Allergy/Immunology is that branch of medicine that concerns itself with the body's reaction to certain enviromental, infectious or even internal (endogenous) influences. The specialist known as an Allergist/Immunologist focuses on attempting to discern what the body is reacting to and why. As a family physician, I also diagnose and treat many types of disease processes which are directly a manifestaion of allergic and/or immunological influences on the body.

Most of us have heard of seasonal allergies, that is, the dry or watery eyes, runny nose, post nasal drip, stuffy ears and sore throat. Most of us know this comes from our bodies reacting to something environmental; ie, trees, grasses, pollens, molds etc. But not many of us have ever heard of hereditary angioedema. Both of the above would fall into the allergy/immunological realm and both I have diagnosed as a family physician.

True, allergies are much more common, while the angioedema is not, but both deal with our bodies reaction to something. It is interesting to note at least in the northeast, that around any change of season when a patient presents to my office with the symptoms of watery eyes or post nasal drip, that it is almost never an infection as most people think.

This is a good time to diverge a bit and state that alot of the allergic clinical manifestations such as the symptoms mentioned above, including most ear pain, sinus pressure, post nasal drips and sore throats (especially if the sore throat is accompanied by the other symptoms), does not require the use of antibiotics.

Unfortunately, antibiotics are widely overprescribed and this leads to an increase in what is known as anti-microbial resistance. What we all have to understand is that bacteria are pretty smart little critters, and if they keep seeing the same or similar antibiotics again and again, they will figure out a way to survive. Once they do, that antibiotic is no longer effective against that particular bacterium. Even worse, one starin of bacteria can share this antibiotic defeating capability with other strains and now one can develop antibiotic resistance in multiple strains of bacteria. This has already happened with the MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylcoccus Aureus) bacterium, as well as the VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus) strain of a bacterium known as Enterococcus.

As mentioned above, a family physician provides many allergic and immunological services and a short non inclusive list is as follows;
  • Allergic  Conjunctivitis-refers to an allergy within the eyes or conjunctivae; can be treated with the usual antihistamines used to treat regular seasonal allergies. Sometimes eye drops have to be used. One medication to avoid is the use of visine which can be irritating to the eyes and actually increase redness, potentially affecting vision.

 

  • Allergic Rhinitis- refers to an allergy affecting mainly the nose, where the nose can 'run like a faucet'. If the mucous is clear as it emanates from the nostrils, one is most likeley dealing with an allergic rhinitis. Treated generally with antihistamines. If severe enough, nasal steroids may be needed.

 

  • Seasonal Allergies- Most people are well aware of what seasonal allergies are. These are the allergies one can have in the spring, summer or fall; due to grass, pollens, mold and flowers. Most people are not aware that they can suffer from what is referred as perennial allergies, which refers to yera round allergies, including the winter months as well. Winter allergies are usually due to molds, dust or pets; especially in the northeast.

 

  • Sinusitus-refers to inflammation of any of the 4 matching sinus cavities; frontal, sphenoidal, ethmoidal and maxillary represents the four pairs of sinus cavities, which a are basically holes in our heads--Literally. Sinusitus does not always mean one has an infection, as is most commonly thought by laypersons. Most sinusitus infections can be treated with simple over the counter antihistamines and usually does not require the use of antibiotics.

 

  • Otitis Media-refers to inflammation of the tympanic membrane or eardrum. Noticed I used the term inflammation and not infection. As with sinusitus, most of these conditions can be treated without antibiotics; which is the opposite to what many parents think if their child has an inner ear infection. The fact that most inner ear infections do not need antibiotics, leads to parents feeling their child isn't being treated properly when the pediatrician/family doc doesn't prescribe antibiotics. In fact, when a doc doesn't prescribe antibiotics it generally means the doc is up to date with the latest literature and is treating the child appropriately.

 

  • Otitis Externa-this refers to an infection of the outer canal of the ear. This can either be inflammatory or infectious. The classic 'swimmer's ear' needs to be treated with antibiotics, other inflammatory conditions can usually be treated successfully with non antibiotic ointments.

 

  • Serous Otitis-occurs when a fluid build-up occurs behind the eardrum within the inner ear. As opposed to otitis media (which is an inflammation of the tympanic membrane or eardrum), the fluid accumulation occurs behind the eardrum, putting pressure on it and causing pain, oftentimes severe. This is not an infectious process and should not be treated with antibiotics, unless another infectious process coexists with it. Again, antihistamines, nasal steroids and sometimes leukotriene antagonists are used.

The above represent a limited overview of the types of allergic conditions I treat in my office. This list is not all inclusive and there are many other allergic entities/diseases I treat which are not listed above.

  Listed below are a few links where you can read about natural, non-medical treatments for allergies as well as asthma (I tallk about asthma in my pulmonary medicine tab).



Click Here for natural remedies for asthma and allergies!


Click Here to learn how to treat chronic sinus problems naturally!