There has been no major change in my diet and eating habits.
Chronic Urticaria is a very difficult condition to investigate and treat. There are a number of ways it can present itself, as you have already experienced. The condition is often interrupted by periods of relief from the condition. No part of the body is exempt from the lesions. Around the eyes and mouth it can cause a massive swelling, referred to as angio edema. It is very difficult to pinpoint the cause although a number of factors may trigger an attack. These include diet, alcohol, viral infections, antibiotics, overheating, friction and perhaps even stress. They can precipitate an attack without being the primary cause.
The most important factor in the management is accepting the chronic nature of this condition since it can take from a few days to a few years to recover completely. Try to avoid the precipitating factors like over heating with hot baths, pressure from tight clothes, food with additives, and natural salicylates present in beer, wine and fruits. Also avoid alcohol and drugs like aspirin and painkillers. Cooling and soothing lotions like Calamine are helpful to ease the itching. Antihistamines are the mainstay of treatment and must be used continuously to get relief.

May be Prone to Allergy

medicalquestions — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:18:36 +0000

My 6-year-old son is generally healthy but when he has a cold, it gets so bad that he can barely breathe. Gasping for breath also occurs when he has a crying fit. Is this a sign of asthmatic or allergic tendency?
It looks like asthma. Show your child to a local doctor soon after an attack to ascertain the cause. In a typical asthma attack, the child has difficulty taking in air as well as expelling it. His breathing is faster than usual. When he breathes in, he has to sometimes take the help of his neck muscles to send air into the lungs. The gap between the two collarbones tends to dip during inhalation. While exhaling, the child makes a musical hissing sound termed as ‘wheezing’. The ‘breathing out time’ is more prolonged than usual.
A child with allergic tendency is more prone to asthma. The severity can vary from one child to another. For instance in some children it may present itself just with recurrent cough which responds dramatically to drugs used for asthma. I suggest that you see a pediatrician in case the child gets a breathing problem again.

I dread the winter season because I always come down with a severe case of allergic cold. I don’t know whether it’s the chill in the air or the woollens I wear that causes the sneezing fits.
Winter brings about several changes in the atmospheric patterns. The “inversion effect” increases pollution creating smog, a blanket of fog and smoke, particulate matter, diesel particles, nitrogen dioxide (N02), etc. This noxious mixture can irritate and cause swelling of the delicate lining of the nose and sinuses, resulting in allergic cold and its symptoms. Steam inhalations, salt water gargling and sipping honey with hot water, all help to soothe the throat. Drinking extra fluids helps thin phlegm, making it easier to get rid of it. The liquorice honey, used as a lozenge, is very effective in easing a sore throat. Time tested ayurvedic preparations like herbal leaves help in reducing the congestion. Regular Yogasana or meditation improves breathing techniques and thereby aids in ventilation of sinuses and preventing infections. Fruits, vegetables and green salads provide antioxidants to counter the effect of pollution. If your seasonal rhinitis is a regular affair it would be a good idea to start preparing for it before winter sets in.

Bedwetting Problem

medicalquestions — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:33:52 +0000

My 24-year-old son has been diagnosed with ‘frequency of malturation and haematurea.’ Tests revealed a thick walled urinary bladder with significant post void residue. Urine culture report showed gram-negative growth, and antibiotics were prescribed. His water intake throughout the day is generally minimal. He once suffered from toilet phobia to the extent of eschewing food and water to avoid going to one.

Your son possibly has a dysfunctional sphincter. He would need a urodynamic study.

Allergic to strawberries

medicalquestions — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:01:57 +0000

Question: Every time I even see a strawberry, let alone eat one, my lips become swollen and itchy! Is this a type of allergy? Almost certainly you have an allergy to strawberries.
It is possible to become allergic to almost anything. Animal hair, flowers, dust, foods, drugs, materials, grasses, fish and even other people can sometimes cause allergic reactions in an individual. Protein molecules from these substances are inhaled, touched or eaten and are recognised as foreign by the defence cells of the body. They engulf and destroy the foreign protein, but in the process, a small number of cells are manufactured that remember that foreign molecule, and the next time it enters the body, the defence cells are ready for it, and can destroy it more rapidly. This memory may last life-long. Allergies occur when this reaction is inappropriate or excessive.
Most people can eat strawberries without harm, but your body has recognised one of the molecules in strawberries as harmful, and whenever it is encountered, it reacts violently. When the defence cells react excessively, a substance known as histamine is released into the tissues. This causes swelling, itchiness and secretion of mucus. Thus your lips swell up and become itchy. In other people the eyes, nose or other tissues may swell up, and your nose may water.
Treatment is by antihistamine tablets or a series of desensitising injections.

Allergic to Limestone

medicalquestions — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:01:09 +0000

Question: Could I be allergic to the limestone formations in my area? I have felt tired, moody, depressed and dizzy ever since I moved here. Can the levels of limestone be checked in the blood?
It is possible to be allergic to almost anything, but as limestone consists mainly of calcium carbonate, which is a normal constituent of the body, it is highly unlikely that you are allergic to it. Limestone is a very common rock formation, and I am not aware of any studies that connect exposure to limestone with any medical condition. Miners of limestone are not known to have any particular problems in the way that coal and asbestos miners do.
The level of both calcium and carbonate can be easily measured in the bloodstream by any pathology laboratory, but I would doubt that these levels would reflect in any way your environment, but they do alter with many different diseases.

