Windom Allergy, Asthma, Sinus

Almost any substance can trigger an anaphylactic reaction, but the most common offending agents are foods, drugs and insect stings. Less common triggers are latex and exercise. In the United States penicillin is the most common culprit among antibiotics, resulting in anaphylactic death in 100 cases per year. Insect stings from honeybees, wasps, yellow jackets, hornets and fire ants account for an estimated 40 deaths per year. There are individuals who will experience anaphylaxis without an obvious cause. This is called idiopathic anaphylaxis. Upon more intense investigation the doctor may uncover a substance of mechanism responsible for these reactions. Recently, it...

You probably barely survived the March Live Oak pollen implosion, and hopefully, by now it's rained taking some of that pollen out of the air. In April, we welcome Ragweed, but not to worry, historically pollen counts for ragweed, grass and trees are on the low side. We recommend closing the windows, staying indoors when windy out, and don’t clean gutters or use a blower on the patio or driveway. Allergy medications, both nasal sprays and pills, should be started in late January and continued until we get a few good April rains.

At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology in Atlanta March 2-5, 2017, Dr. Windom was awarded with the Training Program Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award for his 25 years of service to the medical students and allergy trainees at the University of South Florida.

Wendy Rich I was born and raised in South Florida and have been living in Sarasota for two years.  I have lived in Northern California and Houston but definitely consider Florida my home!!!! My hobbies include watching CNN, Food Network, cooking, listening to music and going to concerts and Broadway shows. But my favorite all time hobby is spending time with my puppy Gabe!!! No human children but my Gabe comes pretty close!!!!!   And I never have to worry about him growing up and leaving home!!!!! What would people be most surprised to learn about you? Right out of high school,...

Jennifer E. Fergeson, DO, Shiven S. Patel, MD, and Richard F. Lockey, MD Asthma affects about 300million people globally and accounts for 1 in every 250 deaths in the world. Approximately 12 million people in the United States each year experience an acute exacerbation of their asthma, a quarter of which require hospitalization. ~~~ PREDICTORS OF FATAL OR NEAR-FATAL ASTHMA Major risk factors for near-fatal and fatal asthma are recognized, and their presence makes early recognition and treatment of an asthma exacerbation essential. The history should include a review of previous episodes of near-fatal asthma and whether the patient has experienced...

Do You Have A Food Allergy? Check out this post. Responses to food allergies can be quite variable from individual to individual. It may involve gastrointestinal reactions including nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, itchy rash, hives, asthma and hay fever, swelling of the lips, tongue and throat, migraine headaches and in severe cases, anaphylaxis. Some cases of food-induced hives or anaphylaxis are dependent on a cofactor for exacerbation of clinical symptoms. The only cofactor clearly demonstrated to provoke symptoms is exercise. Before one should embark on an investigation of a food allergy, there must be a reasonable suspicion of food...

At present, eczema can not be cured, but it can usually be managed so that your child can play and live comfortably.  The condition is often "outgrown" though not by age 2-3 as is often thought.  Statistics suggest that approximately 50% of children will completely lose their eczema, and 40% will have only minor, localized or occasional skin lesions.  The remaining 10%, however, will continue to have a major problem with eczema in adulthood. The location of the rash on your child may change with age.  In infants it is located mostly on the face, abdomen, and parts of the arms...

Live Oak allergy is the most troublesome pollen for spring allergy sufferers. The yellow-green oak pollen coats everything from your car to the sidewalk — and even the grass-heavy pollen can linger in the air for weeks depending on whether or not we receive any rain.   The oak tree pollen we get over those 2 months makes up 80% of all our combined pollen for the year (grass, weeds, and other trees). The resulting allergy and asthma symptoms can be miserable. Classic spring “hay fever” symptoms can include nasal congestion and drainage, sneezing, itching and eye irritation. And if you are...

A true food allergy or food hypersensitivity is an adverse reaction to a food or food component that involves the body's immune system. Using milk as an example, an immunologic response would be cow's milk protein allergy, whereas the nonimmunologic response would be lactose intolerance, due to lactase deficiency. Although many people believe they have a food allergy, true food allergies are rare, affecting 1-3% of children under 6 years and less than 2% of adults in the general population.  While any food protein is potentially capable of eliciting an allergic reaction, most reactions are due to a limited number of...

An European study published in the leading allergy medical journal, the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology , shows that allergy shots helped people with asthma reduce their steroid medications. Asthmatic children between the ages of 6-17 requiring daily inhaled steroids to control their asthma were invited to enroll in the 2 year study, wherein half were placed on allergy shots and the other half were treated with medications alone. The group on allergy shots was able to reduce their inhaled steroid dose by 50%, while at the same time maintain better asthma control than before the study According to Dr....