Entries by brianmillhollon

Diagnosing Food Allergy: The Food Challenge

October 15, 2019 in , /by

Fourteen year old Hanna was at the mall with friends when she discovered she was allergic to macadamia nut.  This fact became clear when she nearly died. She had only taken a few bites of the ice cream with macadamia nut from Cold Stone Creamery.  She had eaten a variety of nuts on numerous occasions […]

Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua)

September 24, 2019 in , /by

Kentucky bluegrass is the most common turfgrass in the United States. Its use as a turf grass in Arizona is limited to the cooler parts of the state, typically at elevations about 5000 ft, although it may be used in some aggressively maintained golf courses at lower elevation. Annual bluegrass is a weedy variety that invades […]

Sulfa Antibiotic Allergy: Common and Frequently Misunderstood

September 23, 2019 in /by

Sulfa drugs were the first antibiotics Sulfa drugs were the first chemicals available to treat bacterial infections in humans.  The proper designation for this class of drugs is sulfonamide but they became knows as “sulfa” antibiotics with their widespread use as powders and pills during WW ll.  Although sulfa antibiotics saved lives, their use decreased significantly after the introduction […]

A New (?) Treatment for Peanut Allergy

September 17, 2019 in , /by

New Product to Treat Peanut Allergy The Allergenic Products Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently voted to recommend approval of a new treatment for peanut allergy to the FDA.  The treatment was previously referred to as AR101 but it is expected to go by the brand name Palforzia,  If as expected,  the […]

There is No Such Thing as an Allergy Test

October 14, 2017 in , /by

I have been teaching medical students in my office for the past several weeks. These first year University of Arizona students have recently completed a block of studies on the immune system and are spending time in an allergy clinic to learn how memorizing a million obscure names and pathways  applies to the real world of […]

What is Blooming in Phoenix?

August 28, 2017 in /by

If you have been sneezing and your eyes and nose stinging and watering you might be asking: “My allergies are driving me crazy, what in the world is blooming this time of year?” And like many, to find out you might google it, put in your zip code and come up with something like this from Pollen.com.   […]

What Is In Allergy Shots?

May 23, 2017 /1 Comment/in , , /by

A patient’s father recently asked me an insightful question about allergy immunotherapy. Allergy shots had been recommended for his son to treat his seasonal allergy and asthma symptoms and he wanted to know how we decided what allergens to include in the serum. In some cases, as I explained, the answer is fairly straightforward. If […]

Chickpea Allergy

March 21, 2017 in , /by

In the past few years I have discovered two foods that I really enjoy but did not eat growing up.   One is hummus and the other is falafel. In fact, I learned how much I enjoy both foods eating at the Pita Jungle in Ahwatukee. Their falafel sandwich with pita bread and hummus on the […]

Don’t Let Your Babies Have Allergy Testing

January 19, 2017 in , , /by

This month, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases published new guidelines for when peanut should be given to infants. The hope is that fewer children will develop peanut allergy as a result of these new recommendations The revision of its guidelines for the introduction of allergenic foods was prompted by the startling results […]