MedicalMoots : deconstructing current medical news
YourAllergyBits : allergy, asthma and immunology topics
EvenFourLines : stuff

Asthma after exercise

The symptoms of asthma are cough, chest tightness, wheeze, and shortness of breath. We are all different, and our symptoms are different even if we have the same disease! So some people mainly get cough when they get asthma, and others wheezing, and so on. What is pretty common in everyone with asthma is the […]

Dust Mite

The dust mite is a tiny bug. It is a member or the spider and tick family. There are numerous types of mite, but the domestic dust mite which has been linked to allergy likes to live in beds and carpets. It won’t bite you, but it excretes very fine droppings which are HIGHLY ALLERGIC to […]

Eczema

Eczema is an itchy, weeping, scaly skin condition which mainly affects babies and children, but can persist into adult life. In babies it tends to occur on the face, trunk and nappy (diaper) area, and in this age group there is a strong association with food allergy. Many babies settle down when they are switched […]

Hay Fever

If you think about it, hay fever is a strange term…it’s not usually due to hay (although it can be), and there is no fever or elevation of body temperature. The origin of the name is historical. Early in the 19th Century, it was noted that some people living in the British countryside developed sneezing, […]

Itchy Skin

Nothing drives a person to distraction more than itchy skin! Sometimes the skin looks normal but it is incredibly itchy. Sometimes there is a rash that is itchy. And, quite commonly, scratching causes a rash – usually wheals and whelts like mosquito bites – where you have scratched. There are only three causes for an […]

Major allergy attacks with collapse and swelling [called anaphylaxis]

Sudden severe allergy can be deadly. The body may react so violently to a foreign substance that huge amounts of histamine are released. Histamine is a normal chemical of the body. It is stored in various parts of the body, especially in the skin and the wet linings of the airways and bowel. In other […]

Pollens

Grass and tree pollens are a major cause of allergy in Australia. About 30% of the population is allergic to these tiny packets of concentrated protein which are so light that they are carried by the wind. These pollens cause seasonal hay fever and seasonal asthma. Which season? Usually spring and early summer, but in […]