Honey May Help With Chronic Eczema of the Ear Canal

Image from Amazon . Please note that this honey was NOT used in the study described There was an interesting paper from the Netherlands regarding treatment of chronic recurrent eczematous otitis externa (ear canal skin inflammation) with honey ear drops with good success in 15 patients. Although it did not cure the problem, it did improve symptoms without the use of "medications." Eczematous otitis externa (which should NOT be confused with acute otitis externa or swimmer…

7/19/2017 0

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Rhinocort Steroid Nasal Spray Now OTC

Rhinocort has joined Nasacort and Flonase in going over-the-counter and is now available for purchase in pretty much any pharmacy as well as Amazon . Rhinocort is the only steroid nasal spray that is Class B for pregnancy (all other nasal sprays are Class C). Beyond steroid nasal sprays, over the past decade, a bunch of allergy medications that used to be prescriptions have gone over-the-counter including Allegra , Zyrtec , Claritin , etc.

3/02/2016 0

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Flonase Steroid Nasal Spray Now OTC

GlaxoSmithKline announced in July 2014 that the FDA has approved Flonase  steroid nasal spray  to be made available over-the-counter (OTC). It has now arrived! Flonase joins  Nasacort  which is has been available for purchase OTC for some time. Flonase is available to purchase on Amazon now as well. Flonase and Nasacort both are  steroid nasal sprays  used to treat  allergies  in patients. It is similar to prescription steroid nasal sprays like nasonex, omnaris, ceramist, etc. It is …

2/07/2015 1

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Steroids Helpful After Tonsillectomy?

Pain is perhaps the most common dreaded fear patients have when considering tonsillectomy surgery.  After pain, bleeding is perhaps the 2nd greatest concern patients have. With both these issues, steroids play a key role by helping with one at the expense of the other. In the 2011 Clinical Practice Guideline: Tonsillectomy in Children , the authors strongly recommend giving a single large dose of steroids to help with not just pain, but also nausea and vomiting after surgery. It is not jus…

9/20/2014 0

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Steroid Injection Into the Ear May Help Bell's Palsy

Intratympanic steroid injections are typically performed for sudden nerve hearing loss. However, preliminary research suggests that it may also help resolve facial paralysis due to Bell's Palsy . In this prospective, double-blinded, randomized study , one group of patients received standard treatment with oral steroids and antiviral medications whereas the experimental group received the same medications PLUS intratympanic steroid injection as well. (I should mention that antiviral me…

8/25/2014 0

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Flonase Steroid Nasal Spray to be OTC in 2015

GlaxoSmithKline announced in July 2014 that the FDA has approved Flonase  steroid nasal spray  to be made available over-the-counter (OTC) starting sometime in early 2015. Flonase would join  Nasacort  which is already available for purchase OTC. Flonase and Nasacort both are steroid nasal sprays  used to treat  allergies  in patients. It is similar to prescription steroid nasal sprays like nasacort, nasonex, omnaris, etc. It also would be the second steroid nasal spray made OTC in the Un…

7/25/2014 0

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Nasacort AQ Steroid Nasal Spray NOW Available OTC!

Sanofi announced in 2013 that the FDA had approved Nasacort  steroid nasal spray  to be made available over-the-counter (OTC) starting sometime spring 2014. Well... It's now available for about $20. Here's where you can get it on Amazon.com . Nasacort is a  steroid nasal spray  used to treat  allergies  in patients starting from the age of 2 years old. It is similar to prescription steroid nasal sprays like flonase, nasonex, etc. It is also the very first steroid nasal spray mad…

2/13/2014 0

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Julie Andrews and Her "Botched Throat Surgery"

It has already been well-publicized that the former singing sensation Julie Andrews underwent some type of throat surgery in 1997 after which she never regained her phenomenal 4-octave voice thus relegating her to more conventional roles of being an actress without the singing. This "botched throat surgery" per Julie Andrews lead to a lawsuit that was ultimately settled . It is unknown precisely what type of (presumed) vocal cord pathology was present as well as what type of su…

12/13/2012 1

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John Mayer Undergoes Second Vocal Cord Surgery

On August 27, 2012, media reported that grammy-award winning singer  John Mayer  underwent vocal cord surgery for a 2nd time in an attempt to permanently remove a recurrent vocal cord granuloma. Fans know that in September 2011,  John Mayer  announced the cancellation of a number of concerts as well as an album due to the development of a  vocal cord granuloma  of his voicebox. Read a  blog article  about this. On Oct 20, 2011,  he underwent surgery  for the first time to remove the …

9/11/2012 0

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Singulair May Help Cure Mild Sleep Apnea in Children

Singulair  (generic montelukast as of Aug 2012) is a medication often prescribed for asthma as well as allergies and works by blocking the leukotriene receptor. This mechanism is different than that found in common allergy medications like claritin and benadryl which work by blocking the histamine receptor (anti-histamine). Singulair has also incidentally been found to possibly help reduce the size of tonsils and adenoids. Given this beneficial affect, singulair may be a helpful interventio…

