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Allergy
and Sinusitis
Allergies cause a wide range of symptoms, from the
common problems that everyone has heard of such as a runny nose, nasal
congestion, sneezing; watery, itchy, red eyes; and itchy ears, to less
obvious problems like a tickle in the throat, cough, asthma, wheezing,
shortness of breath, hives, eczema, bee sting reactions, and so forth.
Fatigue is also common in allergy season. The older antihistamines
which cause drowsiness didn't help with fatigue but now the newer
antihistamines generally don't cause drowsiness.
People develop allergy problems because of an overactive immune system
in which certain gamma globulins are overproduced by the body. Gamma
globulins are normally present to fight bacterial infections. In the case
of allergies, one of the gamma globulins (called IgE) functions abnormally
and views the allergens (e.g. cat dander) as being a foreign bacteria - so
the IgE attempts to "kill" it. When IgE attaches to the pollen, a barrage
of chemicals including histamine are released into the body from cells
called Mast cells, and as a result patients are left with allergic
symptoms.
Most people think that allergists only deal with allergy problems, but
as you can see from the information contained in this website, we deal
with a lot of other problems including sinusitis, asthma, hives, and so
forth. Just because you go to see an allergist, it doesn't
mean that you necessarily will get treated just for "allergy" problems,
especially if you have other kinds of problems that are bothering you,
like sinusitis. It also doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get
allergy tested. There are many other things that allergists can do to help
you in addition to doing allergy testing.
Typically your history of allergy problems is the most important thing
that a doctor evaluates in an allergy evaluation, and a good allergist
will spend a lot of time going through your history. After doing a careful
evaluation, including a physical exam, your allergist will discuss
treatment and possibly performing various tests which we'll talk about
later. There are a variety of treatments and medications which we can
suggest to help you. The most important thing to do in treating allergy
problems is avoidance of the allergens that commonly cause problems. First
we'll discuss environmental problems.
Mold
Mold (or mildew) smells musty and commonly grows in damp areas
including underneath refrigerators, inside air conditioners, in damp (i.e.
humidity > 50%) basements, barns, in old books and under piles of leaves.
If you can smell it, it is guaranteed to be a problem. Mold is the black
stuff that you'll also find in bathrooms near the shower. Mold also grows
in damp soil, so house plants can be a problem for allergy sufferers.
Fungicides can help with mold control, but it's important to limit the
amount of dampness by controlling the humidity and any water source as
well as using dehumidifiers and air conditioning when necessary.
Occasionally it is necessary to do mold cultures to determine what molds
are in your house. These are ideally done by someone familiar with
environmental problems around the house.
Older homes are much more of a problem, as there are more likely to be
problems with leaky roofs or problems with plumbing. If the basement does
not have an adequate vapor barrier, it is often possible for a water to
get into the basement, especially when it rains.
Mold requires a food and water source. Sheetrock is fine for them, so
in the usual home, they just need a water source to grow. There have
recently been an increasing number of problems, some of which are starting
to be publicized in the news media. Molds such as Aspergillus or
Stachybotris can make people very sick, either from toxins or from
allergies. We also think that more exposure to them can cause people to
develop sinusitis.
It is very important to carefully resolve any water problems that you
have, either at home or at work so that you can avoid future problems. (
Schools are also a major problem.).
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