Allergic Reactions

You may make a fashion statement with that tattoo, but the FDA warns you could also put your health at risk. The regulatory agency issued a warning Wednesday about getting inked after a recent outbreak linked to the family of bacteria called nontuberculous Mycobacteria.  One species of the bacteria, spread through tattoo ink, can cause lung disease, joint infection, eye problems and other organ infections, the FDA said. The infections are difficult to diagnose and require long, intense treatment regiments.

You may make a fashion statement with that tattoo, but the FDA warns you could also put your health at risk. The regulatory agency issued a warning Wednesday about getting inked after a recent outbreak linked to the family of bacteria called nontuberculous Mycobacteria.  One species of the bacteria, spread through tattoo ink, can cause lung disease, joint infection, eye problems and other organ infections, the FDA said. The infections are difficult to diagnose and require long, intense treatment regiments.

NATIONAL Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month got the kind of publicity this May that was a mixed blessing, highlighting the life-threatening nature of these extreme sensitivities and the need for more affected persons to get medical help.A million EpiPen emergency injection pens used by people who suffer serious allergic reactions were recalled by the Columbia manufacturer. The dose was not strong enough to stop acute swelling and shock reactions to certain foods (such as fish and peanuts)

Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center provides a guest post to The Baltimore Sun's health blog Picture of Health (baltimoresun.com/pictureofhealth), which is printed here. This week, Karen Kolowski weighs in on genetically modified foods. Organic, free-range, grass-fed — you need a dictionary just to get around the grocery store aisles these days. Products are being designed to better fit into our expanding society — items that grow faster, last longer on the shelf or are more productive.

It's yellowjacket season. With their numbers rising and normal foods in short supply, the brassy bugs are crashing our picnics. They compete for our soda, beer, meat and ice cream, and they can deliver painful stings to the unwary. Sometimes they trigger severe allergic reactions. Scientists who study those reactions - by prodding the insects to sting volunteers - say they have encountered a lot of folklore about yellowjacket stings. And much of it turns out to be flat wrong. For example, many people insist that a yellowjacket's venom gets stronger as summer turns to fall.

Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center provides a guest post to The Baltimore Sun's health blog Picture of Health (baltimoresun.com/pictureofhealth), which is printed here. This week, Karen Kolowski weighs in on genetically modified foods. Organic, free-range, grass-fed — you need a dictionary just to get around the grocery store aisles these days. Products are being designed to better fit into our expanding society — items that grow faster, last longer on the shelf or are more productive.

I've been reading about athletes taking steroids. It confuses me that people think this is terrible. My doctor prescribes Flonase for my allergies. This is an inhaled steroid. What's the difference? Some athletes have been abusing anabolic steroids. These are male hormones related to testosterone. Corticosteroids, like Flonase or prednisone, are related to cortisone, a natural anti-inflammatory compound. They are used to treat conditions such as asthma, allergy or arthritis. The benefits and risks of corticosteroids are completely different from those of anabolic steroids.

In what parents and health organizations called a life-saving measure, Gov. Martin O' Malley signed into a law Tuesday a bill that will require all Maryland schools to maintain an emergency supply of epinephrine in order to respond to a growing trend of severe allergic reactions among school-aged children.  “Receiving a dose of epinephrine in the critical minutes following exposure to a food allergen can mean the difference between life and death,”...

The company that recalled a million units of its emergency allergy-fighting injections last week has failed to deliver on its promise to provide quick replacements, leaving millions of Americans without medication they might need to stop life-threatening allergic reactions to food and insect bites.The self-injecting devices with the drug epinephrine were recalled last week because the maker, Meridian Medical Technologies of Columbia, discovered that certain lots were not potent enough to stop reactions that can lead to swelling, suffocation, blood pressure loss and shock.

WASHINGTON -- Expanding the scope of its Heparin recall, the government is sending letters to 82 medical device makers today warning them to withdraw any stents, catheters and other products that might contain the contaminated blood thinner. The move came as the Food and Drug Administration tripled the number of deaths that it said could be linked to the tainted drug. After reviewing more than 1,200 reports of allergic reactions from users, the agency said that 62 deaths since January 2007 may now be related to contaminated Heparin, up from the 19 deaths it previously counted during that period.

