A New York City ENT doctor deals with a variety of different conditions from performing sinus surgeries to diagnosing ear, nose & throat problems.
Posts tagged allergy treatment
High Pollen Levels Affect You at Work and School
4 years ago
by Social Media Team
in Allergies
Discomfort associated with allergies can affect the concentration of students and teachers alike.
There are many symptoms of evidence for those unfortunate people who are afflicted by pollen allergies, including persistent runny noses, constant itching, sneezing, and eye irritation. These symptoms, in turn, can lead to other problems such as fatigue, and when medications are used to control the symptoms associated with allergies, that can make a person very drowsy and much less alert.
Scientists are now beginning to study the relationship between high pollen count and the performance of children in school and adults at work. There’s long been a suspicion that there would be a correlation between the two, but until scientific evidence was available to support it, that remained only a suspicion.
This discussion will focus on some recent studies which have been performed, that demonstrate a significant relationship between high pollen counts in the environment and lower performance in school-aged children and adult workers.
Impact of High Pollen Count on Students
Studies conducted at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology by Simon Bensnes have examined the connection between high pollen counts and exam performance on students. The study conducted by Bensnes at that university evaluated the results of year-end exams during a four-year period from 2008 through 2011.
Between 25% and 30% of Norwegian young people have symptoms attributable to pollen allergies, primarily among males. The study closely studied exam scores in specific locations and on specific dates and related that information to the local pollen count on those exam days. The results of the study showed that students exposed to higher pollen counts were definitely impacted by them, especially those students who had pollen allergies.
Whenever the pollen count increased by as much as 20 pollen grains per cubic meter (one standard deviation), the grade of an average student dropped by approximately 2.5%. Assuming that pupils with no pollen allergies suffer no ill effects from the pollen count, results of the study show clearly that one out of every 10 students with a pollen allergy dropped at least one grade, whenever the pollen count increased by as much as a standard deviation.
High Pollen Count Equals Lower Grades
Information gathered from the study made it clear that students who do suffer from pollen allergies tend to get lower grades on exams, on those days where the pollen count increased significantly. After the study was concluded, Bensnes shifted his focus to a higher education setting, attempting to find out if similar results would be reflected by students at an older age.
His findings supported the same kind of statistics that he encountered at the lower academic levels. Whenever random increases in pollen count occurred on the days of exams for students who were allergic to pollen, there was a corresponding downturn in the average exam score for those students. His conclusions were that results demonstrated a clear correlation between increased pollen counts and lower exam scores, ostensibly because students were significantly distracted by the symptoms they were forced to deal with while taking those examinations.
U.S. figures indicate that American schoolchildren miss approximately 2 million school days every single year because of pollen allergies, which keep them in misery. While students with allergies are often given slight accommodations in the form of extended time for taking exams, this doesn’t always produce the desired results. In the same study conducted in Norway by Bensnes, results showed that students with pollen allergies were still at a disadvantage, even when they were given extended time to complete their examinations.
Impact of High Pollen Count on Working Adults
Allergy sufferers can experience reduced productivity on the job.
Statistics compiled in Sweden demonstrate that hay fever costs in the neighborhood of SEK 2.7 billion every year, mainly due to absenteeism of employees. Presumably, symptoms caused by hay fever are severe enough that people simply don’t feel up to going to work, and having to deal with all those annoying issues whenever the pollen count would rise significantly.
A study conducted in the US discovered that hay fever victims were subject to reduced mental activity speeds during pollen season, as opposed to any other times of the year. Another study intentionally exposed people with allergies to pollen in a controlled setting, so that the effects could be measured relative to decreased memory, less accurate computation abilities, slower reasoning, and overall reduced mental function, compared to test subjects who had no allergies.
How to Cope With High Pollen Count
So what’s the bottom line for people with pollen allergies? How do students avoid getting lower test scores, how do adults cope with a reduced performance at work, and how do both groups avoid absenteeism whenever pollen counts rise in a given location? Doctors recognize that there is no way that pollen can be completely avoided, simply because it’s all around us in the flowers, trees, grasses, and weeds. However, there are a few things you can do to minimize how pollen count impacts you.
First of all, people who know they have allergies should make a point of checking the pollen count each day, which is available from the National Allergy Bureau. Next, you should find out from your doctor exactly which things you are allergic to, and when you are aware that the particular type of pollen is peaking, you can take preventive measures such as medication. You can also stay indoors when you know the pollen count is high, you can protect yourself when you do have to go outside, and you can take the most effective medication for your type of allergy.
Getting Ready for Those Pesky Springtime Allergies
4 years ago
by Social Media Team
in Allergies
Springtime can often bring the discomfort of seasonal allergy symptoms.
There are a lot of wonderful things about springtime that makes people very anxious for its arrival, as winter snows and cold weather begins to fade away. But for the millions of people afflicted by allergies, there can be a serious downside to the spring season as well. This is the time of year when pollen count increases dramatically, along with mold and other airborne irritants. All of these will have allergy sufferers scrambling for tissues, eye drops, and allergy medications.
