Posts Tagged ‘Diagnosis’

Diagnosis of the patients with possible insect bite allergy

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

The very important fact relates to the information about the previous bites and their clinical consequences (local reaction – global reaction, its therapy duration, way and effect). If it is possible, the identification of the insect (e.g. wasp, bee) will be suitable, as well. You can be allergic to one or more insect species.

The allergy reaction initiator determination is important for the therapy, but also for the prevention and avoidance of further episodes.

If you do not know the name of the insect, the identification can be helped by following facts:

how did it look like? the colour, pattern

where was it found? (trees, grass, ground)

how did it behave? (was it provoked into biting; was it aggressive)

did it leave the sting in the affected spot?

The professional diagnosis is made with the help of the skin tests with the toxin of the particular suspicious insect (commercially prepared). According to the severe reactions danger many various concentrations are gradually used.

If the skin tests are not persuasive, the laboratory examination, where all IgE type antibodies against the insect species toxins (as far as we are concerned it goes for bees and wasps) are determined, will be made.

Allergic illnesses diagnosis

Monday, March 3rd, 2008

How the allergy is diagnosed by the doctor

The diagnosis procedure is not easy. The clinical symptoms of the different originillness are often similar. For instance the symptoms of the allergic fever – red stuffy nose,sneezing, nose secretion are the same as while having the cold (it is usually caused by asimple viral inflammation). But the treatment approach is different.

Therefore the diagnosisprocedure requires besides the judgement of the current health conditions further information, too. The basis of all allergic examination is the detailed anamnesis. It is actually the list of all factors, which relate (sometimes only seemingly for the patients) to the illnesses.

The family anamnesis is an information on the illnesses appeared in the patientfamily. Naturally, the blood relations, not he wife or the brother-in-law, are important. Theallergic reaction, their ancestors – father, grandmother, siblings or children-suffered from,indicates the relation to the current illness of the patient. The allergy predisposition isinherited. While the child of the parents, who do not suffer any allergy, inclines to the allergyat the odds of approximately 20%, the odds of the allergy increases up to 50% concerning thechild of at least one allergic parent. If the mother suffers any allergy, the odds will increaseeven more and in the case of both allergic parents, it is almost 100% certain, that their child will suffer the allergy (especially if both parents are allergic to the same allergens).

Personal anamnesis

includes the facts, which precedes the particular current illness.In the anamnesis, all the previous illnesses, we have undergone, are listened. The eczemas inthe childhood, serious allergic reaction suffered years ago, or the repeated infections – allthese are information, which indicate the possible immune system disorder or direct theallergic “before-period”.Concerning the women the important information is the number of the deliveries andthe development of the pregnancy, concerning the children, the time until they were nursed, when they started to eat the baby food, is of the greatest importance.

The working anamnesis

is the information on the surroundings, where we spend themain part of our day. The important facts refer not only to conditions of the building(cleanness, humidity, thermo regime) but also all things we come into contact with – theproduction, administration, special operations and chemicals. The significant information arethe protection regime against the potential harmful chemicals at the workplace and ourapproach to it. The information about how we spend our spare time – our hobbies, the sport, etc, places where we have the chance of the contact with the factors initiating or starting the allergy, should be a part of this analysis, too.