Ragweed season traditionally starts in the Chicago area around August 10th because the ragweed plant pollinates according to the light/dark cycle. The peak ragweed counts occur in the last week of August and first half of September. As I’m seeing patients over the past two weeks who have uncontrolled symptoms from ragweed allergy, I...
Tests that are considered proven for diagnosing food allergy have been skin tests, blood tests that look for IgE (the class of antibody associated with allergic diseases) and, if necessary, an office ingestion challenge. When the skin tests and blood tests are normal, the scientific conventional approach is to call a recurrent specific...
One of the most frequently asked questions of allergists--besides “Why are there more people with allergies” (for which there is no single answer and is still considered to be due to multiple possibilities ranging from antibiotic overuse to diesel exhaust)--- is: What can pregnant and postpartum women do to prevent food allergies and...
In June, I discussed the topic of whether there are hypoallergenic dogs. The question should probably be whether the person is hypoallergic. Scientific studies do not support the existence of a hypoallergenic breed of dog. However, wide variation between individual dogs within a breed exists. The variation may allow a dog-allergic...
Having an affectionate pet dog is one of life’s great pleasures. For me, watching Lassie on TV when I was a child was the canine gold standard. Seeing my middle daughter snuggle a Lassie dog at Universal Studios in LA when she was 10 years old was very special. The end of this month marks 24 years, since completing fellowship...
Spring 2019 (March through May) in the Chicago area will not be fondly remembered for its weather. I certainly never remember snow being on the ground on my late April birthday until this year. The cooler temperatures and the record rainfall in Chicago for the month of May (over 8 inches) have helped some with allergy symptoms from...