Can Eye Drop Medications be Used in the Ear?

Can EYE drop medications be used in the EAR for ear problems like ear infections ? For the most part, absolutely, but not vice-versa. For pretty much any EAR drop preparation, there is an equivalent EYE drop preparation which can be used safely in the ear. Why does this matter? For some patients, the ear drops may burn when placed. Given eye drops uses a much "gentler" solution, such patients find that eye drops doesn't burn in the ear nearly as much compared to ear drop…

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Best Drops for Earwax Removal

It's about time, but some researchers actually put to the test to try and determine what is the best solution to dissolve/remove earwax . The verdict was... WATER! Better than mineral oil, liquid colace, and over-the-counter cerumenolytics (ie cerumol). Hydrogen peroxide was not evaluated. How was this result determined? Using guinea pigs, the researchers first tested whether each of these substances were safe should a hole in the eardrum be present allowing for the solution t…

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Skin Patch Immunotherapy for Allergy Cure

Over the years, there have been a variety of systems via which physicians and researchers have attempted to cure patients of their inhalant allergies. These include (click here for a description of each): • Allergy shots • Under the tongue allergy drops (SLIT) • Intra-Lymphatic Injections (ILIT) • Allergy Tablets • Epicutaneous Immunotherapy (EPIT) • Intra-Nasal Spray • Bronchial Inhalers Well... we can now add skin patches to the list. European researchers conducted a placeb…

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Anti-Histamine Eye Drops

Allergies often cause eye symptoms of itching, swelling, redness, and tearing. If other allergy symptoms are also present involving the nose and skin, it is best to try an oral anti-histamine as a first step. This one oral drug may be able to resolve all these symptoms. As I am fond of telling patients, oral medications affect the whole body as the medication goes to the stomach after swallow, gets digested, and spreads to the big toe just as much as the skin, nose, and eyes. Howe…

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Migraine Headaches Associated with Allergies & Response to Allergy Shots

A recent study published this month in the journal Headache reported an association of migraine headaches with allergy severity and response to allergy shots ... but only in those less than 45 years of age. The study suggested that lower "degrees of atopy" (or allergy) were associated with less frequent and disabling migraine headaches in younger subjects while higher degrees were associated with more frequent migraines. The administration of allergy shots was associated with a…

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Different Types of Immunotherapy for Allergy Cure

Most people are already familiar with allergy shots and even sublingual (under the tongue) allergy drops as treatment to try and achieve cure (or tolerance) to the things they are allergic to. However, there are other forms of immunotherapy that may one day provide just as good if not better allergy cure rates. These include (most currently under research): - Intra-Lymphatic Injections (ILIT) : Rather than weekly shots in the arm, one research paper reported only 3 injections into a gro…

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