Adventures of an Allergist Mommy

It's that time of year. The intersection of tree and grass seasons. Beautiful to look at, miserable to inhale. Naturally, my 4 year old's allergic conjunctivitis is starting to rear its ugly head. This morning, I found him rubbing his watery little eyes as we were getting ready for a visit to the pediatrician. As I went to grab a Kleenex for him, I passed by my 9 month old and caught a whiff of his unusually pungent diaper. Aah, the sensory joys of motherhood... Upon hearing me call his brother a "stinky butt", my son decided to embellish his story, as 4 year olds are wont to do: "Mommy, I think he pooped in my eye." The visual had me cracking up all the way to the pediatrician's office... I secretly prayed that he wouldn't share his theory about the cause of his conjunctivitis symptoms, lest she believe I am allowing my baby to use his brother as a potty.

Two recent studies find interesting associations between lower levels of folic acid and vitamin D and increased allergy/asthma symptoms... #1) A retrospective study performed at Johns Hopkins and recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology tracked the effect of folate levels on respiratory and allergic symptoms, as well as levels of the allergic antibody IgE. They reviewed the medical records of over 8000 patients ranging from toddlers to octogenarians. The researchers found that patients with serum folate levels at the higher range of normal had lower rates of high IgE, atopy, and wheeze than those patients with lower levels, even though some of the patients with lower levels were technically within the normal range for serum folate. Bottom line? Folate levels on the high side of normal may be protective against some allergic disease, but blinded prospective studies are needed before we begin recommending supplementation for this purpose alone. #2) A cross...

So it's been a while since I've done the boys' laundry... I've been busy! And they have so many clothes, I didn't really think they'd run out. I was wrong. Yesterday morning, it was time to go to school, and I couldn't find clean pants for Son #1. So, I decided that it was warm enough to break out his summer wardrobe. Last year's summer wardrobe. Kids grow fast. I hurriedly squeezed him into an oversized pair of blue shorts. They didn't look oversized on him, though. Maybe that's because they were made for an 18 month old. I convinced myself that as long as no one looked at the label, it would be okay. However, when we pulled into the parking lot, Son #1 refused to get out of the car. His explanation? "I don't want anyone to see me like this. I look like I'm going to the beach." Poor kid kept pulling the shorts down to his knees and sheepishly found a place on the floor during "circle time". This is the firs...

Swine Flu Info

So, returned from a trip to Son #1's dentist this morning... At our last visit ~6 months ago, he was found to have areas of decalcification ("almost-cavities") between his molars. At that point, he was still not the best at cooperating with tooth-brushing and used to swallow the toothpaste, which meant that we couldn't use fluoride-based toothpaste. We were instructed to optimize the brushing, start flossing, and switch to fluoride toothpaste. We did great! Well, the flossing could have been a little better, but otherwise, we did great! Twice a day, without fail, spending plenty of time focusing on the molars. Very limited juice, candy only on Halloween and birthdays... our only weakness was ice cream, but he always drank water afterwards. Despite our best efforts, half of the areas of decalcification have progressed to cavities, and now we're facing having the teeth fixed with a pulpotomy and the placement of ugly stainless steel crowns, which will remain un...

Researchers from the Netherlands have reported in the March issue of Allergy that supplementation with a mixture of short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) appears to decrease total levels of the allergic antibody IgE, as well as IgG subclasses 1, 2 & 3, while increase levels of the "blocking" antibody IgG4. These oligosaccharides are known as "prebiotics", and they supply a nutrition source for the "good bacteria" (probiotics) that colonize our gastrointestinal tracts shortly after birth. The microbial environment in the gut may be an important factor in the risk of developing allergic disease, such as atopic dermatitis (eczema). The interesting thing about this study is that it demonstrated that despite the overall decrease in antibody levels, the immune response to vaccinations was preserved. This is important, because antibodies are essential to protecting us from infection, and a decrease in allerg...

Just visited my husband's grandmother in the hospital today... being a physician gives me a slightly different perspective when I am on the "patient-side". Being hospitalized is always stressful, even when for a joyous occasion such as for the birth of a child. You're out of familiar surroundings, usually not in the best of health, sometimes in pain, and certainly NOT in control of what happens to you, at least not in the way that you are accustomed to being. You and your family are eager to get home as soon as possible. Under these circumstances, the inefficiencies and "unique" communication issues in our healthcare system can be frustrating at best. So, here are my insider tips for optimizing communication in the hospital setting. 1) Please be patient. I know, not what you want to hear. But it's important to realize that the physicians and nurses caring for you and your loved ones are also responsible for the medical care of many other patients a...