LARRY W. JAMES, MD

After completing the fellowship in allergy, Dr. James served two years in the United States Army at Ft. Bragg North Carolina where he was Chief of Allergy and Immunization and spent time in the pediatric clinic. Dr. James was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and a Gunfighter Commendation Award from Lt. General Henry Emerson, Commanding General of XVIII Airborne Corps and Ft. Bragg.

Dr. James has been in private practice in Austin since 1977. His special interest is children with asthma, but patients with all allergic problems are welcomed into the practice. Adults are seen as new patients up to age 55. Established patients who reach the 55^th birthday continue to be treated by Dr. James.

Dr. James was named by other physicians in Austin as one of Austin’s Best Doctors in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009.

H1N1 INFLUENZA

The H1N1 “swine” influenza epidemic is a real problem world-wide. Different areas have had different incidences of people being infected. It appears that the local Austin TX area has seen the worst of the epidemic for this year. Vaccine has been in limited supply for H1N1, so only certain groups of people at this time should be immunized. These groups are pregnant women, children between the ages of 24 and 59 months (2 – 4 year olds), children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 18 years who are “high risk” (have a chronic disease), and health care workers. When more vaccine becomes available, perhaps later in 2009 or early 2010, more people will be able to get the vaccination. People who lived through the 1957 “Asiatic Flu” epidemic seem to have at least some immunity to H1N1, and the current “seasonal” vaccine may provide some protection from H1N1.

TOP COMMON ALLERGY MYTHS - From your Austin Allergy Doctor
1.  Allergic problems can be treated by eating local honey.  This is not true, because plants that attract bees are cross-pollinated by bees and other insects.  They do not have airborne pollen.  Plants whose pollens cause allergic diseases are cross-pollinated by wind.  Bees are not attracted to common allergenic plants like mountain cedar trees, ragweed, and grasses.

2.  "I am allergic to mold."  While it is true that many people are allergic to mold as proven by allergy testing, many others who think they are allergic to mold really are not.  Those who think they are, but have never been tested, usually look at the pollen and mold count in the newspaper when they feel stuffy or have a headache.  They don't look at the pollen and mold count when they do not have those symptoms.  If they did, they would notice that the counts are same regardless of how they feel.  Most of my patients who test positive only to mold (no pollens, animal danders, or dust mites) have no idea of what might cause their symptoms.

3.  "Changing air filters and cleaning air ducts will fix all of my allergy problems."  While many people are allergic to indoor allergens, such as dust mites, there is very little evidence to support frequent cleaning, adding special air filters, using chemicals that kill dut mites, or adding special chemicals to the laundry help with allergic disease.  In fact, my patients who have their air conditioning ducts cleaned have said that their symptoms get worse for a few days after the duct cleaning.

4.  Austin is the allergy capital of the world.  Austin is on the edge of the west Texas desert.  Hot dry summers tend to kill off many allergen plants or prevent pollination.  Places where the climate is warm (not hot) and damp, like Houston and New Orleans, are much worse for allergic diseases than is Austin.

LONG-ACTING BETA AGONIST (LABA) INHALERS

Much has been said and written about long-acting beta agonist  (LABA) inhalers.  While there are definitely issues with using them alone as single drug therapy (so called "mono-therapy), there does not seem to be a problem with using them in combination with inhaled steroids.  The following link is a news conference held at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology in New Orleans in early March of 2010.

Video from the News Conference