Welcome to Metrowest Allergy
Associates, PC Online.
The practice specializes in the care of individuals of
all ages (children and adults), who suffer from various allergic problems.
Problems due to allergy are some of the most common
medical illnesses. They result in untold amount of suffering, millions of
lost days at work and school and costs billions of health care dollars.
One in four individuals develop allergies of some kind
or other in their life. In USA, there are over 25 million who suffer from
hayfever. Over 5 million children and 10 million adults suffer from
asthma. Several million suffer from eczema, allergy to foods and insects.
Hayfever is allergy to pollen
and mold as well as indoor allergic problems which may arise from exposure
to house dust, pet dander. Such individuals are also sensitive to
irritants such as perfumes, smokes and other common aerosols such as
cleaning agents etc.
Asthma results in breathing
problems. This often occurs intermittently but later becomes a continuous
problems. It can result in years of sickness. Most individuals with
hayfever and others have asthma as a result of various allergies.
Many of the people who have allergy also have chronic or
recurrent itchy skin rashes. The large number of chemicals in cosmetics
and other material predisposes many to have skin rashes like eczema.
Many individuals (8% of the population or 1 out of every
12 people) have reactions to various foods. The important and
serious ones are the reactions to eggs, nuts, fish and other seafood
besides others. These occur for the first time commonly when the child is
weaned from milk and other foods are added to the diet. But it is
important to keep in mind that a number of adults develop reactions to
various foods. It may be hard to believe that this can happen after they
have eaten the food for many years and all of a sudden they develop
reactions to some.
Reactions to insect stings of the “bee family”
(hornets, wasps, honey bees and yellow jackets) may cause
severe reactions. Sometimes, they can be life-threatening!
A more recent allergic problem is reaction to latex
or rubber products. The increasing number of chemicals / pharmaceuticals
drugs which are ingested also can cause reactions in a significant number
of people.
