Re-certification

Congratulations to Dr. Engler and Dr. Saraf for getting re-certified by the American Board of Allergy & Immunology for 2011-2021. Dr. Malick re-certifies in 2017 and has already started studying!

New Allergy Guidelines

Updates from the March 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).

New allergy guidelines confirm that immunotherapy (allergy shots or sublingual drops) can help many patients with eczema who are sensitive to airborne allergens such as pollen and dust mites when other more common treatments fail to give adequate relief. The studies show that immunotherapy is not only effective for controlling respiratory allergy symptoms such as hayfever and asthma but can also be effective for controlling eczema (atopic dermatitis). In a placebo-controlled study, the results indicated that patients who received immunotherapy experienced significant improvements in their eczema. In a more extensive study, which compared both immunotherapy and the use of topical corticosteroid (cortisone) creams and ointments on adults suffering from eczema, the study showed much less eczema in patients treated with immunotherapy than those who used topical corticosteroids alone, particularly for those with dust mite allergy. And the results were not only good for patients treated with allergy shots; another extensive study compared the results using sublingual immunotherapy (allergy drops) which also showed a decrease in the severity of their eczema. If eczema is an issue and other treatment options have been ineffective for you in the past, please contact our office so we see if you are a candidate for immunotherapy.

Houston's Top Docs 2011

Nominated by their peers and H Texas Magazine readers, Dr. David B. Engler and Dr. Alnoor A. Malick and Dr. Sunil K. Saraf were all recently voted "Best Allergist/Immunologist in Houston."

Houston Food Allergy Walk 2011

Every year, those of us in the field hear about how research protocols for food allergy treatment have been successful. Basically, the treatments are like allergy shots, but the immunotherapy is taken under the tongue rather than an injection. Much of the funding for these important studies comes from The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. That's one of the reasons we are big supporters of FAAN.

We invite you to check out their website, and to participate in the Houston Food Allergy Walk. Details are available at Walk for Food Allergy.

The Allergy Clinic is the Presenting Sponsor of Walk for Food Allergy Houston, along with KPRC Channel 2 and H-E-B, so please plan to join us there. Of course, since the walk is on a Saturday morning, most of The Allergy Clinic staff will be at work stamping out marshelder and ragweed. If you would like to join our team, "Annie's Angels", let us know what your T-shirt size is so we can get you one of ours.

Staff Changes

Houston Allergy and Asthma Clinic would like to thank Dr. Ramon Garrido, who retired in September 2008, for over 40 years of practice. And, The Allergy Clinic, our sister practice welcomes Dr. Sunil Saraf, a board certified allergist who has been practicing in The Woodlands. Dr. Saraf will see patients in our Fannin and Pearland offices for now, and then begin seeing patients in our Park Plaza office. We are highly selective when choosing our doctors, and hope you enjoy getting to know Dr. Saraf as much as we have.