Facts about insect bites and bee stings

Winters can be drab and long. We long for warm sunshine and the moment nice weather comes about, it is time to go outside! As New Yorkers, one of our favorite outdoor local destinations is Central Park. Central Park is great for picnics, boating, biking, walking and exploring, but it is also full of insects!

Something that many of us forget is that a “bug bite” is usually an allergic reaction to being stung. So, in light of the time you are going to be spending outside this summer, we wanted to share a few fun facts about stinging insects. 

1. It is estimated that 1 out of 30 adults could have a potentially life threatening reaction to the venom of a stinging insect such as a bee, wasp or hornet. 
2. Yellow Jackets are aggressive, build nests in the ground and are usually a problem for gardeners digging up weeds.
3. Hornets are even more aggressive, normally bigger, and have large nests in shrubs and trees.
4. Wasps live in smaller, honeycomb shaped hives found under the eaves of roofs or in shrubs.
5. Honey bees usually live in hives found in old logs, but in New York City can more frequently be found in rooftop apiaries on top of different buildings

You might not know it, but urban honey bee farming has become a sort of new phenomenon in NYC and it’s not just a hipster fad. And while we welcome sustainable locavore practices, this inevitably will increase the amount of bees in the urban areas, which can pose a threat for those of us who are allergic to bee stings.

Whether you find yourself living below an urban bee garden or hiking in the woods, here are some helpful tips to avoid getting stung: 

1.  Honeybees are not aggressive, and generally do not attack unless provoked
2. Honeybees love flowers. Flower have bright colors and beautiful scents, so that yellow summer dress + Marc Jacobs Dot perfume, increase the chances of tricking bees into thinking you’re a gigantic flower. Consider this when getting dressed.
3.  While there is nothing more wholesome than a barefoot run through a field of clovers, clover flowers are among the bees’ favorite nectar spots, and getting stung on the bottom of your bare foot will ruin your whole day.
4. Bees love nectar, which is essentially sugar and water, which is essentially 90% of soda, margaritas, sangria, etc. If you are outside with friends, double check that a bee hasn’t decided to go for a swim in your cocktail or soda before drinking it.
5. Bees buzzing around your head with an onomatopoeic symphony might activate your instinct to swat at them. Suppress that instinct. Bees are not interested in you, unless, that is, you take a swing at them.
6. If you are allergic to insect stings, make sure to carry injectable epinephrine whenever outdoors.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevewall/157952579

Also for some, getting stung can be life threatening. Do you know about your bite history?

If you do have had a history of getting a severe reaction to any stinging insect we’d recommend that you see an allergist ASAP for skin testing and therapy. Another solution that an allergist can provide is immunotherapies, which have shown to significantly decrease the risk of systemic reaction from stinging insects. This might be an avenue you want to consider and you should contact us to get skin tested.

If you have any other questions about bee stings or other or insect bites, we’d like to be a resource. Our allergists can work with you to alleviate any allergies or provide you with tools and education on preventative measures. 

For more information call us at 212.729.1283 or email us at info@hudsonallergy.com.

Do you think you are allergic to wine? Sulfites and dyes may be to blame!

To continue on with our allergic to alcohol series, this post focuses on allergies that can result from drinking wine.

Like beer, wine too is an ancient beverage, with historic records of wine dating back thousands of years.  Ancient Greeks and Romans had Gods that represented wine; Dionysus and Bacchus, indicating how important wine has been to societies since the earliest of human civilizations.

In it’s simplest form, wine is made from grapes and yeast. Therefore, people who are allergic to either grapes or yeast can have allergic reactions to wine. Wine has the same LTPs as in beer, so this same pollen-cross reactivity (also known as oral allergy syndrome) is common in people who drink wine. However, wine presents a whole different set of allergies than beer. Let’s dive in!

As the saying goes, wine gets better with age, so naturally wine is intended to be kept for a long time. This is particularly true for French red wine. However, in order to keep wines around without having an overgrowth of nasty bacteria or fungi, wine producers may add sulfites to their wines. Sulfates help keep wines fresh, prevent spoilage and oxidization and give them a longer shelf life.  It is not uncommon for people to collect wine or keep a full cellar, and some of this is made possible by sulfates.

