Adventures of an Allergist Mommy

A new treatment option for peanut allergy is currently being studied in Chicago! This treatment modality is commonly referred to as the "peanut patch", and aims to induce tolerance to peanut protein by delivering small amounts of peanut allergen to the immune system through the skin. This is similar in concept to oral and sublingual immunotherapy for foods. However, in the case of the patch, the mode of delivery is hoped to result in fewer reactions during treatment, as the allergen will not be ingested. It is certainly an interesting development, which may hold promise in the treatment of food allergy. This study is recruiting children as young as age 6 years, so it may be an option for those children who are not old enough to qualify for the Food Allergy Herbal Formula study. Please read the memorandum below for further details: -------------------------------------------------------------------- ...I would like to share with you the exciting new peanut allerg...

It's been a crazy few months... My micropractice is now a little over a year old, and I've been blessed with a growing patient base. However, with more patients comes MORE WORK! I love the patient care part - could do that all day. However, I could do without some of the paperwork, data entry, inventory, etc. I pretty much stopped sleeping. So the time came to add someone to my team. The search for someone who can channel my vision for the practice into their everyday activities was not an easy one. Resumes, essay exams (yes, I actually had candidates complete an essay exam!), interviews, math quizzes, background checks... phew! Adding employees also means adding an employee handbook, policies and procedure manual, compliance programs, payroll, worker's insurance. Wait a minute - I thought getting help was supposed to reduce my workload? So, no one would blame me if I haven't been scrapbooking, right? Wrong. My 4 year old blames me, and rightfully so. This morn...

Yesterday morning, I asked my younger son to throw his dirty clothes down the laundry chute. What I witnessed shortly thereafter cracked me up: Son #2: "Bye-bye, underwear! Have a nice trip!" Son #2 (imitating the "voice" of his dirty underwear): "Nooooo! I don't want to go!" Son #2 (back to himself): "Sorry, you need to get clean. Now go, and have a nice day!" It makes me smile to witness my children engaged in imaginative play. In this day of little faces glued to tiny screens, it's so nice to see that creativity and imagination are still the best entertainment. It's a long trip for a small pair of drawers!

My younger son and I both have asthma. Although we are well controlled, we still carry rescue medication with us everywhere. Even well-controlled asthma can flare severely under the right (or wrong) circumstances. I was especially cautious during a recent family vacation to Colorado. Living in the Midwest, we were unaccustomed to the thin mountain air, and I worried that my 3 year old might have his enjoyment of the trip ruined by asthma symptoms. So when our agenda was modified to include a steep 1.2 mile hike to view a pristine lake nestled close to the mountaintop, I wondered aloud if we should leave him behind at the hotel with his grandparents. My husband (who does not have asthma) glibly replied, "Relax, he can handle it!". "Easy for you to say," I retorted. "What are we going to do if he has an asthma attack halfway up the mountain?" Dear hubby didn't need to reply. My fearless son overheard the conversation and chimed in: "I want ...

My boys spent 2 hours with me in the office this morning. Here's what went down: 1. Coloring on scrap paper with highlighters. 2. Raiding the "treasure bucket" for toys. 3. Putting stickers on each other. 4. Eating fruit snacks in the kitchen. 5. Washing hands in every sink. Singing "handwashing song" at top of lungs. 6. Reading Harry Potter. 7. Sitting on Mommy's lap in waiting room full of patients, reading picture books about fire trucks and trains. 8. Sword-fighting with wooden tongue depressors. 9. Checking oxygen saturation. 10. Using Mommy's stethoscope to listen to everything in the office. 11. Locating Mommy's stash of Mike and Ike candies. 12. Filling cups with water from the water dispenser. Actually drinking most of the water. Dumping leftover water on brother's head. 13. Helping Mommy sweep the floors between patients. 14. Making friends with pediatric patients, and playing "Cut the Rope" and "Angry Bir...

On May 20, 2012, I was pleased to offer a free asthma screening for our local community as a volunteer for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology's Annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program. This is the 16th year of the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program, the ACAAI's public service campaign to find adults and children who are at risk for undiagnosed and uncontrolled asthma. Our screening was a wonderful experience, and we were able to identify a number of individuals whose respiratory symptoms are likely to improve with comprehensive allergy and asthma care. We've been asked to return for additional screenings, and I plan to do so this summer and fall. Many thanks to Medical Device Depot for donating the spirometry turbines, without which this screening would not have been possible. If you are looking for a free asthma screening in your area, please click here to learn more!

UPDATE: The post you see below was deleted/censored from the comments section by "The Doctors" website. Attempts to repost have also been met with deletion, and there has not been any response from the producer of the program, Jay McGraw.  Recently the Program "The Doctors" aired a segment advising their viewers to tell a "little white lie" and fake a butter allergy when eating out to avoid the ~120 calories from butter added to vegetables and other prepared items. Read it here:  http://thedoctorstv.com/main/show_synopsis/1012?section=synopsis As a food-allergic individual, and physician for hundreds of allergic patients, my jaw dropped at the irresponsibility of this suggestion. Read my response to them below, and tell me... what are your thoughts about their recommendation to fake a food allergy? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As a practicing board-certified allergist, m...