In medicine I never say never. This is due to the uncertainty of medicine. In medicine there are 3 factors namely Host -Agent and Agent. So depending upon all 3 the response is determine. The agent may be same and it can cause different response in different hosts and the host may be the same and the agent may be different and the response will be different and the same with reaction between the different agents and different hosts and different environment ,that the response will be different. The example would be mold in home or office and all the people working there have same reaction or may be not the same degree of reaction. Not everybody have same nasal allergies with allergy pollen season. This is known , but then sometimes we have problem with diagnosis as the incidence of allergic reaction is not known, This brings me to story for today.
This patient came to me for evaluation of possible asthma. He had seen different lung specialist and had severe asthma diagnosed and has been treated with many different medicines and he still had problem. He was offered additional treatment with biological shots and he did not want it. I tested him for allergies , There is a immune globulin called IgE. which is elevated with allergies and that was markedly elevated and he has several allergies on testing for allergies , but most of them were mild. The option of treatment was limited with allergies and severe asthma needing steroids many times. I also did CT scan of the chest and he had lots of mucous and dilated bronchi - what we could see in uncontrolled asthma. To see if he had additional fungal infection I did bronchoscopy and tests came back OK
I talked to him and adjusted meds and offered him biological shots and he wanted to wait. He did do better with my medicines , but the CT scan did not show much improvement . He still had congestion. Then one day he came back for follow up and his lungs were clear and oxygen was normal. He was happy and I was happy. And so I said to him that 'looks like the medicines are working .' Then he said 'But I am not taking medicines .'NONE AT ALL '.He said I stopped all the medicines.
I was stunned , but thought that there must be something in his home or office or surroundings that was causing his asthma and somehow he must have eliminated it . And I was correct but not in the sense that I thought. HE HAD STOPPED STATINS THAT HE WAS TAKING . I did do new CT scan of the chest . And the lungs were almost clear.
I continued to do follow up and for last 2 years he has not had much problem and he has not taken asthma medicines on daily basis. He still needs inhaler PRN. - as needed especially when he has resp infecetion. But otherwise he has no problem .
So, it seems like he had allergies to STATIN THAT CAUSED THE LUNG INFILTRATES AND AGRAVATED HIS MILD ASTHMA . I have not know this allergy . So my statement that ANYTHING UNDER SUN INCLUDING THE SUN CAN CAUSE ALLERGIES is true
