Windom Allergy, Asthma, Sinus

One of the best parts about preparing for my OIT presentation at the University of South Florida was learning about the history of OIT. I hope you are as amazed as I was at this timeline. – Dr. Ly 500 AD - the ancient Babylonian Talmud has instructions for treating egg sensitivity with egg white. 1905 - Finkelstein conceptualizes OIT – He successfully desensitizes nurslings with “milk idiosyncrasy” by gradually administering increasing drops of milk. 1908 - Schofield treats a 13-year-old patient with egg allergy over an 8-month period by incrementally increasing small amounts of raw egg disguised in pill form....

Spring is in the air, and so are billions of tiny pollens that trigger allergy symptoms in millions of people. Our tree pollen season has arrived with oak pollen being the most problematic this time of year! Symptoms may include runny nose, sneezing, stuffy nose, itchy watery eyes, and dark circles under the eyes. For those with asthma, symptoms may include wheezing, cough and chest tightness. There are also simple steps you can take to limit your exposure to the pollen or molds that cause your symptoms: • Keep your windows closed at night and if possible, use air conditioning, which...

So, you don’t get hives or wheezy when you eat certain foods, but you don’t feel well after eating them. What’s going on? You may have a food intolerance, which is difficulty digesting certain foods and having an unpleasant physical reaction to them. Common symptoms include bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea, skin rashes, and itching usually a few hours after eating the food. Is there a food intolerance test? Unfortunately, there are no validated tests for food intolerances.  And please don’t be fooled into paying the low, low price of $500-1000 for ANY test that claims otherwise. Seeking advice from your doctor...

There is a down side to living in the beautiful subtropics of Sarasota. We rarely get freezing temperatures that stop the grasses, trees, and weeds from pollinating. In fact, our grass pollen season is about ten months long! But if you're still sneezing and blowing your nose when we get some frost, you might have indoor allergies. Common causes of winter, indoor allergies are dust mites, pets and molds. The Sarasota humidity allows dust mites and mold to flourish. If you have allergy symptoms that are severe enough to require medical treatment, it’s likely time to see an allergist. Once you...

The lungs of asthma patients are very sensitive to the air we breathe.  While Red Tide annoys all of us, asthmatics are prone to bronchospasm and cough when exposed to the aerosolized toxin, an all to present occurrence in 2018 along coastal Florida .  We now head into cooler weather, yet another trigger for the ‘twitchy’ airways of people with asthma.  Many of our asthma patients need to increase their maintenance medications during the winter months.  Knowing what triggers your asthma is key to staying healthy. https://www.visitsarasota.com/article/beach-conditions-red-tide-and-travel-alerts

Congratulations to Dr. Fergeson and colleagues on the success of their article “The Electronic Cigarette: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” which was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice . This article was one of the top cited articles in 2017 and has provided the medical community with valuable information on the risks and benefits of electronic cigarette use in asthmatic smokers and highlights what questions still need to be answered.   Electronic cigarettes (EC) are battery-powered nicotine delivery systems that have increased in popularity since they entered the US market. EC has been reported...

Happy holidays from Windom Allergy! We are truly grateful to be a part of your lives. We cherish the trust you have in us in keeping you and your loved ones safe and healthy. Here are some food allergy tips to navigate the holiday parties. If you are planning on hosting please consider the following. Save the ingredient labels for an allergic guest. They may feel more comfortable double-checking the ingredient list. If your guests ask to contribute, suggest food alternatives such as flowers, or holiday-themed dinnerware. Use a natural turkey or meat. For example, Pre-basted turkeys may contain top allergens...

Dr. Windom was on the Sunday program at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology in Seattle.  His lecture on food oral immunotherapy (OIT) was part of a program presented by Dr. Robert Wood from Johns Hopkins and Dr. Wesley Burks from the University of North Carolina.  The ACAAI meeting is held each fall, attracting allergist/immunologists from the United States and abroad.  www.acaai.org

Windom Allergy continues to be at the forefront of treating food allergy patients with oral immunotherapy (OIT). Dr. Windom published an article about the current status of OIT in the United States in the September issue of the Annals of Allergy Asthma & Immunology. The article reported on the collaboration of allergists offering OIT as discussed at their 1 st annual meeting in 2017. The group met again in the summer of 2018, at which Drs. Ly and Fergeson lectured on “Initiating Peanut OIT in Children under Four Years Old. https://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(18)30483-6/fulltext

Allergy shots for hay fever and allergic asthma has been around since 1911 (the 1 st published medical article).  The same concept of gradually desensitizing the allergic person to an airborne allergen is now being tried through an oral disintegrating tablet placed under the tongue, called sublingual immunotherapy.  A house dust mite tablet, Odacta, is coming out in 2018.  People with dust mite allergy will take the tablet daily to make them less allergic to household dust.  Our Expert opinion:  dust mite allergy shots are still the gold standard of successful treatment, but for those crazy-busy high school students or business...