While sulfites help preserve wine, sulfates can also cause an allergic like reaction in many people. Sulfites have been known to cause hives, worsen asthma, sneezing and even throat swelling.  Interestingly enough, it is usually not a true allergy, but a negative reaction to sulfites is actually quite common (sulfites are listed among the top nine causes of food allergy by the FDA). Other common foods that contain this preservative are dried fruits and synthetic lemon juice.

Therefore, if you are looking to avoid sulfates, you should try and Italian red wine or an organic wine, which rarely contain sulfates.  Similarly, white wines are also much less likely to have sulfites. However, white wines can contain dyes, which are added to give a richer color (particularly yellow dyes), and these dyes can cause reactions similar to sulfites in susceptible people.  Anybody who has had reactions to foods containing dyes (Jell-o, fruit juices, candies, etc.) should be careful when choosing white wine, or should avoid it all together.

Wine also contains histamine, the chemical compound that begins the allergic reaction in the first place. Histamine is normally sequestered by immune cells in the body, and released when an allergen triggers its release. But histamine is also a normal byproduct of the fermentation process, and any fermented foods (wine, beer, kim chi, kombucha, miso, etc.) contain some level of histamine. These foods usually contain a very small amount of histamine, but It just so happens that red wines can have a lot of histamine, up to 4 mg per serving!

If you have ever felt like you have had a negative reaction to wine, you may be allergic. However don’t fret, this doesn’t necessarily mean your wine drinking days are over. There may be certain properties you just need to avoid and you should figure out what is causing your reaction and not drink wines with those ingredients. 

Talk with one of the doctors at Hudson Allergy about your symptoms and we can set up a time to test if you have allergies to sulfites or dyes. Let us help you figure out how you can continue to enjoy one of the world’s most ancient delicacies.

Contact us: 212.729.1283 or info@hudsonallergy.com

Allergic to Beer

Beer is old! Beer is so old that it is considered one of the world’s most ancient beverages. The first records of beer making date back to the Sumerian Civilizations of Mesopotamia around 3,000 BC, when they figured out that mixing grains with water could make something different…and awesome!

In its simplest form beer is water that has been fermented with a malted barley and yeast concoction, usually flavored with other ingredients.  Over the past 5,000 years, beer drinking has become a staple in most cultures and the beer trade has become one of the planets larges global industries.

However, because beer is a byproduct of natural ingredients that go through a chemical reaction, beers have different properties, some of which can cause allergic reactions in certain people. 

Below are a few things to consider if you think you may be allergic to beer:

Beer contains two main ingredients: barley and yeast. People who are allergic to barley and yeast are more likely to have an allergic reaction to beer, as beer contains a sizable amount of allergenic barley protein and of course yeast. An allergic reaction to either of these two allergens can vary in degree.  We recommend allergen skin testing to these food proteins to help identify if there is a true beer allergy, and specifically to which ingredients in the beer.

Beer is also made up of hops, which are bitter tasting flowers that brewers have used not only for flavoring, but also for it’s antibacterial properties.  The natural chemicals made by hops kill bacteria and make it easier for the brewer’s yeast to grow Allergic reactions to hops can be a cause of beer allergy.

Beers are regularly brewed with other ingredients to add unique aromas and flavors (raspberry, lemons, oranges, chocolate, coffee, etc), and these exotic brews are popping up more regularly on the shelves. Thank you DogFish Head!  However these “other” flavoring ingredients introduce a whole new realm of allergic possibilities.

And while it can be frustrating to realize that you are allergic to certain ingredients in beer, consider why you might be allergic:

Over the history of our planet, plants have developed self defense mechanisms to protect themselves from predators. Plants don’t have teeth. They don’t have claws. They don’t have fists. So when a plant is threatened, it relies on it’s own chemical warfare to fend off external predators. These chemicals are what react with your body and act as a plants warning to you, to stay away from that plant in the future.

