1/8. Severe food allergies by skin contact.BACKGROUND: Ingestion is the principal route for food allergens, yet some highly sensitive patients may develop severe symptoms upon skin contact. CASE REPORT: We describe five cases of severe food allergic reactions through skin contact, including inhalation in one. methods: The cases were referred to a university allergy clinic, and evaluation comprised detailed medical history, physical examination, skin testing, serum total and specific IgE, and selected challenges. RESULTS: These cases were found to have a strong family history of allergy, early age of onset, very high total serum IgE level, and strong reactivity to foods by skin prick testing or RAST. Interestingly, reactions occurred while all five children were being breast-fed (exclusively in four and mixed in one). CONCLUSIONS: Severe food allergic reactions can occur from exposure to minute quantities of allergen by skin contact or inhalation. food allergy by a noningestant route should be considered in patients with the above characteristics.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/8. The necessity for dual food intake to provoke food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FEIAn): a case report of FEIAn with simultaneous intake of wheat and umeboshi.BACKGROUND: food-dependent exercised-induced anaphylaxis (FEIAn) is classified among the physical allergies. Many different food allergens have been reported, but the pathophysiology of FEIAn remains unknown. Furthermore, provocation tests with a suspected food do not always succeed in patients with FEIAn. OBJECTIVE: We sought to clarify and investigate causative foods and mechanisms of FEIAn in a 14-year-old boy. In addition, we tested in vivo and in vitro effects of cromolyn sodium in the same patient. methods: We used open challenge tests for the provocation of FEIAn and measured changes in plasma histamine levels and FEV1. In addition, we investigated the mechanism of FEIAn in this case with in vitro histamine release testing. RESULTS: The patient was diagnosed as having FEIAn by provocation testing with a simultaneous intake of wheat and umeboshi, but not when each food was eaten singly, followed by exercise. In addition, his plasma histamine level increased transiently and forced expiratory volume 1, expressed as a percentage change from baseline, decreased significantly. A synergistic effect on in vitro histamine release testing with 2 kinds of the causative foods was shown. Administration of cromolyn sodium proved to be effective on both the in vitro and in vivo tests. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of FEIAn provoked by the test with a simultaneous intake of 2 kinds of food. This case might in part explain negative challenge test results in patients with FEIAn.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/8. Clinical holistic medicine: developing from asthma, allergy, and eczema.This paper shows how consciousness-based holistic medicine can be used in the case of asthma, allergy, and eczema. We have many fine drugs to relieve patients from the worst of these symptoms, where many children and adults suffer health problems related to hyper-reactivity of the immune system. Many symptoms remain throughout life because the drugs do not cure the allergy and allergy today is the sixth leading cause of chronic illness. The etiology of the immune disturbances is mostly unknown from a biomedical perspective. consciousness-based holistic medicine could therefore be used to treat these diseases if the patient is willing to confront hidden existential pain, is motivated to work hard, and is dedicated to improve quality of life, quality of working life, and personal relationships. Improving quality of life is not always an easy job for the patient, but it can be done with coaching from the physician. An increased physical health is often observed after only a few sessions with a physician skilled in using holistic medical tools and able to coach the patient successfully through a few weeks of dedicated homework. Children with allergy and asthma can also be helped if their parents are able to do work on personal development, to improve the general quality of life in the family and their relationship with the child.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/8. depression and food intolerance: a single case study.The detection and treatment of psychological dysfunction related to food intolerance with particular reference to the problem of objective evaluation is discussed. The case is described of a woman with chronic depression who exhibited classic signs of food intolerance and yet had remained untreated for over 10 years. A non-invasive procedure involving systematic monitoring of diet and symptoms, systematic eliminations and a double-blind, placebo-controlled re-introduction is described. Long-term follow-up revealed maintenance of marked improvements in psychological and physical functioning.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/8. Celery-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis.food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis, first reported in 1983, is a subtype of exercise-induced anaphylaxis. A case of celery-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis is reported. The presentation and management of these and other exercise-related physical allergies, including classic and variant cholinergic urticaria, is reviewed. As the prevalence of strenuous physical activity increases, it is important for emergency physicians to recognize unusual, but potentially serious, complications of exercise.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/8. "food allergy": Fact or Fiction?Six patients with longstanding physical and mental symptoms who had not been helped by many years of conventional medical investigation and treatment experienced immediate relief of symptoms when they avoided certain foodstuffs. This clinical study supports the view that some foods may cause widespread and disabling symptoms in people who are sensitive to them.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/8. Life-threatening, recurrent anaphylaxis caused by allergy to gliadin and exercise.BACKGROUND: exercise-induced urticaria or anaphylaxis is regarded as a distinct form of physical allergy. In some patients the symptoms occur only after ingestion of various food products in connection with exercise. We have come across patients with cereal dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to analyse the allergens in cereals responsible for the severe anaphylactic symptoms and to verify the test methods suitable for screening the patients with cereal dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis. methods: The patients underwent skin-prick tests (SPT) with common inhalant and food allergens as well as with various cereal extracts. IgE-immunoblotting was used to identify the allergenic fractions. RESULTS: Five patients found positive in SPT with NaCl wheat suspension had IgE antibodies to wheat, rye, barley and oats, especially directed against the ethanolsoluble protein fractions in immunoblotting. No IgE antibodies were detected against other cereals. The patients had been unaware of any cereal allergy since anaphylaxis occurred only in association with exercise postprandially. The patients were directed to follow a gluten-free diet and have been free from symptoms, being able to continue their outdoor physical activities. CONCLUSION: Wheat gliadin and the corresponding ethanol-soluble proteins of taxonomically closely related cereals were found to be the allergens in cereal-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis. skin-prick testing with NaCl wheat suspension was a simple and practical test to screen patients with this kind of occult, possibly life-threatening, allergy to cereals.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/8. negotiating spaces in home environments: older women living with arthritis.Within medical geography there has been a surge of interest in applying critical concepts in social theory to empirical settings, including those for persons with disabilities. The ways through which persons with disabilities negotiate space vary widely according to material and social experiences of being disabled. For older women, chronic illness as a type of disability shapes the way in which they approach their daily lives with respect to both the physical and social aspects of their home environments. In the first half of the paper, conceptually, I take a relational view of space and argue that household, as a narrow reading of domestic space, needs to be replaced by home environment which incorporates more fully age- and ablement-sensitive readings of the spaces constitutive of domestic space. This lays the basis for a contextualized socio-spatial understanding of the ways older women with chronic illness negotiate the spaces in home environments because it accounts for the disadvantaged positionings of access to power and resources as well as the uneven distributions of income based on gender, age, and (dis)ability. It also takes into account the material and social aspects of being disabled. In the second half of the paper, I present case studies of three older women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis to illustrate these arguments.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |