Allergies

We welcome you back to the blog completed by Dr. Harbison. A lot of things have happened over the past couple of years, and I thought it would be best to start with a topic near and dear to everyone's hearts right now: allergies.

Since the weather has been improving, there has been some rainfall, we now have many plants growing, and blooming. There is pollen everywhere, on the ground, on cars, on our clothes. And what happens, is that two types of our white blood cells, eosinophils and basophils, attack the foreign pollen, and cause us misery.

Why does this happen?

This happens because we live in a developed world. Since we don't commonly deal with parasites, the white blood cells that are normally responsible for killing parasites and worms, attack other things that seem similar. Most of the time, this is some type of pollen, or dander, fur, or the like. When the WBC attack the pollen, they then release histamines, which is what makes our eyes water, nose run or become stuffy, sneezing, and itchy skin.

What are some treatment options?

Various over the counter (OTC) medications include: loratadine (claritin), cetirizine (zyrtec), and levocetirizine (xyzal). These medications work by decreasing the effects of histamines and symptoms overall. Fluticasone propionate (flonase) works by narrowing blood vessels in the nose, which causes less drainage. A prescribed medication option is montelukast (singulair) which stabilizes certain types of WBC so that they do not release histamines.

Steroids can also be helpful, but only for short term treatment. If people are on steroids for longer periods of time, it can start to suppress the immune system and cause various hormone levels to change.

What services are offered at Transcend Medical Group?

An option for testing and treating of bad allergies is skin testing. It is a fairly quick procedure where various wells are placed on people's back. If significant allergies are noted, patients may get immune therapy. This therapy is for a minimum of 1 year treatment. Once treatment serum is received, people will get weekly injections and the dose of allergy medications increase over time.