8/07/2012 0

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FDA Approves New "Dry" Steroid Nasal Spray

On March 26, 2012, the FDA approved of a new type of steroid nasal spray  in the treatment of nasal allergies that puffs powder into the nose rather than a liquid. Liquid formulations such as nasonex, flonase, veramyst, nasacort, and rhinocort has been until now the only delivery medium of administration. This new spray made by Teva Pharmaceuticals is called QNASL which puffs a steroid beclomethasone dipropionate. For those who know pharmaceuticals, it is the same active ingredient as (l…

3/27/2012 0

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Singer John Mayer Has Recurrence of Vocal Cord Granuloma

In September 2011, grammy-award winning singer  John Mayer  announced the cancellation of a number of concerts as well as an album due to the development of a  vocal cord granuloma  of his voicebox. Read a  blog article  about this. On Oct 20, 2011,  he underwent surgery  to remove the granuloma and was on strict voice rest for several weeks with plans to resume live singing in the first quarter of 2012. Unfortunately, on March 9, 2012, it was found that his vocal cord granuloma has r…

3/12/2012 0

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Steroid Injection to Eliminate Vocal Cord Nodules

Vocal cord nodules are most always due to excessive voice use leading to "callous" formation on the vocal cord lining, much like shoveling dirt will eventually lead to callous formation on the hands. Traditional standard of care management of vocal cord nodules is voice therapy and avoidance of any activities leading to voice abuse (screaming, yelling, etc). However, resolution of nodules with such behavior focused treatment takes months. However, although it takes a while f…

10/18/2011 0

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Singer John Mayer Diagnosed with Vocal Cord Granuloma

On Sept 19, 2011, media reported that singer John Mayer has been forced to cancel all upcoming concert plans and delay release of a new album due to a voicebox growth. This growth was described as a " granuloma ." What exactly is a granuloma? It is a benign mass commonly due to repetitive mild vocal trauma resulting in exuberant growth of a specific region of the voicebox lining. To be more precise, rather than the vocal cord itself, granulomas are most commonly found on th…

9/21/2011 0

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Major League Baseball Bans Under the Tongue Deer Antler Spray Use

On Aug 6, 2011, ESPN reported that MLB players have been issued a warning regarding use of Deer Antler spray administered under the tongue. Deer-Antler spray contains "potentially contaminated nutritional supplements" along with IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor) which players have used in the past as an alternative to steroids, especially given it can't be detected in urine samples (only blood testing). What's with Deer-Antler spray specifically? Scientists discovered IGF…

8/07/2011 0

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Steroid and Anti-Histamine All-In-One Nasal Spray!

Meda Pharmaceuticals has announced a new nasal spray "Dymista" that contains both a steroid and an anti-histamine active ingredient. Why is this significant? It's because it's the first and only one to do so. Of course, it's not available yet until the FDA approves it, but at least it has shown effectiveness in Phase 3 clinical trials. At this time, nasal sprays as it relates to nasal allergies come in two separate flavors: 1) Steroid Nasal Spray (flonase, nasonex,…

6/15/2011 0

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Steroid Inhalers for Asthma Can Cause Fungal Laryngitis

It is a big bummer to be an asthmatic. Not only is breathing a problem, but even the treatment for asthma can cause problems. Take for example steroid inhalers like advair, symbicort, fluticasone, etc. All asthma patients know to rinse their mouth out after inhaler use due to risk of oral thrush, but what about from the back of the mouth down to the vocal cords??? This nether region can't be gargled very easily. One can swallow water to rinse this area out, but the vocal cord region wou…

6/05/2011 0

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Study Suggests (Incorrectly?) Steroid Nasal Spray Use Does Not Help with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

A 2011  study was published on a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind prospective clinical trial (the best kind of research) to determine whether Nasacort AQ steroid nasal spray can resolve eustachian tube dysfunction as well as ear symptoms related to this disorder. Eustachian tube dysfunction at its mildest would cause symptoms of ear clogging much akin to the way the ears fill up when flying or driving up the mountain. At its worst, can lead to fluid buildup in the ear as well as …

5/17/2011 6

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Generic Nasacort AQ Will Be Available June 15, 2011

A generic version of Nasacort AQ will be available on June 15, 2011. Nasacort AQ is an aqueous steroid nasal spray in the treatment of allergies . Currently, flonase (fluticasone) is the only generic steroid nasal spray available. As such, the company has stopped sampling Nasacort AQ for many physician offices including ours.

3/31/2011 0

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Singulair May Help Reduce Tonsil and Adenoid Enlargement

Singulair is a medication often prescribed for asthma as well as allergies and works by blocking the leukotriene receptor. This mechanism is different than that found in common allergy medications like claritin and benadryl which work by blocking the histamine receptor (anti-histamine). Singulair has also incidentally been found to possibly help reduce the size of tonsils and adenoids. Given this beneficial affect, singulair may be a helpful intervention in those kids with mild obstructive…

1/09/2011 1

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