Allergy & Immunology

A severe and quickly occurring allergic reaction, anaphylaxis can be life threatening. The body’s response can happen immediately with exposure to a person’s allergen – often a food or medicine allergy or insect venom. The immune system floods the body with chemicals that can cause a person to go into shock narrowing airways and blocking breathing. An immediate injection of epinephrine is required. In the absence of epinephrine, a rapid emergency room visit is essential.

A chronic disease that inflames and narrows your lungs’ airways, making breathing difficult, asthma varies in severity. There different types and each kind had different causes and triggers. Depending on symptoms, medicine use and lung function, asthma is classified by severity levels, ranging from mild to intermediate to severe.

Autoimmune disorders are idiopathic and there are more than 80 kinds which often makes them difficult for healthcare providers to pin point. Autoimmune disorders are caused by inflammation when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own healthy cells.

Allergies result from the immune system responding to what it identifies as a foreign substance that is harmless to the majority of people. In the case of dust mites, they are one of the most common indoor allergens, and symptoms can be present year-round. These mites are tiny organisms that can just barely be seen by the naked eye. They feed off environmental dust and the moisture in the air.

Allergies result from the immune system responding to what it identifies as a foreign substance that is harmless to the majority of people. In the case of food allergies, the body reacts to a specific food that is tolerated by the majority of people.

Immunodeficiencies are disorders that prevent the body’s ability to fend off bacteria, viruses, fungi, or cancer cells due to a weakened immune system.

Often painful, insect stings generally result in the body’s allergic reaction to the venom injected into the skin through the insect’s mouth or stinger. Most responses are only temporary discomfort unless the body is severely allergic; these can be life-threatening and require immediate medical intervention.

Those with mold allergies have a system overreaction to inhaling mold spores. Typical responses are coughing and itchy eyes. In some cases, mold allergies are linked to asthma and may cause restricted breathing and airway disruptions.

Pet allergies occur when the body reacts to proteins found in animals’ saliva, dander or urine. Typical responses are sneezing, itchy eyes and runny nose.

Commonly called hay fever, outdoor allergies are the body’s response to plant pollen which serves to fertilize other plants in the same species. Most of these tiny plant “grains” come from weeds, flowers, grasses, and trees.

Rhinitis is the inflammation of the inner lining of the nose. Typical reactions to rhinitis are runny, itchy nose, sneezing, congestion, and post-nasal drip. The cause is often an allergy to a substance(s). Consultation with an allergist / immunologist is recommended.

Sinusitis is the inflammation of the tissue that lines the sinus cavities, the hollow air spaces that surround the nose. These flare ups can range in people from occasional to chronic.