Once the allergy season gets in full swing, it’s difficult to do anything but manage the symptoms of your allergies and try your best to reduce the misery you go through on a daily basis. However, before your allergies really have a chance to ramp up, there are some things you can do proactively to minimize the effects you might be subject to during the full season.
Consult Your Allergist
Rather than waiting for allergies to come to you, why not get ahead of the game this season and consult your allergist before things get out of control? Talk to your doctor about which antihistamines work best, and which have been shown to be the most effective in your area of the country. There are different plants and weeds in every area, so the medications which are most effective for your particular region might be the ones you should start using. Ideally, you should also settle on an antihistamine which doesn’t make you drowsy at work.
Close out Pollen
To whatever extent is reasonably possible, try to keep pollen and other irritants out of your home, so that at least you can enjoy a safe haven from them when you’re not physically outdoors. This will mean keeping doors and windows shut so that pollen and other materials can’t invade the home. If you haven’t done your spring cleaning yet, make sure to clean the carpeting and upholstery, and change the air filters so that they can effectively trap anything that does get indoors.
When you do have to make trips outdoors, you might want to get into the habit of changing your clothes once you’re inside. Pollen is known to stick to many different fabrics, and you’ll be giving them a free ride into your home, and then wearing them for a while unless you change immediately.
Showering before bedtime is another good idea because any pollen which has attached itself to you will be transferred down the drain, instead of onto your pillow where it can torment you through the night. Make sure your air conditioning filters are high-quality filters that trap a very high percentage of all pollutants and pollen so that it doesn’t keep circulating around the home.
Trees and other flowering plants release persistent clouds of pollen which can trigger seasonal allergy symptoms.
Be on the Lookout for Mold
Pollen isn’t the only irritant you need to be on the lookout for, because mold is another pollutant which can trigger and aggravate your allergy symptoms. There are several common places where mold can routinely have the best chance for forming and developing, including your kitchen, basement, and bathroom, all of which are areas having considerable moisture, and providing an opportunity for leaks.
When you do discover mold in any area of the household, you should remove it promptly with water and a disinfectant cleaner. If mold has settled on any fabrics in your home, try to clean them off with soap and water, but if that fails, you will probably be forced to throw them away. This might seem undesirable from the standpoint of losing a favored item of your wardrobe, but if mold can’t be removed, it will only come back to torment you the rest of the season.
Make a systematic examination of your household to find any leaks there may be around windows or pipes, or anywhere around your roof. When you do find any leaks, repair them as quickly as possible, and make sure there is no material which remains saturated with water, allowing mold to grow.
After you’ve done your mold investigation and cleanup, if you discover any persistent re-growth of mold, you’ll need to check again for any leaks, or you may have to check on the level of ventilation in that particular room. If air can’t circulate in any specific area, it’s possible that moisture can accumulate as the temperature rises, and that can also promote the growth of mold.
Plan Your Outdoor Visits Wisely
Obviously, you won’t get through an entire pollen season without going outdoors, even if you’re one of those people who doesn’t mind being shut in for a relatively long period of time. But you can plan ahead of time to avoid the very worst times of day for peak pollen count, and then stay indoors when you know those are in effect.
Early mornings often have such high pollen counts, so it would be better to plan your outdoor trips later in the day to avoid getting exposed to too much pollen. When you have an extended stretch of weather which is hot and dry, that can also be prime pollen count time and something to be avoided. Rainy days are generally much lower for pollen count, so if you don’t mind getting a little wet, and you don’t mind the gloom of a rainy day, those might be the best days for you to be more active outside.
Are Allergies Genetic?
4 years ago
by Social Media Team
in Allergies
Are allergies genetic, hereditary, developed over time? No matter how you ask it, you seem to have stumbled across one of the most popular questions regarding allergies (after “how do I cope with allergies because they’re driving me crazy,”of course). Whether you’re starting to develop similar allergies to your parents or perhaps you’re noticing the signs in your own children, you might be wondering whether allergies can be passed down from one generation to the next.
To answer this question, we first need to deal with the word “allergy” and what it actually means. In truth, it’s quite a broad term and covers any abnormal reaction to substances that are, generally speaking, harmless to the masses. Known as ˜allergens,”these substances can be found outside, inside, in our foods, and in a variety of other locations in life.
With each allergen offering something different, the reactions and symptoms of a reaction can be very different. For pollen, for example, you might experience a runny nose, red eyes, itchy ears, watery eyes, scratchy throat, or perhaps something else. With animal dander, dust mites, and mold, the symptoms are very similar but may vary in how often one occurs over the other. Finally, more severe symptoms can include coughs, sinus headaches, and facial pain.
To what extent are allergies genetic? Allergies may not be passed down from parent to child, but there is definitely a genetic correlation. Twins, for example, are usually allergic to similar things.
True or False: Are Allergies Genetic?
