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Alpha-gal meat allergy faded over four years

Lifestyles

Q. I contracted alpha-gal meat allergy while living in Long Island, New York, over a decade ago. An observant primary care physician diagnosed me and sent me to an allergist for confirmation. When I moved to North Carolina, my new doctor requested further testing. The lab had no idea what tests to run. I eventually grew out of the allergy over four years. Since 2021, I have been able to eat meat again. Your recent column on alpha-gal allergy did not address the fact that many people grow out of the allergy. Fortunately, my allergic reaction to eating meat was only hives. Nevertheless, ...

Health notes

Lifestyles

To include or update items in the weekly Health News list, email information to tmunnell@tribtoday.com or dbigelow@tribtoday.com. The deadline for inclusion for next week’s list is noon Sunday. St. Joe’s at the Mall Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Eastwood Mall. • EXERCISE CLASSES AVAILABLE — Call 330-652-7542 to inquire and register. • FREE BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS: 9 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, and 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Thursdays. • DIETITIAN AVAILABLE: by appointment every first and third Friday; no cost — call ...

That’s going to be ITCHY

Lifestyles

WASHINGTON — You’ve likely heard it since childhood: Don’t scratch that bug bite or rash, you’ll make it worse. But why would something that feels so good be bad? A lot of things can cause itchiness, sometimes serious diseases. Whatever the cause, doctors have long warned that ...

TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH: Helping those who fake illness is difficult

Lifestyles

DEAR DR. ROACH: Could you address Munchausen syndrome and how to treat a person who might have it? What causes the constant talk about real or imagined illnesses, and is there a treatment for it? —- Anonymous ANSWER: Factitious disorder, sometimes called Munchausen syndrome after the 18th century German nobleman Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Munchhausen, who was famous for exaggerated stories that were published in English in 1785 and defied belief. The term “Munchausen syndrome” was coined in 1951 to describe people who intentionally fake or induce medical symptoms. ...

Bridge by Steve Becker

Lifestyles

Precisely when to win a trick is a problem that often determines the outcome of a hand. The holdup play, so often utilized in notrump contracts, might defeat its purpose unless it is applied at exactly the right time and place. Take this case where West leads the king of hearts against three notrump. If South wins with the ace, he sooner or later goes down one. Whenever he gets around to the diamond finesse, East takes the king and returns a heart, and declarer finishes a trick short of his goal. South should realize that there can be no advantage — and that there might be a ...

HINTS FROM HELOISE: Prying open bottles of nail polish

Lifestyles

DEAR HELOISE: To open a bottle of nail polish that’s stuck, place a cup of water in the microwave for 1 minute. Then remove the cup from the microwave and place the bottle inside of the cup. Wait about a minute and remove. Presto! —Marty R., via email DEAR HELOISE: We wear shirts made of T-shirt material every day in our family. Yet, after a short while, they end up with tiny holes in the stomach area. Male or female, belt or no belt, it doesn’t matter; these tiny holes suddenly appear. Any idea where they come from? — Monica T., via email Monica, the tiny holes are ...