Allergen immunotherapy

Introduction: I. Attention Getter: Nicole Levin, a 41 year old New Yorker, was leaving the dentist when it happened. Her throat began to swell and breathing became difficult. She could not swallow and she felt extremely nauseous. Levin knew at this point what was happening. She was having an allergic reaction to medication the dentists prescribed her. Frantically searching in her purse, she clutched her EpiPen and she could breathe again. Nicole’s story, found on CNN, published by Jacqueline Howard, on August 25, 2016, along with many other headlines about the EpiPen all indicated that the EpiPen is a necessity for people who face situations like Levin and Mylan, the company who sells them, is a monopoly of this life-saving creation. II. Thesis: Many people are affected by the enormous price hike of the EpiPen. III. Relevance to Audience: The EpiPen is used for treating anaphylaxis which is a life- threatening allergic reaction. According to the 2013 article, “Anaphylaxis in America: The prevalence and characteristics of anaphylaxis in the United States,” conducted by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, between 1.6% and 5.1% of Americans face anaphylaxis. That means it occurs in nearly 1-in-50 Americans and is getting closer to 1-in-20 Americans. For those of you who did not already realize you are a victim of anaphylaxis, you could be or know one of the many who are. Someday you, or someone you care about, could need an EpiPen to treat anaphylaxis and…

The purpose of these laws fall within the purpose of “The purpose of the Act is to minimize risk of illness and death due to accidental ingestion of food allergens by increasing restaurant industry and consumer awareness of regulations and best practices with respect to major food allergens (Mass, 2009).” However, a downside to this is that each state has different approaches which varies from state to state. A counter action would be for legislators to create a nationwide law concerning food…

6.2 Risk score matrix Likelihood of occurrence Severity of consequence 1 2 3 4 5 1 1 2 3 4 5 2 2 4 6 8 10 3 3 6 9 12 15 4 4 8 12 16 20 5 5 10 15 20 25 Risk score: Likelihood * Severity Minimal 1-2 Maintain existing measures Low 3-9 Review existing measures Medium 10-15 Improve control measures High 16-20 Consider stopping activity Extreme 25 Do not proceed 6. 3 Risk Assessment Process Step Hazards Risk Score Control Program NPD / reformulation Introduced allergens Medium…

This article examines the effect of different types of spring tree pollens on the number of sales of over-the-counter allergy medication and on the number of visits from the asthma syndrome emergency department. Nine different types of tree pollens were measured and analyzed throughout the spring season in New York City from 2002 to 2012. The number of allergy medication sold was collected from various drugstores and data on asthma syndrome emergency department visits was gathered from hospitals…

Immunotherapy Many innocent people suffer by sneezing in the spring or by living in constant fear of eating a food that could send them to the hospital. “Over 50 million of people suffer from allergies a year in the United States […] approximately 3 million [of the allergy sufferers have] found relief with allergen immunotherapy” (Communications). Ragweed allergy symptoms according to Nayak and others are, “sneezing; rhinorrhea/runny nose; itchy nose, throat, and palate; itchy, watery eyes;…

high on the list among the world’s most common health conditions. They begin when an allergen, the substance responsible for the reaction, causes the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, which coat mast cells. On subsequent re-exposure to the allergen, IgE reacts and causes the release of histamine and other inflammatory products from mast cells. These released substances lead to several of the signs and symptoms associated with allergies. Patients may have experiences that range…

Introduction Allergy shots, also known as allergen immunotherapy, is a treatment that helps reduce allergy symptoms such as: Sneezing. Itchy, watery eyes. A runny, stuffy nose. Asthma. The treatment may benefit children who are allergic to any of these substances: Grass, tree, plant, and weed pollens. Stinging insects. Animal dander. House dust mites. Molds. The treatment is not done for food allergies. During your child's allergy immunotherapy treatments, the substance your child is allergic to…

Traditional subcutaneous immunotherapy is found to be unsafe for these patients.5 Oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) are two treatments that have shown statistically significant benefits for patients with peanut allergies.6-9 Oral immunotherapy is a technique used to reduce the allergic reaction by re-introducing the allergen in gradually increasing amounts.10 In sublingual immunotherapy, the patient is exposed to an allergen extract either in drop or tablet form which…

hypothesis for the increase in respiratory allergies was that they could be a result of air-borne allergens, such as dust mites, in unhygienic house. The theory that unhygienic environments caused allergies is based on a study of 120 infants. The study of the infants was designed such that one group of parents was set as a control and were not taught anything about hygiene. In contrast, the other set of parents were taught how to keep their home clean and thus free of allergens like dust mites.…

Not many people realize the severity of allergies. Allergies are an immune system reaction to allergens, such as food, insect stings, or pollen (Mayo). The normally harmless substances become allergens as the body’s immune system rejects it (Wright). This unwelcoming wave of symptoms is known as an allergic reaction. It is known that every three minutes, someone is sent to the emergency room suffering from a reaction (FARE). Raising awareness and having a prevention plan is the best way to help…