Plants have the ability to create toxic compounds when needed, and they do that with specific proteins. These proteins are normally found deep inside the cell, but when threatened (usually by bacteria or a fungus), the cell moves these proteins from the inside to the outside. To do this, the plant cell uses a specific type of enzyme called a lipid transfer protein or LTP. Plants have many different types of LTPs.  It turns out, that LTPs found in pollens are highly allergenic. Similar looking (but not exactly the same) LTPs exist in other parts of the plant besides the pollen, including the grain. Therefore, beverages like beer are chock full of these LTP proteins (in fact, the LTPs provide the support for the foamy head found in beers). So when a person is sensitive to pollens, they can develop sensitivity to beer.

Unfortunately for many beer drinkers and people who are prone to allergies, we have only scratched the surface on this topic. Thanks to the craft brew movement, beers have become incredibly unique, complex and delicious. However this introduces an abundance of different combinations that can cause allergic reactions in people. 

If you have ever had a beer and felt like you were having an allergic reaction, you very well could be allergic to beer and should come get tested. If you have questions please give us at Hudson Allergy a call at 212-729-1283 or book an appointment to come on in. Click here to book an appointment. 

Allergic To Alcohol

Do you think you’re allergic to alcohol? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. We recently hosted a round table discussion about Alcohol Allergies, and we wanted to write a follow up blog post on this topic to share with those researching the topic on line. However, because there are many different alcohol allergens found in liquors, wines and beers, we are going to break this topic down into a few different posts. 

Let’s first understand the differences between alcohol allergies and alcohol intolerance. 

Reactions to alcohol, whether true alcohol allergies or just intolerances, are some of the most common complaints we get at Hudson Allergy.  Determining if it’s a true allergy is really the first step, because this can be life-threatening. An allergic reaction is typically felt shortly after consuming whatever you’re allergic to. Symptoms can include wheezing, abdominal pain, cramping, hives, difficulty swallowing, and throat swelling. In severe cases it can even be fatal.

Many people have reactions to alcohol that are NOT true allergies. These symptoms include facial flushing, nasal congestion and headache. This can be due to an inherited defect in a protein that normally breaks down alcohol. Alcohol is seen by the body as a toxin, and the body has two proteins that are turned on to help break the alcohol down into something more benign.   

One of the proteins is called ADH1B, which breaks the alcohol down into a chemical called acetaldehyde. This chemical is more toxic than alcohol, and needs to be broken down further by a second enzyme. In some people, their ADH1B works so well that the body turns alcohol into acetaldehyde faster than the second enzyme can break it down. That causes a buildup of the acetaldehyde in the blood.  Acetaldehyde then causes the symptoms of flushing, headache and nasal congestion.  Although not imminently dangerous like an allergic reaction, people with this intolerance to alcohol have a higher risk of esophageal and liver cancer if they continue to drink.

True allergies to alcohol are different than intolerances. Instead of reacting to the buildup of a small molecule like acetaldehyde, truly allergic people react to very large proteins.  Each of the three main types of alcoholic beverages (wine, beer and hard liquor or spirits) can present with different types of allergies. 

If you are interested in reading about specific allergies that are triggered by beer, wine or spirits, please read the following blog posts. Cheers!

Sunscreen allergies: Are you allergic to sunblock?

 Everyone knows that if you are planning on being in the sun you should wear sunscreen. However do you find that you tend to avoid sunscreen because it irritates your skin? It is possible to be allergic to sunscreen.  Here is a list of signs that could mean you’re allergic to sunscreen:

Signs

·      redness

·      rash

·      itching

·      burning

·      blistering

There are two main reasons that can cause the “signs” listed above.  If you are experiencing these symptoms, it could be from one of two main causes. Either it’s a true allergy to the chemicals in the sunscreen or it’s a phototoxic reaction to the combination of sunscreen and UV light. Yikes!

In order to better understand the causes, here is a bit of information on how sunscreens work. They either “absorb” UV light or they “reflect” or block UV light.

“Absorbers”

Sunscreens can contain chemicals that absorb UV radiation and turns into a less toxic form of energy that is less damaging to the skin.  Most sunscreens are of this type.

On the other hand, there are others out there that reflect the light.

