Windom Allergy, Asthma, Sinus

We are thrilled to announce that our esteemed colleague, Dr. Ly, has successfully completed her tenure as President of the Florida Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Society (FAAIS). Her leadership has been nothing short of exceptional, and we couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments during this prestigious role. A Milestone Year for FAAIS Dr. Ly's presidency coincided with a significant milestone for the society - its 75th Anniversary. This momentous occasion was marked by a special meeting that brought together allergy and immunology specialists from across the state, including all of our doctors from Windom Allergy. Dr. Ly's Achievements During her...

Hi I’m Dr. Neha Dunn and I wanted to share my personal journey with food allergies. Having a child with food allergies can feel scary. You are always checking labels of everything at the grocery store, worrying about an accidental ingestion, and hoping that restaurant staff avoid cross contamination. Vacations and family gatherings can be challenging since you don’t have control over the menu. You feel nervous about your child going places without you. Should you completely remove the food from your house and have your whole family avoid it? What will happen when your child goes to college or has...

You’ve heard the buzz about treating your severe food allergy with drops under your tongue, sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), now it’s time to find out what is involved in the SLIT journey. The good news is, the process is simple, convenient, safe, and effective. For starters, you need to make sure food desensitization is necessary for you. Strongly positive diagnostic testing and a history of reacting to the food are often enough, but sometimes an oral food challenge is worth doing to make sure you’re still highly allergic. While SLIT is typically the recommended form of desensitization, there are other options (see...

The short answer is, very well. The longer answer involves reviewing published research studies of patients treated with food sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). There had been a few case reports of treating severe food allergy with drops under the tongue, i.e. SLIT, prior to 2011, but it was in that year the first study of a group of patients with peanut allergy came out in our major US allergy journal.1 This report from Dr. Windom’s alma mater, Duke University, treated 1-11 years old children for one year with daily SLIT drops and found that 50% were able to tolerate 7 peanuts or...

As I sit here and type, I’m also checking the NOAA hurricane tracking website. This is something we just instinctively do as seasoned Floridians during hurricane season. But as an allergist, I’m also curious to track the pollen counts from the pollen counting station at USF Tampa Allergy Division.  Today, the counts are medium high for weed pollen and mold. Two days from now, when Hurricane Helene hits, how will our allergic asthma patients be breathing? There is a phenomenon called Thunderstorm Asthma that starts or worsens after a thunderstorm. Not everyone with asthma gets an attack with thunderstorms, but it...

Before the 21st century, there wasn’t any treatment for food allergy, but that wasn’t from a lack of trying. Studies in the early 1990’s showed some promising results from administering peanut allergy shots, similar to the environmental allergy shots that had been a staple of the allergy profession since the 1930’s. Unfortunately, the program was shut down after a dosing error led to a fatal anaphylactic reaction in one of the children in the study. This set back food allergy investigations for about a decade. In 2006 the first case series in the US of administering peanut orally, oral immunotherapy (OIT),...

If you are not familiar with SLIT, we are talking about sublingual immunotherapy, the administration of an allergen under the tongue that over time makes you less allergic. SLIT has been referred to as “allergy drops,” and is an alternative treatment to oral immunotherapy (OIT). The sublingual route has been used in the treatment of environmental allergies (hay fever and asthma) for many years in Europe, and has recently gained more interest in the United States as an option to allergy shots.  Food proteins placed under the tongue come in contact with oral mucus membranes and are then recognized by special...

Here at Windom Allergy we are always excited to hear news about food allergy, but what’s new about a biologic that’s been on the market since 2003? Omalizumab (Xolair, an injectable medication that blocks the allergy antibody, IgE) first came out as a drug for asthma. We were one of the clinical research sites that tested the drug in our patients in the late 90’s, at the time in an intravenous form. It came to market as a subcutaneous shot, now in a convenient self-injecting syringe for home use. Once a drug is on the market, curious clinicians in concert with...

School’s out for the summer! That usually means fun in the sun and splashing in the water but don’t forget about skin safety! Sun protection is extremely important for protecting against sunburns which increase cancer risk and cause premature skin aging. Finding the right sunscreen is important, especially for those who have known eczema or sensitive skin.  While sunscreen-related allergic reactions are rare, they are more common in those with existing eczema or allergic contact dermatitis. When they occur, reactions can include irritant contact dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, phototoxic dermatitis, or contact urticaria. The main symptoms are itching, blistering, redness, and/or...

Here are a few allergy pro tips to share with your loved ones.  The most joyful time of the year is upon us, and we at Windom Allergy are choosing to keep things simple. We want to focus our time and energy on family and friends and do less. Decorate less. Worry less.  1.  For food allergy friends - If you are planning on hosting a holiday meal, please save the ingredient labels for your allergic guests.  Also, have guests be mindful of cross-contamination. Please don’t mix utensils while preparing dishes, and wipe down surface areas with soap and water.  2. ...