So, to what extent are allergies genetic? All things considered, there are many ways in which we can develop allergies and our genes are included in this list. Often, parents will pass these allergy genes to their children who will then suffer the same (or similar) allergies throughout their life. Of course, this isn’t to say that, if you have allergies, your children or potential children will definitely develop the same allergies. While some children will develop them, others will develop different allergies, while a third group won’t develop any allergies at all so each case is unique.
At this point, we should note that the allergy cannot be passed from parent to child. In what sense then, are allergies genetic? Instead, it’s the tendency to be allergic to a certain substance that’s passed on. Today, this is a common misconception even though the difference is quite significant.
Overall, we can say that children belonging to parents with allergies are more likely to see allergies themselves. This being said, it’s important for all parents to have their children tested for the same allergies if any symptoms show. As long as you’re alert and aware of your child’s behavior, you can approach your doctor and have the best case of treatment installed. To diagnose allergies, the doctor will ask for the medical history of your child (or yourself if you’re experiencing the symptoms) before then performing certain physical tests. If allergies are present but the doctor can’t quite pinpoint the issue, allergy skin testing may be used.
As soon as the issue has been highlighted, the right treatment can be put into place to keep the allergies under control in the time ahead. Rather than ignoring it and hoping for the best, medication can control the allergies and make the experience a little easier to bear.
Allergen Immunotherapy
Regardless of whether it’s your children, yourself, or even a friend or family member, your doctor might also recommend allergen immunotherapy. If the issue is severe and affecting everyday life, this treatment will gradually desensitize the body to the allergen causing the problems. As the body starts to recover, not as much medication will be required and the symptoms should reduce.
Studies and Research
A recent study in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology noted how allergies can also be gender-related as well as just inherited. For the longest time, it was assumed all allergies came from the mother. With this discovery, it means the mother is more likely to pass allergies to her daughter while a father is more likely to pass allergies to his son.
Finally, there has also been some interesting research on twins. If they share the same 25,000 genes (identical twins), there’s a 60% chance of both being allergic to peanuts if one is allergic to peanuts. If only 50% of the genes are shared (fraternal twins), this rate decreases to just 7%.
Ultimately, as we’ve seen all the way through, genes do play a role in passing these allergies along. However, this role is still largely undefined and we’ll only find out how it all works when researchers make a substantial breakthrough!
Turning Off Allergies? Gene Therapy Says It’s Possible
5 years ago
by Social Media Team
in Allergies
Is a one-time treatment for allergies on the way?
Allergies are a major cause of stress and discomfort for millions of people around the world. In America alone, we have approximately 50 million people suffering from this disease. Various medicines and treatments exist to ease allergy symptoms; however, these methods are no cure. Scientists at the University of Queensland are looking into a possible life-long treatment for severe allergies. Find out if there’s hope for a cure.
How Allergies Work
An allergy is a response from your immune system, an indicator that you are hypersensitive to certain substances. These allergens vary from person to person. Some people are allergic to certain plants, foods, drugs, materials or bugs. Even dust in the air is a potential allergen for someone suffering from the disease. When the body comes into contact with any of these allergens, it overreacts, causing allergy sufferers to experience coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, and more.
New Allergy Treatment
In a study using animal, Associate Professor Ray Steptoe at the UQ Diamantina Institute essentially ‘turned-off’ the immune response.
“Our work used an experimental asthma allergen, but this research could be applied to treat those who have severe allergies to peanuts, bee venom, shell fish and other substances,” says Professor Steptoe. “We take blood stem cells, insert a gene which regulates the allergen protein and we put that into the recipient. Those engineered cells produce new blood cells that express the protein and target specific immune cells, ‘turning off’ the allergic response.”
This research could mean significant progress towards curing allergy sufferers of their dilemma. Most current allergy treatments are effective but temporary. Patients have to keep taking these treatments and medications to relieve symptoms.
Professor Steptoe explains that “When someone has an allergy or asthma flare-up, the symptoms they experience results from immune cells reacting to protein in the allergen. The challenge in asthma and allergies is that these immune cells, known as T-cells, develop a form of immune ‘memory’ and become very resistant to treatments.”
The Next Step in Research
The gene therapy is still in its early stages. Now that the animal trails have proven successful, Professor Steptoe hopes to move onto the next step – human trials.
“We have now been able ‘wipe’ the memory of these T-cells in animals with gene therapy, de-sensitising the immune system so that it tolerates the protein,” says Professor Steptoe. “We haven’t quite got it to the point where it’s as simple as getting a flu jab, so we are working on making it simpler and safer so it could be used across a wide cross-section of affected individuals.”
Professor Steptoe is working from Australia, which has more than 2 million residents with allergies. By testing the gene therapy with human cells, scientists can discover if the treatment is effective in people. The researchers might also discover if the gene therapy negatively effects the immune system altogether. For now, more research needs to be done and hopefully, it can lead to a single treatment cure for people suffering from allergies.
If you have allergy symptoms, we suggest visiting an ENT doctor. They have experience helping patients find a way to live with allergy symptoms.