“Reflectors”

Sunscreens can also contain ingredients that physically reflect or block UV light/radiation away from the skin.  Reflectors often contain titanium oxide and zinc oxide and these ingredients rarely cause allergic reactions.   On the other hand, reflectors tend to be a little heavier and are not absorbed well into the skin, which can make it less cosmetically appealing.

Let’s thank David Hasselhoff for illustrating the point:

Now that we’ve talked about types of sunscreens, now let’s dive into the most common chemical s found in sunblock that can cause reactions:

·      Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA)

·      Benzophenones

·      Cinnamates

·      Salicylates.

·      Dibenzoylmethanes

·      Octocrylene

Do you think you have allergies to sunscreen? Here are a few tips from Hudson Allergy’s Allergist Dr. Julie Kuriakose:

1.     Use PABA free sunscreen

2.     If possible, use a sunscreen that contains either zinc oxide or titanium oxide.  However look at the ingredients to make sure it does not also contain allergenic chemical listed above

3.     When using a new sunblock, place a small amount on skin in a non sun-exposed area and monitor for a reaction for up to 72 hours.  If no reaction occurs, again place a small amount on skin however this time on a sun-exposed area and monitor.

4.     If you are having persistent reactions, see an allergist

If you think you may have sunscreen allergy, see your allergist.  Patch testing with specific chemicals in sunscreen can be performed to identify the allergy.

To schedule an appointment, please call us at 212.729.1283 or send an email to info@hudsonallergy.com

Summer Food Allergies – Oral Allergy Syndrome

Dr. Kuriakose and Dr. Mainardi hosted a roundtable discussion at Hudson Allergy last night, to discuss the topic of summer food and alcohol allergies. The goal of the roundtable event was to provide free education to the community, and a safe, supportive environment where people can come and ask questions. While our roundtable topic was Summer Food and Alcohol Allergies, one of the main things we discussed oral allergy syndrome, or OAS, as it’s related to food allergies.

According to Wikipedia, oral allergy syndrome is defined as a type of food allergy classified by a cluster of allergic reactions in the mouth in response to eating certain (usually fresh) fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

OAS is perhaps the most common food-related allergy in adults. OAS is not a separate food allergy, but rather represents cross-reactivity between distant remnants of tree, grass or weed pollen still found in certain fruits and vegetables. OAS is typically seen in tree and weed allergic patients, and is usually limited to ingestion of only uncooked fruits or vegetables.

Another term used for this syndrome is '"Pollen-Food Allergy."' In adults up to 60% of all food allergic reactions are due to cross-reactions between foods and inhaled allergens.

One of the types of questions that the doctors are often asked is, “If I am allergic to apples, why don’t I get an allergic reaction when I eat an apple pie?” The answer to this question has to do with the fact that people are allergic to the protein that is in the raw fruit. But, once it’s cooked, the protein changes it’s properties and thus the allergen you are allergic to is no longer an issue. This is not always the case, but there are some people who are allergic to raw peaches but can eat a peach tart because the fruit is cooked.

The roundtable was very interesting to say the least. Most of the people who attended the event were fascinated by the notion that oral allergies do exist and how they are related to pollen allergies.

Food allergies are still relatively unknown among much of the general public, and this is one of the main reasons behind our roundtable discussions: To educate the local community.

This event was just the first of many and we look forward to publishing a calendar that will outline our monthly events and topics.

If you have any questions about oral allergy syndrome or other food related allergies, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Additionally, if you would like to suggest a question for us to discuss in one of our future events please let us know. info@hudsonallergy.com.

Food and Alcohol Allergies: Roundtable Event at Hudson Allergy

Do you think you are allergic to alcohol or summer time foods?Join the doctors at Hudson Allergy to learn about food and alcohol allergies, how to manage them and still enjoy your summer. 

Join Us on June 5^th at 6:30pm at Hudson Allergy, 49 Murray Street

Dr. Mainardi, Dr. Kuriakose and Dr. Price will hold a roundtable discussion on food and alcohol allergies and cover the following topics:

-       What symptoms to look out for

-       How to prevent a reaction

-       Tips on managing your symptoms

-       Reasons to see an allergist

-       Q & A

Do you have specific questions? Please email us in advance or ask them during the Q & A session. Looking forward to seeing you there.  Click here to register for this free event!