Immune Deficiency

According to experienced allergy specialist Dr. Baxter, you may have an immune deficiency if you experience the following:

  • Chronic or frequent sinus infections
  • Recurrent pneumonia (two or more times)
  • Repeated bouts of bronchitis
  • Skin abscesses
  • Gastrointestinal problems – chronic diarrhea and weight loss
  • Chronic urinary tract/yeast infections
  • Recurrent meningitis
  • Infections with rare organisms

Immune Deficiency

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Food Allergies

food allergies

According to experts, the eight most common food allergies are:

  • Milk
  • Egg
  • Wheat
  • Soy
  • Peanuts
  • Tree nuts
  • Shellfish
  • Fish

The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology notes certain allergies (e.g., milk, eggs and soy) may disappear over time, while others (e.g., nuts and fish) are more likely to last a lifetime.

Food Allergy Symptoms: Mild to Life-Threatening

Food allergy symptoms may be mild (e.g., itchy mouth) or potentially deadly (e.g., anaphylaxis). FARE has reported that food allergy reactions are responsible for more than 200,000 emergency department visits every year.

Food allergy symptoms include itching, sneezing, runny nose, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, eczema, hives and swelling of the lips/mouth (also referred to as oral allergy syndrome when it occurs as the only symptom). Another food allergy event is feeling like food is stuck in the esophagus during swallowing, which could be indicative of a condition called eosinophilic esophagitis.

Read more: https://www.allergydoctordallas.com/food-allergies/

Dr. Barbara Stark Baxter – Allergy Doctor Dallas TX

Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Allergy-Immunology, Dr. Barbara Baxter, an allergy doctor Dallas TX practices in North Dallas.

bsb-photo-12-11 A Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, and American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, Dr. Baxter is a Clinical Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical College. Dr. Baxter is founder and Medical Director of the Agape Clinic, a free clinic in a church in East Dallas, and serves on the board of Los Barrios Unidos Community Clinic, a federal clinic in West Dallas. For these efforts, she has received the Freedoms Foundations at Valley Forge Medal, the JCPenney Golden Rule Award, and the Dallas County Medical Society Auxiliary’s Aesculapius Award. She sees patients at Parkland while teaching in the Asthma Clinic there.

Dr. Baxter is a member of Genesis Physicians Group, the American Medical Association, the Texas Medical Association, the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society.

We offer the following services:

  • Allergy skin testing for inhalant, food and insect sensitivities
  • Patch testing for contact dermatitis
  • Penicillin skin testing
  • Allergy immunotherapy injections and clusters of injections
  • Evaluation of the immune system for people with recurrent or unusual infections
  • Pulmonary function testing including exhaled nitric oxide measurements
  • Infusion therapy for humoral immune deficiencies
  • Xolair injections (anti-IqE) for severe asthma
  • Seasonal flu shots (September to May)
  • Pnuemovax (pneumonia vaccine)
  • Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis for adults
  • TB test
  • Microscopic exam of nasal secretions and sputum
  • Blood tests
  • Tympanometry
  • Cultures, when indicated; immediate Strep assays
  • Nebulizer treatments for asthma
  • Measurement of blood oxygen saturation (pulse Oximetry)
  • Methacholine challenge test
  • A comprehensive weight loss and maintenance program in partnership with Ideal Protein
  • Counseling for select patients including hypnosis and regression
  • Opportunities to participate in clinical trials of new medications for a broad variety of conditions through Discovery Clinical Trials partnership.
  • The opportunity to experience energy healing through a method called reiki.

http://beforeitsnews.com/health/2014/05/dr-barbara-stark-baxter-allergy-doctor-allergist-dallas-tx-2536490.html

Migraine Linked to Double Risk for Silent Stroke

Adults with migraine have an increased risk for ischemic silent brain infarction relative to their migraine-free peers, a new study confirms. Migraine is a neurovascular condition of the brain, with a small increased risk of silent brain infarctions, a risk factor for clinical stroke.

Migrane

While the risk may be small, migraine patients with vascular risk factors should be treated for stroke risk factor reduction, including healthy lifestyle behaviors that include regular exercise and plenty of fruits and vegetables according the AHA/ASA [American Heart Association/American Stroke Association] guidelines.

For this report, the NOMAS investigators quantified subclinical brain infarctions and white matter hyperintensity volumes (WMHVs) in 546 men and women. Their mean age was 71 years, and 65% were Hispanic.

Hypertension, a risk factor for stroke, was more common in patients with migraine, but the association between migraine and silent brain infarction was also seen in normotensive participants, the researchers say.

This study confirms the association between migraine and silent brain infarctions in an older, diverse, predominantly Hispanic population. “Previous studies of silent brain infarctions and migraine were conducted in predominantly white populations,” she noted. “While these lesions have an ischemic stroke appearance, the exact etiology of lesions is unknown in patients with migraine.”

Compared with people without migraine, those with migraine (confirmed by International Classification of Headache Disorders-2 criteria) had a 2-fold increased risk of subclinical brain infarction (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0 – 4.2).

The association between migraine and silent brain infarction was independent of socio-demographic and cardiovascular factors, and was stronger in the subgroup of patients with migraine without aura (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3 – 5.5), the researchers note.

COURTESY: MEDSCAPE – For the latest medical news, clinical trial coverage, drug updates, journal articles, CME activities & more!

Read the full article at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/825451?src=emailthis

Vitamin D Gets Mixed Results in Prospective Asthma Trial

Vitamin D supplementation has no significant effect on the overall rate of first treatment failure or exacerbation in patients with asthma and low vitamin D levels, according to the Vitamin D Add-on Therapy Enhances Corticosteroid Responsiveness in Asthma (VIDA) trial.

vitamins & asthma

However, in subjects who reached normal vitamin D levels, there were significant reductions in exacerbations and the rate of first treatment failure.

Retrospective studies have linked serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL to airway hyper-responsiveness, impaired lung function, increased exacerbation frequency, and reduced corticosteroid responsiveness. It has also been suggested that vitamin D enhances the anti-inflammatory effect of corticosteroids.

Dr. Castro and colleagues evaluated 408 adults with symptomatic asthma and a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level below 30 ng/mL at 9 medical centers in the United States that belong to AsthmaNet, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute asthma network.

Patients were randomized to receive an initial dose of 100,000 IU of oral vitamin D₃ followed by 4000 IU/day for 28 weeks (n = 201) or placebo (n = 207). At 28 weeks, there was a significant difference in cumulative ciclesonide dosing between the vitamin D and placebo groups (111.3 vs 126.2 µg/day; P = .02).

In addition, “the overall asthma treatment failure was significantly reduced and the exacerbations were significantly reduced in subjects that got to a normal vitamin D level,” said Dr. Castro reported.

Dr. Castro’s “gut feeling” is that vitamin D supplementation will prove to be useful in at least some people with asthma who have low vitamin D. He said he plans to study exacerbations in children who achieve sufficient vitamin D levels.

COURTESY: MEDSCAPE – For the latest medical news, clinical trial coverage, drug updates, journal articles, CME activities & more!

Read the full article at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/825444?src=emailthis