Air filters for home use can be divided into those that filter the air, called HEPA filters, and electrostatic air filters. HEPA filters consist of a filter and carbon prefilter, which together are capable of...
While this question focuses on the role of cats in a patient’s allergy, the information presented here is applicable to most furry pets, including dogs, rabbits, rats, and other small hairy or furry pets. An...
Fungi, which include thousands of different types of molds and yeasts, are a key part of the outdoor ecosystem. Molds are the fungal organisms to which most patients develop allergies. While many patients believe they...
House dust mites, whose technical names are Der-matophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae, are microscopic insects that are relatives of the spider family. These tiny creatures are found throughout the world and live on a diet...
There are three basic steps to treating allergic rhinitis. The first step is to identify the allergens that the patient is sensitive to (by skin or blood testing) and institute measures for avoiding these allergens....
Some laboratories offer a blood test that measures immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to allergenic sub-stances. IgG has never been demonstrated to be an important cause of allergic reactions; in fact, IgG may play a protective...
An alternative to allergy skin testing is blood testing, in which a small sample of a patient’s blood is tested for the presence of IgE antibodies. In the past, the testing assay was based upon...
To determine what a patient is allergic to, a physician will need to perform an allergy test. Allergy tests assess whether a patient has IgE antibodies to a specific allergenic substance. The most commonly performed...
Chronic nasal complaints developing later in life are usually not allergic in origin. The most likely causes of new-onset rhinitis in patients older than 60 years of age includes nonallergic rhinitis, anatomic obstruction (such as...
Infants younger than 1 year of age frequently have signs of nasal blockage, most often because of thick secretions that are stuck in their nose. Other symptoms, such as sneezing or ocular symptoms, are much...
I was told that I have a deviated septum and that this makes my allergies worse. Do I need to have it surgically repaired? The nasal septum is the small cartilaginous structure that divides the...
Alcoholic beverages, regardless of type, dilate blood vessels throughout the body, including the nose, and frequently cause an increase in nasal congestion. In addition, alcohol is dehydrating and may lead to a thickening of nasal...
I’ve been using Afrin nasal spray daily for the past 6 months to treat my stuffy nose. Why do my symptoms seem to be getting worse? Frequently, patients with nasal congestion caused by an acute...
It has been a widely held belief that drinking milk or eat-ing dairy-containing foods causes an increase in nasal mucus production. However, there is no scientific evi-dence that daily consumption of milk has a chronic...
There is a large group of people, probably constituting 50% of patients with chronic nasal symptoms, who develop a watery nasal discharge and/or stuffiness when they are around certain nonallergenic nasal triggers. This nasal disorder...
I work in an office building with sealed windows, and my nasal symptoms seem worse while I’m there. Could the building be responsible? Many patients note that their symptoms mainly occur, or worsen, while they...
The most important allergens that cause allergic rhinitis are airborne substances. These airborne allergens can be divided into those that are present only seasonally versus those that are present year-round (also called “perennial”). Seasonal allergens...
Symptoms of allergies and colds can be quite similar, but there are some differences that will help distinguish them (see Table 3). With regard to the types of symptoms, both allergies and colds cause symptoms...
Patients with seasonal nasal allergies, also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis or seasonal hay fever, often have intermittent nasal symptoms that may become acutely worse while the patient is outside of the house, particularly if...
Usually, eczema (atopic dermatitis) develops in the creases of the arms and behind the knees in the first year of life and signifies that a child will be an allergic individual. Approximately half of children...
There is a strong genetic component in determining which individuals will develop allergy. If one parent has an allergic disease, including asthma, rhinitis, atopic der-matitis, or food allergy, there is an approximate 40% chance that...
These alarming increases are not completely understood. However, one popular explanation has been labeled the hygiene hypothesis. This theory stipulates that all humans are born with an allergic predilection. As grow-ing infants encounter new environmental...
Over the past 2 decades, a significant portion of the world, particularly the United States, western and north-ern Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, has witnessed a substantial increase in allergic diseases. Approximately 2 decades...
The primary allergic diseases include allergic asthma,allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, anaphylaxis, and food hypersensitivities . Asthma is a disease of the lungs in which the bronchial mucous membrane is chronically irritated and inflamed. This inflammation...
The word allergy refers to a reaction to an environmen-tal substance, either by breathing it, eating it, or having contact with the skin. The most common mechanism by which an environmental substance causes this kind...