John F. Zwetchkenbaum - Allergy Free with Dr. Z: Understanding Allergies, Asthma, and Much, Much More

Allergy-Free With Dr. Z

Allergy
-Free

with

Dr. Z

Understanding Allergies, Asthma,
and Much, Much More

JOHN F. ZWETCHKENBAUM, M.D.

NEW YORK

NASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

ALLERGY-FREE WITH DR. Z

Understanding Allergies, Asthma, and Much, Much More

2017 John F. Zwetchkenbaum, MD

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

9781683502456 paperback

9781683502463 eBook

Library of Congress

Control Number: 2016916276

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Interior Design by:

Chris Treccani

3 Dog Design

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This book is dedicated to my allergist, Dr. Bernard Berman, and my pediatrician, Dr. Banice Feinberg. They both spent many years helping me deal with my asthma and influenced my quest to help others with asthma and allergies.

T he eight-year-old boy sat on the table in my office with a miserable look on his face.

He has trouble breathing, his mother said. He cant run around for more than a minute without stopping to catch his breath. One glance at her face, and I recognized the helpless look of a parent very worried about her child.

How does it feel when that happens? I asked the boy.

His shoulders sagged and he shook his head.

I just cant breathe, he said. It feels like Im trying to suck air through a teeny straw and I cant get enough.

I nodded.

I know exactly how that feels. And I do know. Because I felt the same thing when I was his age.

When I was eight years old, my parents sent me off to summer campa bona fide Heaven on Earth for any normal eight-year-old boy.

But I was not normal; I had asthma.

Running for more than a minute left me short of breath. People could hear me wheeze like a steam engine when I walked by. So often, while other kids ran and played, I stood and watched. While other campers were swapping stories at bedtime, I was in the infirmary with my inhaler as my only friend. What should have been the makings of a happy childhood memory was just one more reminder of my medical condition.

It was terrible, infuriating, embarrassing, and unfair. It was asthma. And of course, it wasnt just at camp. Home and school presented similar problems.

No pets.

No stuffed animals.

No sleepovers.

In short, many of the things a regular kid did were off limits to me. My parents trekked from doctor to doctor in search of some miracle treatment for my condition. I became defined not by my hopes or dreams, but by my asthma.

Then I met Dr. Bernie Berman.

Bernie Berman was a different kind of doctor. Crusty, often irreverent, and sometimes guilty of ignoring his own advice, he understood the nature of asthma, and knew something could be done about it.

Rather than treat the symptoms of asthma, just looking for a way to keep my air passages open, he searched for a way to treat the underlying cause of inflammation.

And it worked.

Dr. Berman worked with my parents and me to address triggers of my asthma, such as staying over at a house with pets, indoor swimming, and ice-skating. He found the medication that addressed the symptoms.

In time, I was a much more normal kid, doing the things any kid should have a right to do.

But my asthma story didnt end there. In truth, dealing with asthma has defined much of who I am, and Ive made it my lifes work to help others deal with it. Bernie Berman gave me hope, and made me want to become a doctor who would help kids and adults like me.

Thats why Ive written this book.

Dr. Berman was ahead of his time in his approach to helping people with allergies. I was lucky to have met him, and lucky to have discovered that developing an allergy did not mean I had to live with that allergy.

Many others have had no such luck. In fact, most people believe that being allergic is something akin to a lifestyle, and as a result, their lives tend to revolve around finding numerous ways to deal with the uncomfortable and awful symptoms of allergies.

My story as a young boy took place years ago, and yet many people today are still living that nightmare, and not just when it comes to asthma.

As a medical student, I was shocked to discover that allergies are not necessarily considered a serious issue among those in the medical profession. In fact, some of my colleagues at medical school, and within the medical community, outright admitted that they do not believe in allergies as a contributing factor to ailments such as asthma.

Patients with ailments such as asthma were considered the easy admission during my training. Load them with medications, discharge them, and call it a day.

This helped with the symptoms, but these patients were nonetheless miserable.

Why?

Because instead of addressing the root cause, these doctors were simply treating the symptoms.

Have you ever weeded a garden? Even if you dont have a green thumb, you probably know what happens when you pull the stem of a weed, but leave the root. The weed will keep coming back, again and again, often growing stronger as time goes on.

The same is true of allergies.

Its a simple enough concept, and yet allergies are totally misunderstood. And its been this way for decadescenturies, even!

Its as if these doctors are allergic to allergies!

Maybe part of the problem is that, for those who dont suffer from allergies, the issue is non-life-threatening, and therefore, not as big of a deal. But for those who do have allergies, it is a big deal. In fact, its a huge deal!

Allergies are not just a temporary discomfort. On the contrary, allergies lead to even greater consequences, such as sinusitis, worsening asthma, eczemaall kinds of gruesome things. It is critical to figure out what is going on and nip the problem in the bud.

On the other hand, even if your doctor is looking for allergies, allergies might not actually be the culprit. For instance, sometimes the irritant could be a shirt youre wearing, something youre eating, or somethinglike poison oak or poison ivy, or even mold on leavesthat you or the dog walk into while taking her for a spin around the neighborhood.

The point is, doctors are missing the point.

Many of my patients come to me after seeing a doctor for the same ailment again and again, without any relief. Theyre bleary-eyed and beaten down and they just want to feel better, and the Zyrtec isnt working.