Chat With a Doctor: Severe Allergies ? Health Hub from Cleveland ...

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Does you have severe allergies? Do you have a question about allergies that you would like to ask a doctor? Join us as Frank Eidelman, MD, Cleveland Clinic?s Chairman of the Department of Allergy and Immunology answers your questions about severe allergies, including diagnosis, treatment and management of the chronic illness. Get answers to your health questions and concerns. It?s easy to be part of our live chat events, led by Cleveland Clinic physicians and health professionals.

Allergies are your immune system?s inappropriate response to a foreign substance. Exposure to what is normally a harmless substance, such as pollen, causes the immune system to react as if the substance were harmful. Substances that cause allergies are called allergens. Most allergies result from a combination of inheritance (genes) and environmental exposures (pollens, animal dander, etc.). Allergic disorders affect an estimated one in five adults and children. Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the United States.

Being exposed to allergens at certain times when the body?s defenses are low or weak ? such as after a viral infection or during pregnancy ? may also contribute to the development of allergies. When you come into contact with an allergen, you may experience symptoms of allergic rhinitis ? hay fever ? including sneezing, congestion, itchy, watery nose and eyes. You may also experience asthma symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing and coughing.

Dr. Eidelman, MD, FAAAI, is an expert Allergy and Immunologist who was appointed by Cleveland Clinic Florida in 1996. In 1999, he became Chairman of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at Cleveland Clinic Florida. Dr. Eidelman attended Medical School at McGill University Faculty of Medicine in Montreal, Quebec Canada. Dr. Eidelman?s specialty interests include allergies, allergy skin tests, asthma, dermatitis, eczema, hay fever, hives, and insect sting allergies.

This health chat will open on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, to allow you to submit questions. We will try to answer as many questions as possible during the chat. Please create an account to attend the chat and submit your questions.

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