Category: Uncategorized

What It Means to Have an Immunodeficiency Diagnosis

Having an immunodeficiency diagnosis during a pandemic is one of the scariest things that people can go through today. If your body isn’t able to adequately fend off infection, it isn’t going to stand up well to a virus that infects people at an astounding rate. When you have an immunodeficiency disorder, you have to be more careful than the average person to avoid illness.

However, that doesn’t mean that you have to hide in your home indefinitely, afraid to come into contact with anything that could make you ill. In reality, there are a lot of measures you can take to keep yourself safe during the pandemic and beyond. Here are some things you might experience if you are immunodeficient.

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Treatment and Care for Immunodeficient Patients During Pandemic

Even though we are all worried about the pandemic and keeping each other safe, we still recognize that our patients need our care. Allergies do not go away simply because other illnesses run rampant. We are still here to help you address your allergy and asthma concerns.

We also work with a lot of patients who are immunocompromised, and we know that you may not feel safe coming to our office. Thankfully, there are a lot of things that we can do through telemedicine. If you have already established care and gone through any necessary testing, we can prescribe medications for acute symptoms or manage your maintenance medications easily through telehealth.

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Is It COVID-19? What to Do If You Develop a Cough That Doesn’t Get Better

For some, a chronic cough might be par for the course. You may seem to get symptoms around the same time every year, but not have a diagnosis of seasonal allergies. You may seem to always develop a cough when the weather changes or when a storm comes on, or you might have a smoker’s cough. But if you develop a new cough, especially now, you need to be evaluated. 

The first symptoms of COVID-19

A sore throat and mild cough are the first symptoms of the coronavirus, and they are often overlooked. Even if you can explain away your cough by some other means, you should have any new or worsening cough checked by a doctor. They may ask you additional screening questions to determine if you need to be tested, or they may have you come in for an examination.

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When you are traveling by plane, there are a lot of things to consider for your flight. One of the issues that most people don’t think about is sinus issues that can occur when the plane ascends and descends. These two points of your air travel cause cabin pressure changes that can aggravate your sinuses under certain conditions. Here’s what you need to know.

What Happens to Your Sinuses on a Plane

When your plane takes off or lands, the cabin pressure changes. Your body must change with it, and this can be somewhat painful if you have inflamed sinuses or an ear infection. When the pressure in the cabin changes, the body must equalize the pressure between the cabin, your sinuses, and your ears. There is a tube that runs from the back of your nasal cavity to the ear. When this tube becomes blocked, your body will not be able to equalize to the cabin pressure, which can cause a number of symptoms.

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Do you suffer from severe eosinophilic asthma? Eosinophilic asthma is the most common type of asthma, and it can have serious health effects. Most of the time eosinophilic asthma is treated with inhalers and steroids, but these can also have long-term health effects. Now there are two new biologics treatments available for helping you manage your asthma symptoms.

FASENRA

Fasenra is a new biologics treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma. It works by targeting eosinophils that cause asthma to reduce inflammation and to reduce the severity and frequency of asthma attacks. It is an injection that you receive to supplement your current asthma medications. 

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When most people think of immunodeficiency, they think of HIV or AIDS. However, there are many different causes. Worldwide, the most common causes are HIV, malnutrition, and unsanitary conditions. However, about one in 500 patients has an innate or primary immunodeficiency. Here are the most common culprits.

Autoimmune Disorders

There are several different autoimmune disorders that weaken the immune system. These conditions include:

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Early Symptoms of Asthma

Asthma can strike at any time in your life. You may notice symptoms of asthma in your child at a young age, in puberty, or as an adult. It is important to know the early symptoms of asthma. The sooner the condition is diagnosed, the easier treatment and management will be. Asthma can also be made worse during allergy season, and this is often when it first shows itself.

There are several early symptoms of asthma that you may not be aware of. Some symptoms can seem like regular allergy problems or a bad cold. The best time thing to do if you have any of these symptoms persistently, is to see a doctor for proper diagnosis.

The early symptoms of asthma include:

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Immunodeficiency and Infection

Immunodeficiency is a serious issue, even if you’re not quite sure what it means. Any child or adult with an immunodeficiency suffers from some type of genetic or medical condition that negatively affects how their immune system works to fight infections.

Some children are born with abnormal immune systems due to genetic conditions called primary immunodeficiency disorders. Other people develop chronic conditions like cancer or lupus that require medications that stunt the immune system.

Either way, those with immunodeficiency are significantly more vulnerable to infection than those with healthy and thriving immune systems.

What Medications Suppress the Immune System?

If you take any of the following medications to control a disease or chronic condition, it’s likely that your immune system has become compromised and placed you at higher risk of infection:

• Steroids like prednisone
• Calcineurin inhibitors like cyclosporine
• mTOR inhibitors like sirolimus
• Biologic response modifiers like Humira and Remicade
• Chemotherapy or radiation

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What Is Causing Your Itchy Skin?

Scratching an itch brings a unique sense of relief, but what happens when your itching just won’t stop? Chronically itchy skin is usually a symptoms of a larger problem that needs to be addressed. If your skin has become red and raw from itching, try to narrow down the cause so you can finally seek relief.

Treat Dry Skin

Dry skin is one of the most common causes of itchy skin, especially as winter approaches. Dry air especially the forced heat in your home, will dry out your skin quickly. Be proactive by preventing dry skin with the following tips:

• Use moisturizer every time you bathe or wash your hands
• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated
• Run a humidifier
• Don’t use scalding hot water
• Choose mild soaps

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