Allergy medications and your heart
Allergy medications and your heart October is Heart Month- and as allergologists we have your optimal health at heart. Let’s take a look at the safety of “allergy medications,” especially in the light of cardiovascular side effects and precautions that heart-disease...
Lacto-fermented Sauerkraut
Lacto-fermented Sauerkraut Fermented foods are considered ‘alive’ and each has its own strain of bacteria. In order to effectively feed your microbiome (all the bacteria found in and on our bodies) it’s important to include a variety of fermented foods in your daily...
Tree Pollen and Allergy
Tree Pollen and Allergy Tree pollen may trigger allergic rhinitis, or a runny nose, hay fever and red, itchy eyes and these symptoms usually occur seasonally. Symptoms to tree pollen are most often seen in springtime but may occur during the summer and autumn months....
SAfm Health Matters with Prof Claudia Gray
SAfm Health Matters with Prof Claudia Gray Allergies occur in over 30% of all South Africans.
Gene Therapy
South Africa’s ‘Bubble Boy’ receives gene therapy in the US - What is Gene Therapy? You have probably heard of South Africa's "Bubble Boy" who is receiving gene therapy in the US. If you haven't, here's more information on Ayaan Ahmed Isaacs' story - South Africa's...
Why do children suffer from repeated airway infections?
Why do children suffer from repeated airway infections? Airway infections are common - especially in young children. Every child will suffer from an ear, nose, throat, airway, or lung infection at some stage. These infections may also recur (sometimes quite...
Nasal rinsing for clear nasal passages
Nasal rinsing for clear nasal passages Establishing and maintaining healthy airways is easy, cost-effective and often overlooked. Used as a nasal rinse, hypertonic saline has been an integral part of respiratory medicine in many cultures for thousands of years. It...
Cold, allergy or flu? Know the difference for best treatment.
Cold, allergy or flu? Know the difference for best treatment. You are sneezing , have a runny nose, and a sore throat ...pretty much feeling yuck!! Is it a cold or an allergy? Colds and Flu Colds and allergies often share similar symptoms which can make it hard to...
Gluten-free choc brownies
Gluten-free choc brownies Ingredients: 225g good quality dark chocolate 2 teaspoons vanilla essence 3 eggs beaten 200g dark chocolate chips 225g butter 200g caster sugar 150g ground almonds Method: Preheat oven to 170C and line a 24cm square tin with greaseproof...
Living with Coeliac Disease
Living with Coeliac Disease Living with coeliac disease is hell, challenging and fun. Hell because you can’t go out spontaneously as you have to research every restaurant before you can try them. Do they know what gluten free is? Can they cater gluten free? Do they...
Latching on to breastfeeding
Latching on to breastfeeding World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year worldwide to improve the health of babies around the world. We all know that breastfeeding offers immense health, nutritional, immunological, psychological and economic benefits, but it is...
Recipe: Sweetcorn and Pumpkin Fritters
Recipe: Sweetcorn and Pumpkin Fritters A great South African staple – one way of getting yellow veggies down the hatch 1 tin of 250g of cooked sweetcorn (not creamed) 300g of cubed and steamed pumpkin (reserve the water for steaming) 1 tablespoon of cornflour ½...
The battle of crèche syndrome
The battle of crèche syndrome An air purifier will trap and destroy odours, tobacco smoke, allergens, viruses and bacteria, as well as nasty VOCs and provide clean, healthy air for children to breathe. Using an air purifier in a child day care centre or crèche can be...
Alpha-Gal (red meat allergy) research team off to Transkei!
A small research team from the department of Allergology at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital will be heading off to the rural Transkei at the end of June. The team consists of Prof. Mike Levin, Dr. Tshegofatso Mabelane, Dr. Maresa Botha, Staff Nurse Lerato...
Chickpea & Coriander Bunless Burgers
Chickpea & Coriander Bunless Burgers [/ ] Ingredients 400g can chickpeas, drained zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tsp ground cumin small bunch coriander, chopped 2 tablespoons of chickpea juice 60g cooked quinoa (make sure most liquid been...
Allergy prevention strategies
Allergy prevention strategies Allergies of all sorts (asthma, hay fever, eczema and more recently food allergy) have increased dramatically over the past few decades, and we find ourselves in the middle of a possible “allergy epidemic.” A child without any family...
The risks of eating out
updated 14/10/24 The risks of eating out Most people are able to eat any type of food without any reaction. A portion of the population however, have adverse reactions to certain types of food. Food allergies are on the rise, in fact food allergies among children have...
Allergy Recipe: Egg free meringue
Recipe: Egg Free Meringue It’s probably the stuff you’re probably pouring down the sink as waste. But the murky liquid found in canned chickpeas is actually a magic ingredient that should be preserved — especially if you are allergic to eggs (see egg allergy) and can...
Anaphylaxis: what is it and how do we manage it?
Anaphylaxis: what is it and how do we treat it?Anaphylaxis is the most severe of the allergic reactions. Because anaphylaxis often comes on suddenly and can progress quickly, it is a very dangerous condition. The quicker anaphylaxis is treated, the better! That’s...
Side effects of commonly used “cough and cold” medications in children
The side effects of cough and cold medications Children get a wide variety of ailments and infections in their first few years and parents want to treat them as effectively as possible to get the “quickest relief.” But beware … children are often particularly...