Treatment or cureness of Allergy

medicalquestions — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:01:13 +0000

Question: How are allergies treated? Is there any permanent cure? I have to live on antihistamines for my rash that keeps flaring up for no apparent reason.
The treatment of an acute allergic reaction will depend on where it occurs, it; severity, and its duration. Antihistamine drugs are the mainstay of treatment and may be given by tablet, mixture, injection or cream. They are best used early in the course of an allergic reaction or if an exposure to an allergy-provoking situation is expected. Unfortunately, in past years only sedating antihistamines were available, which caused drowsiness as an unacceptable side effect, but now a wide range of safe and effective non-sedating antihistamines are available.
Once the reaction is established, a severe attack may require steroid tablets or injections, adrenaline injections, or, in very severe cases, emergency resuscitation. Other drugs may be used in specific allergy situations (eg. lung-opening drugs in acute asthma). There are a number of substances that can be used on a regular basis to prevent certain allergic reactions. These include sodium cromoglycate (Intal and Opticrom) and nedocromil sodium (Tilade—asthma sptay only) which may prevent hay fever, asthma and allergic conjunctivitis if used several times a day throughout the allergy season (often spring). They are available as inhalers, nasal sprays and eye drops.
A small number of patients ate so allergic to certain substances (eg. bee stings or ant bites) that they must carry an emergency supply of an injectable drug (usually adrenaline) with them at all times, and must inject themselves if they suspect that they have been exposed to the allergic substance.
Once the substances that cause an allergy in an individual have been identified, further episodes of allergic reaction may be prevented by desensitization. This involves giving extremely small doses of the allergy-causing substance to the patient, and then slowly increasing the dose over many weeks or months until the patient can tolerate the substance at the maximum likely exposure level. The desensitisation is normally given by weekly injections.
If you can find out what is causing your allergy reaction, it may be possible to have a course of desensitisation, and be cured.

What is an allergy & how it occurs ?

medicalquestions — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:01:10 +0000

Question: Just what is an allergy? How do they occur? I have been able to eat oysters all my life, but now I get an itchy rash if I even touch one. How can this happen?
An allergy is an excessive reaction to a substance which in most people causes no reaction. An allergy can occur to almost any substance in our environment. It may be triggered by foods, pollens, dusts, plants, animals, feathers, furs, mould, drugs, natural or artificial chemicals, insect bites and gases. No-one is totally immune to all possible allergic substances, but some individuals are far more susceptible to a wide range of substances than other people. This tendency towards allergies tends to run through a family, but the form the allergy takes (eg. hay fever or rash) and the substances that the person reacts to (eg. oysters and bee stings) can vary from one generation to the next.
Allergy reactions may be very localised (eg. at the site of an insect bite, or in just one eye), may occur suddenly or gradually, may last for a few minutes or a few months. They may involve internal organs (eg. lungs), or be limited to the body surface (eg. skin or nose lining). Allergies that cause significant discomfort or distress to the patient occur in 10% of the population. An allergy differs subtly from a hypersensitivity reaction, where a normal reaction, experienced by most people, is exaggerated in some individuals. Often the difference is of little consequence to the sufferer and may only be determined by measuring specific substances (called immunoglobulins) in the blood. Side effects of drugs, psychological reactions, personal dislikes and the results of
over-exposure to substances, must all be differentiated from a true allergy.
When a person is exposed to a substance to which s/he is allergic, the bod reacts by releasing excessive amounts of a substance called histamine from mas cells that are found in the lining of every body cavity, and in the skin. Histamine is requited at times to fight invading substances, but when released in excess, i causes inflammation, redness, and swelling, and in body cavities, the excess secretion of fluid from the involved surface. Intense itching often also occurs.
It is rare for an allergy to occur on the first occasion that a person comes inti contact with a substance ot food (in your case, oysters), but an allergy reaction can occur on the second, third or 300th time that the substance is encountered Developing an allergy after years of exposure is therefore, not unusual.

Allergic of something

medicalquestions — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:00:29 +0000

Question: How do you find out if you are allergic to something. Can blood tests tel you? I am already allergic to cats, but want to find out if there is something else causing my hay fever.
Allergies to specific substances can be detected by skin tests or blood tests. In the skin test, a minute amount of the suspected substance is scratched into a very small area of skin. The reaction of that skin area is then checked regularly over several days. In blood tests, specific antibodies (chemicals produced in the body in response to invading allergic substances) are sought and identified.
You need to have a fairly good idea what is causing your allergy before the tests are done, as the test is for a very specific substance. Several hundred thing: can be tested for, but each one requires a separate blood or skin test, and this cat prove to be very uncomfortable and expensive, as Medicare only subsidies a limited number of these tests under very specific circumstances.