Kids who are allergic to foods can overcome their reactions through therapy that involves giving them increasing doses of the specific foods, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other hospitals. The research adds to what doctors already know about food allergies. In this case, they used eggs for the treatment, known as oral immunotherapy. Past research involved milk and peanuts. For now, the research is still considered experimental and isn't recommended outside of a study.

In what parents and health organizations called a life-saving measure, Gov. Martin O' Malley signed into a law Tuesday a bill that will require all Maryland schools to maintain an emergency supply of epinephrine in order to respond to a growing trend of severe allergic reactions among school-aged children.  “Receiving a dose of epinephrine in the critical minutes following exposure to a food allergen can mean the difference between life and death,”...

A pharmacologist whose fiancee died last fall after injecting phony drugs pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of growing marijuana, which will likely lead to his deportation along with the chance to donate a kidney to his ailing father in Canada. Under a plea deal, Clinton B. McCracken was given a suspended five-year sentence that will spare him further jail time but force him to return to his home country. His lawyer said McCracken hopes the deportation occurs "as soon as possible" because of his father's medical condition.

Question: I was told today that the latex sap in Poinsettias can cause a severe allergic reaction. Is that true? Answer: Poinsettia is in the "Euphorbia" family of plants. Many euphorbias are houseplants or outside ornamental plants and have a chemical in their sap which irritates skin or eyes on contact and should not be eaten. Gloves are recommended when pruning them. Happily, poinsettias are an exception. They do not contain the main chemical irritant. Contacting its sap normally causes no effect, though ingesting it could cause vomiting.

University of Maryland pharmacologist Carrie John died from an allergic reaction and not because she injected a seemingly tainted batch of the narcotic buprenorphine, according to the state medical examiner. "There was nothing in her system to cause her death, no drugs," said Dr. Zabiullah Ali, the pathologist who investigated her death Sept. 27. "It was an allergic reaction to something she injected," Ali said Thursday in response to questions from The Baltimore Sun. "But what it is, we don't know."

The Johns Hopkins Hospital and a handful of other medical centers around the country are set this week to begin collectively monitoring and tracking dangerous reactions to blood transfusions, the first piece of a nationwide "biovigilance" program that is arriving in the United States years later than in most other developed nations. The ultimate goal of the project, a collaboration between federal agencies and private medical associations, is to reduce the number of infections, allergic reactions, clerical errors and other complications related to blood transfusions.

Kids who are allergic to foods can overcome their reactions through therapy that involves giving them increasing doses of the specific foods, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other hospitals. The research adds to what doctors already know about food allergies. In this case, they used eggs for the treatment, known as oral immunotherapy. Past research involved milk and peanuts. For now, the research is still considered experimental and isn't recommended outside of a study.

Nancy Lefenfeld was picking up her two children at Thunder Hill Elementary School last spring when she saw students running across schoolgrounds that had been posted with yellow "Caution! Pesticide Application" signs.As a result, the PTA Council of Howard County will ask the school board tomorrow to investigate alternatives to herbicidesnow used to kill grass and weeds on school grounds areas that mowerscannot reach. The board is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. at the Department of Education, 10910 Route 108.And the PTA at Thunder Hill Elementary School, responding to Lefenfeld's concerns, is asking school officials not to spray school grounds for the rest of this year and the 1992-1993 school year.

WASHINGTON -- Expanding the scope of its Heparin recall, the government is sending letters to 82 medical device makers today warning them to withdraw any stents, catheters and other products that might contain the contaminated blood thinner. The move came as the Food and Drug Administration tripled the number of deaths that it said could be linked to the tainted drug. After reviewing more than 1,200 reports of allergic reactions from users, the agency said that 62 deaths since January 2007 may now be related to contaminated Heparin, up from the 19 deaths it previously counted during that period.