Allergies & Asthma

Rural healthcare access in the U.S. continues to suffer due to problems with affordability, former agriculture secretary Mike Espy, now the Democratic candidate for a Senate seat in Mississippi, said Tuesday at a virtual meeting of the Rural Council at the Democratic National Convention. “So many low-income persons are afraid to get sick, because when

Most insects do more good than harm, but those who have an insect allergy may beg to differ. A simple exposure could be dangerous or even deadly to those with an allergy to mosquito, fire ant, or cockroach. Is there a way to treat the cause, or is avoidance the only option? This blog dives

Short-term treatment with a low-dose opioid was associated with significantly improved health status in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with advanced disease and chronic breathlessness despite optimal pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatment. In a randomized trial of over 100 patients, twice daily treatment for 4 weeks with an oral sustained-release morphine (10 mg) was associated

Choosing a college or university to attend for ‘the best years of your life’ can seem overwhelming and intimidating. Moving far from family and living with strangers in a completely new environment can be especially daunting when paired with a severe food allergy. In this blog, find tips to help navigate visiting and deciding on

As another so-called triple therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hits the market, pulmonologists and primary care physicians are beginning to consider which patients are most appropriate for these treatments, and how much added benefit these products offer relative to more conventional — and better understood — two-drug combinations. The FDA approved AstraZeneca’s fixed-dose,

Among older former cigarette smokers, a strong correlation was shown between smoking duration and health, with longer smoking history associated with greater risk for poor overall health, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic disease, according to CDC research. In national data, for people ages 65 and older who had once smoked but quit, a

Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, your favorite weather source may share pollen counts for your area. These counts are used as a warning for those with environmental allergies – explaining what’s in the air and the level of symptoms you can expect. Without a little research, these pollen counts can seem confusing, but it

After spending time gardening, you’re likely to be tired, sore, and maybe even symptomatic. There may be more to your allergy misery than just the pollen in the air (though that can be enough to keep allergy sufferers inside). See what environmental allergies could be causing your suffering while gardening this summer and ways to

Corticosteroid bursts as short as 2 weeks or less were still linked to severe adverse events among relatively healthy users, according to a large study from Taiwan. For people taking oral steroids over a median 3 days, the risk of such events was elevated in the 5-30 days after steroid therapy initiation compared with the

TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, look at the top medical stories of the week. This week’s topics include antibody testing for COVID-19, Apgar score

“If you have something that is potentially beneficial, safe, and cheap, what do you have to lose?” — Paul Marik, MD, of Eastern Virginia Medical School, on quercetin’s potential place in COVID-19 treatment. “There’s a lot of thanks from the community when we do autopsies.” — Sharon Fox, MD, of Louisiana State University in New

Inhaled triple therapy with budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol showed a signal of reducing all-cause mortality in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at higher (320 μg) budesonide doses in newly reported findings from the large, multicenter, 52-week ETHOS trial. Two doses of the glucocorticoid — 160 μg and 320 μg —

When you say “fire ants,” people likely think about the bad news — painful stings, itching, and damage to crops. But some University of Virginia researchers now say the presence of this invasive insect species might also have an upside: reducing prevalence of red meat allergy caused by tick bites. Jeffrey Wilson, MD, PhD, and

Daily life is different right now — with COVID-19 still rampant in many cities across the U.S. As some areas start to get “back to a new normal,” others are experiencing an uptick in cases for the first time since the pandemic started. The CDC has said from the start — and continues to say — that

The development of a subtype of inflammatory myopathy characterized by interstitial lung disease and positivity for a specific autoantibody was influenced by seasonality and place of residence, Japanese researchers found. Among patients with polymyositis or dermatomyositis (PM/DM) and the associated interstitial lung disease, symptom onset occurred most often from October to March for those with

WASHINGTON — The FDA approved the first generic version of the Proventil HFA albuterol inhaler, citing increased demand for this type of product as a treatment for COVID-19. The metered dose inhaler, made by Cipla Ltd., delivers 90 μg albuterol sulfate per puff; the approved indication is for “treatment or prevention of bronchospasm in patients

While ear infections are most common in children, they can also occur in repeatedly in adulthood. At that point, the option of ear tubes or “growing out of it” isn’t as feasible. Where can those with chronic ear infections turn? Start by getting to the cause of the infection.  Ear infections typically don’t just appear

earn free cme credit Earn CME credit by reading this article and completing the posttest. Sign Up Study Authors: Peter K. Lindenauer, Mihaela S. Stefan, et al.; Carolyn L. Rochester, Anne E. Holland Target Audience and Goal Statement: Pulmonologists, hospitalists The goal of this study was to determine the association between initiation of pulmonary rehabilitation

Cancer, diabetes, heart disease and musculoskeletal issues are often the conditions employers are most eager to tackle, and we don’t blame them – these are conditions that cost employers billions of dollars year after year. But many times, employers crunch the numbers, come up with preventive measures, and they’re still not seeing the decrease in

If you, like the Skeptical Cardiologist, suffer from asthma you may be wondering if you are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or developing more severe respiratory complications from the disease once infected. There are 25 million asthma sufferers in the United States, about 8% of the population, and many of us are using

Feeling itchy and sneezy this time of year? From late spring to early summer, our world turns greener and brighter as trees, grass and flowers bloom – causing a collective “achoo!” Grass can cause a lot of issues for those who are allergic because it’s such a versatile allergen – it has a sticky pollen,

Pulmonary rehabilitation within 3 months of hospital discharge was associated with a significant reduction in deaths at 1 year in a study involving 197,376 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. Peter Lindenauer, MD, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Springfield, and co-researchers reported that fewer than 2% of patients

Exposure to synthetic endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in pesticides, nonstick cookware, and fire retardants was linked to increased risk for celiac disease in children and young adults in a small observational study. Overall, young people with higher serum concentrations of dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) had twice the risk for developing celiac disease (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.07-3.78) after

People with asthma are classified as being at increased risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes, although evidence is emerging that may point in the opposite direction. Under normal circumstances, viral infections are a big driver of flares in asthma patients. But research indicates asthma patients with COVID-19 do not appear to have a higher rate of

A previous blog compared symptom relief and disease modification in the treatment of sinusitis. That story seems to repeat itself within a long list of allergic conditions that have an underlying allergy component – eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is one of them. Eczema can occur at any age, but it’s most common in children; impacting

2020 is an exciting year for Allergychoices — it’s our 20th year of helping providers offer disease modifying allergy treatment to patients across the United States. Our mission for the past 20 years has been to expand affordable access, better outcomes and quality of life to the full range of allergy sufferers through patient-specific, validated

This is the sixth story in a series by MedPage Today examining the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations. Past stories reported on the homeless, immigrants in detention, the undocumented, nursing home residents, and incarcerated individuals. With limited national data available to track COVID-19 outcomes by race, states and local municipalities started releasing their own

Your medications won’t work if you don’t take them — that’s not new news. But, life gets busy and unfortunately, taking your medication isn’t always at top of mind. In 2020, there are so many different ways to remind yourself to stay adherent, there’s hardly an excuse to miss your dose. Allergy drops following the